ACSI Caribbean Celebrates 25 Years Supporting Christian Schools

By: Hohna Hartley

It has been a season of celebration for ACSI’s Caribbean team. In August 2024, the office hosted its annual convention celebrating 25 years of uninterrupted service, equipping Christian schools in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

ACSI Divisional Director for Latin America Stuart Salazar reflected on the special, committed relationships that have thrived throughout the region over the years. 

“We celebrated in this past convention just 25 years in which, in the uninterrupted way, the educators and Christian educators in Dominican Republic have committed to meet every year at the beginning of the school year—to be trained, to be inspired, to be challenged, and to stay faithful in what we do in Christian school education,” Salazar said.

Former ACSI Caribbean Director, Lester Flaquer, has witnessed first-hand the growth that has taken place at the annual convention.

“At the beginning, we had 70 people — directors from different schools. Nowadays, we have over 900 people coming … it is amazing to see that … they do not get tired of what's happening,” Flaquer shared.

Impact in Numbers 

There are currently 60 schools within the ACSI network in the Dominican Republic and an additional five schools in Puerto Rico. Looking to the future, ACSI Caribbean leadership plans to expand its tradition of educational and relational support, cooperating with even more schools to identify their next steps toward more Christ-centered education, focused on biblical integration and student discipleship.

The uninterrupted commitment to equipping and serving Christian schools is paying off. Currently, ACSI is impacting 21,861 students and 1,792 teachers in the Caribbean.



Salazar, Flaquer, and Regional Director for ACSI Caribbean Karen Ovalles, are quick to credit a collaborative and supportive culture that has connected ACSI and associated schools over the decades.

During his leadership of ACSI Caribbean, Flaquer established relationships with Christian school leaders, investing in them and providing guidance for how to operate truly Christ-centered schools. As a result, a bond of trust and cooperation has grown between ACSI and school leaders.

“We have a philosophy that when you are part of the association, when you're part of a Christian school and you enter into another Christian school and you see a good idea, you know, stealing is not forbidden,” joked Flaquer. “So, we ‘steal’ a good idea, and we help each other.”

Though his tone was lighthearted, Flaquer and his colleagues are serious about the culture of mutual support that has developed through the years among ACSI schools in the Caribbean and specifically in the Dominican Republic.

Salazar admires the way the schools relate to each other. “They are a fellowship, a true network ... they love one another,” he said.

Ovalles added, “It's not just a work of three or four people. No, this is many people here thinking at the same time.”

Flaquer, who also serves as Headmaster of Logos Christian School in the Dominican, tells of a time when a fellow Christian school was planning to close its doors due to financial hardship. Flaquer met with the school’s leadership and shared how his own school had managed its finances with success. The school took Flaquer’s advice and chose to keep their doors open. That was 14 years ago. Now, nearly a decade-and-a-half later, that school continues to minister to students and impacting generations with Christ-centered education.

A Firm Foundation 

Though no one knows the future, the team at ACSI Caribbean intends to continue building on the firm foundation it’s had from the start. From the beginning, the mission has been to help Christian school leaders adopt a philosophy of education that goes beyond morals and values and is built on the foundation of Christ at the center of all creation and all learning.

“We try to reclaim every inch of this world to the sovereignty, to the reign, of Jesus Christ,” Flaquer said. “That’s the core of what we do.”