History of Corn Island Rigoberto Cabezas School
The first public and public primary school on Corn Island was the Escuela Superior Mixta, which was founded in 1950 by teacher Essie Nixon. This school was located in the neighborhood of North End, near the waterfront, a few meters from the airplane field or next to where the ruins of Abraham Shop or “Chon House” is situated.
Due to the danger the school was under because of its proximity to the airplane field and the need to have a larger structure to facilitate public education on Corn Island, the authorities decided to relocate the school and build a larger building with better conditions.
Between 1968 and 1969, the School Board was formed, which was integrated by Mrs. Marcia Downs, Mrs. Celia Downs, Mrs. Clara McCloud, Mrs. Julia Henriquez, Mrs. Emoline Gordon and the Mayor. The School Board carried out a series of activities to raise funds for the acquisition of the land where the new school was to be built and construction materials such as gravel rock and sand.
At that time, Mr. Isaiah Harold Lampson was the Mayor of Corn Island. A series of meetings were held with local authorities, the School Board and teachers to discuss matters related to the construction work. Teacher Julia Henriquez was one that always participated in these meetings and suggested that the land in North End where the school is currently located was the ideal spot.
This land belonged to Mrs. Anita Downs, who inherited it from her parents around 1930. The property was in a state of abandonment, no one lived on it and it was not cultivated, as was the custom in those days. According to oral accounts, Mayor Lampson made an agreement with Mrs. Downs that she would receive 25 córdobas monthly for leasing the property, but since the agreement between the two parties was never formalized, it was never fulfilled.
With the deeds for the land already in the hands of the Municipal Government, in March 1969 a group of between 7 to 10 construction workers arrived from Managua along with the building materials to begin the work, which had to take about three months. The person in charge of the construction was Mr. Ramón Cruz, who was assisted by a man whose nickname was Mr. Ropita.
The following year, in 1970, with the completion of the work, a delegation headed by Carmen Gaitán, from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECD), arrived from Bluefields, the objective was to organize the inauguration of the new building and also to decide what would be the new name of the school.
The debate on the new name was held between the Bluefields delegation and the local authorities, and the two names proposed were Escuela 27 de Agosto, to honor one of the most important dates of Corn Island, or Escuela General Rigoberto Cabezas, in memory of the journalist and military man who, by order of President José Santos Zelaya, led the process for the incorporation of the Mosquitia to Nicaragua in February 1894.
By agreement of both parties, it was decided that the name of the Escuela Superior Mixta de Corn Island would be changed to Escuela General Rigoberto Cabezas, being officially inaugurated on the morning of August 27th, 1970, in the North End neighborhood with Professor Rowena Luzey Ow as its Principal.
Professor Ow served for two years as the school's Director. During her tenure, the school had an enrollment of 80 to 90 students, who were taught from first grade through six in six of the school's classrooms that were built.
After Professor Rowena, teacher Ina Blandford was appointed director, leading important works for the improvement of the center, such as the building of a fence and the excavation of a drinking water well. In these efforts, all the teachers of the school collaborated together with some parents.
Teacher Ina was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and a graduate of the Moravian School in Bluefields, being the second person from Corn Island to obtain a teaching degree; the first one was Mrs. Julieta Morgan.
Years later, in 1975, the direction of the school was assumed by teacher Edna Bryan Morgan, who was the third Corn Islander to graduate with a teaching degree.
Despite the national war and the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution between 1978 and 1979, the school continued to function normally. After the war, Teacher Julia HenrÃquez and Professor Antonio López served as directors of the school, being sent to Bluefields to participate in workshops before the beginning of the National Literacy Crusade, in order to prepare the academics and brigadist of the island.
With the beginning of the National Literacy Crusade in March 1980, all educators on Corn Island had to participate in this process after receiving workshops, except pregnant women. After six months, the crusade came to an end in August, and on the 8th of the same month a ceremony was held in Brig Bay to celebrate this achievement together with the people, authorities, brigadist and teachers.
Between 1980 and 2000, the school's directors were Silvia Robinson, Linda Allen, Antonio Lopez, Arlene Downs, Julia Henriquez, Lila Fredericks, Janell Hunter, Jace Cox and Henry Garth. During this period, the delegates of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECD) in Corn Island were Professors Chico Ingram and Winston Cash.
In 2000, teacher Nubia Downs Rigby took over the Municipal Delegation of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECD), and Professor Henry Garth continued to be the director. Two years after, he was called to be the Primary Education Technician of the Municipal Delegation of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECD), which led to the appointment of Professor Donalee Tower as the director of the General Rigoberto Cabezas School in 2002.
During Professor Tower's term of office, the government made important investments in the school, thanks to funding from various agencies, such as the project supported by the Emergency Social Investment Fund (FISE), it was possible to repair the roof of two of the pavilions. The donation of teaching materials was also possible with the BASE II project and in 2004, with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECD), the acquisition of 20 desktop computers and an internet connection for teaching computers at the school was made possible. This project allowed the introduction of computer classes in the school curriculum and also led to the implementation of computer courses for the people of Corn Island.
By 2005, the school's enrollment was 499 students, making it the largest school on Corn Island in terms of student enrollment.
In 2005, the school began organizing the Miss Rigoberto Cabezas pageant in August as part of the school's anniversary celebration. This event was created to encourage healthy recreation among students and to promote their skills and talent. Anyka Mejicanos Hodgson was the first to win the Miss Rigoberto Cabezas pageant.
In May 2006, Professor Wilford Hunter Downs took over as the school's Director, with teacher Lorna Quinn as Sub-director and Mrs. Shera Sjogreen as Secretary.
During Professor Hunter's directorship, the promotion of education continued along with recreational activities. In 2012, Teacher Idalia Venegas assumed the direction of the school.
Between 2010 and 2022, the Municipal Government and the Ministry of Education (MINED) have carried out important works in the maintenance and restoration of the center's building, as well as the construction of a perimeter wall and a kiosk for the sale of beverages and snacks within the school premises.
During this period, the encouragement, and promotion of Corn Islands culture has been remarkable in the school, Mrs. Shera Sjogreen was in charge of teaching choreographies to the students to dance Maypole and other traditional dance expressions such as polka, country and schottische, she also co-directed the Miss Rigoberto Cabezas' pageant, the school's anniversary celebration and cultural events such as the Maypole.
Currently, the General Rigoberto Cabezas School has 4 pavilions that are distributed in 1 auditorium, a management office, classrooms, a resource center, a computer lab, and restrooms, as well as a kiosk.
The motto of the General Rigoberto Cabezas School is “Visión, Decisión and Acción”, which is embodied in the center of its flag of three rectangular stripes of green, white, and red.
