Doulos Discovery School was founded in 2002. The school’s founders, Chad and Krista Wallace, had been living in the Dominican Republic for seven years working with the ministry of Young Life. Their time living within the Dominican culture revealed to them an opportunity for a new brand of education for Dominicans.
Private schools are abundant but are costly and therefore only largely available to the wealthy. The public education system is lacking nationwide, holding the country’s poorest in the cycle of poverty. Doulos was conceptualized as an opportunity for life-giving change to students from all walks of life, their families, and the surrounding community all through the lens of Christ’s revolutionary vision. The hope of Doulos and a reason for its inception is to create positive change, to meet a need by bridging the gaps of economic and religious separation that exist in the Dominican Republic, and move forward together to impact this country and the world for Christ’s Kingdom.
Doulos believes that leaders come from all economic backgrounds. To help bridge the economic gap Doulos provides need based scholarships to half its students. This creates a unique learning environment in a culture (and world for that matter) where the rich do not mix with the poor. At Doulos students from varying economic backgrounds work together, gain new perspectives, and learn what truly defines each of us: Christ.
Another hope of Doulos is to bridge the religious gap that separates Catholics from Protestants. The vision is to work together as a community of believers in Christ to serve and impact lives for positive change. Just as there is culturally enforced economic segregation, the same can be said for religious segregation. Rather than aligning with a specific denomination, be it Catholic or Protestant, Doulos aligns its teachings with Christ. The mixing of families from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds creates a similar uniqueness much like the economic integration. Students work together, gain new perspectives, and learn what truly defines each of us: Christ.