Girl from Amazon Becomes Top Student in Costa Mesa ... In 1 year
Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 9:27AM 
By Lana Johnson
Receiving a reading award at the school's assembly may seem like a nice achievement, but if you arrived in the U.S. a year ago from the Amazon jungle without knowing a word of English, you will have accomplished an extraordinary feat.
Meet trailblazer Liandra Mendonça da Silva, 10, who lives in the Amazon Basin and has just graduated from 4th grade at Kline School in Costa Mesa. Kline School, a private school in Costa Mesa, sponsored her in a unique exchange program in collaboration with the Amazonian Ecological Preserve, whose foundation is dedicated to the preservation of and education about the rainforest.
Liandra's story begins in the village of Boto, named after the boto dolphins that swim in the Amazon. She lives there with her parents, three brothers, two sisters and their dog.
The one-room school she attends teaches just basic math and reading. Schooling is inconsistent: the younger kids attend in the mornings; most only go four hours a day, and students matriculate through the sixth grade.
Her education in America at Kline School has been a little different. She’s become computer savvy (every child has one at his/her own desk), has hammed it up in musical productions and names her favorite subjects as spelling and reading (her favorite books are Shiloh, Dragons and Matilda).
"In the Amazon, education is the greatest need: they're always in need of school supplies and they can't keep teachers," said Bobette Frye, Liandra's U.S. guardian and board director of Education with the Amazonian Ecological Preserve Foundation.
So how is it Liandra became the first child to come over from Brazil to Kline School? Frye knew her family for three years; Liandra's father was a carpenter who helped build the preserve headquarters. Neighbors castigated him for letting his daughter leave with "the white woman."
The trusting relationship the family had with Frye—to let her take their daughter away from the village for a year—was a leap of faith. Because Liandra was not a U.S. citizen, she would have a difficult time getting into a public school, and the chosen institution had to be approved by Homeland Security.
Frye researched schools for several years—many did not want Liandra because she didn't speak any English. Enter Kline School, which was on the approved school list. Frye contacted Susan Kline, founder and administrator at this innovative K-8 private educational institution of 60 students. She said she was thrilled to have the opportunity to educate Liandra.
"Susan embraced the idea, as she is so open to other cultures and challenges," Frye recalls. Frye, accompanied by Liandra's father, went to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, to obtain a visa.
One of the stipulations was that Liandra keep in touch with her parents on a regular basis, so Frye purchased cell phones and an antennae for her parents; they talk at least once a week.
"Liandra knows what good schooling is like now; it is our hope she will impart the importance of a strong education to other children in her village," Frye said. "What's been most rewarding for me is to see how well she's done at school. Liandra has even expressed an interest in becoming a teacher."
Frye will accompany Liandra back to Brazil at the end of this summer. She hopes to bring another child over to be educated here; perhaps one of Liandra's siblings so they can speak English to one another.
Editor's note: Kline School students sponsored a jog-a-thon and raised more than $7,300 to give to the Amazonian Ecological Preserve Foundation that will further its preservation and education work, Liandra's schooling and help refurbish a school in Jabote. They will be making a check presentation today at 1 p.m. at Kline School.
Kline School, Student in Education
Reader Comments (2)
Lana, lovely article... very uplifting. Congrats to the folks at the Kline School on this project and the success with Liandra.
Great article and video-thanks for sharing this story with us!