Keybi wakes up early to roast and grind corn for tortillas, which she sells on the corner in front of the same school where her daughter attends. From her spot, she can see teachers and students filing into the building, every morning Monday through Friday… except when, often without explanation, class is canceled and the children are sent home.

In 2012, ASJ (formerly known as AJS) carried out a study of public schools across the country and found that schools were meeting, on average, just 125 days out of the 200 days required by law. Thanks to strong advocacy and public outcry, we were able to bring that up to 200 days on average, now for five years in a row.

Sacrificing hours from their busy weeks, volunteers use simple information-gathering instruments to record things like how many days schools meet for class, how many classes are taught, and for how long, whether the school has textbooks and materials, and other issues important to children’s education.

In 2017, volunteer auditors prepared a detailed report of the first 40 days of class in 42 different public schools in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. While some schools performed well, others showed serious limitations. In one school in Keybi’s community, for example, nine of the first 40 days had been canceled.

After the pressure placed by social auditors, one school gained, on average, 33 minutes of training per day. Even an average difference of 10-15 minutes per day translates to many additional hours of instruction throughout the year, and greater opportunities for Honduran children.

When the 2018 school year began in Honduras in February, the community auditors were already prepared for another year of observation and accountability. Keybi left her tortilla stand for the morning to join a dozen other women, to share stories of the difficulties they had faced, and to share dreams of the education they imagined for their children.