History of Asmuyao
Asmuyao Community School was founding in April 1972 by a group of University of Guam professors, Guam public school teachers, and parents who were concerned and interested in the educational welfare of their children. Together, they established Asmuyao, a non-profit, alternative school that focused on independent study.
The initial enrollment was thirty-five students from various grade levels (K-12), all of whom were the children of the original incorporators and supporters of the alternative philosophy of education advocated by Asmuyao.
The school has since moved throughout parts of the island. At its birth, Asmuyao Community School (ACS) functioned in a house in the village of Mangilao. Then, ACS moved into a Protestant Church, where the school ran throughout the week, except on Sundays when services were held. ACS moved to the heart of Hagatna at the frequented and popular Chamorro Village. Eventually, Asmuyao would take residence in two previously-owned military townhomes in the village of Tiyan, Barrigada.
Since 2010, ACS has returned to the island's capital of Hagatna, and operates comfortably in a three-story building. Over the years, ACS has grown from humble beginnings working out of borrowed places, to large numbers of students and functioning as Guam's most sought-after school for alternative course of studies.
The initial enrollment was thirty-five students from various grade levels (K-12), all of whom were the children of the original incorporators and supporters of the alternative philosophy of education advocated by Asmuyao.
The school has since moved throughout parts of the island. At its birth, Asmuyao Community School (ACS) functioned in a house in the village of Mangilao. Then, ACS moved into a Protestant Church, where the school ran throughout the week, except on Sundays when services were held. ACS moved to the heart of Hagatna at the frequented and popular Chamorro Village. Eventually, Asmuyao would take residence in two previously-owned military townhomes in the village of Tiyan, Barrigada.
Since 2010, ACS has returned to the island's capital of Hagatna, and operates comfortably in a three-story building. Over the years, ACS has grown from humble beginnings working out of borrowed places, to large numbers of students and functioning as Guam's most sought-after school for alternative course of studies.
Behind the Name
The name "Asmuyao" derives from two Chamorro words - Asmu, meaing "the coming together for a common good", and y'ao, which means to "wake up". Hence, ASMUYAO: the place where we wake up and come together for a common good".