Private Schools in Costa Rica
Click to enlargeAll private schools in Costa Rica are not made equal. Before signing your kid up for a particular school, doing your research ahead of time will be fruitful. Costa Rica’s school calendar is different than the US calendar. The school year begins in February and ends in December for many schools, so if you don’t want your kids to be in a different calendar, try to find which Costa Rica American schools share the same US calendar, or consider if having an extra semester before advancing to the following level would be good to get your children used to a different country and improving their Spanish level. Talk to your children about what they would feel comfortable with. Have they any thoughts on which school they’d like to study in? Maybe they’ve met someone online who studies there, or they know about clubs or extra curricular activities they’d like to take that are given in that private school. Starting life in a new school can be daunting and even the most self assured teen is prone to feeling out of place in a new school in a different country. Choosing a private school in Costa Rica for your children is a challenge in itself.
Moving overseas with school age children brings with itself many concerns. How to pick the right school for your kids? How will you know if your kids will be happy and receive a quality education? The first step in finding a school for your children in a foreign country is to think about your short and long term plans in Costa Rica. Do you plan to move for a couple of years or do you plan to stay long enough for your children to finish schooling in Costa Rica? What about college? Do you wish for them to return home to get a college degree, or are you considering that getting a college education in Costa Rica is a viable option as well? Do the schools offer just the Costa Rican diploma, the IB program (international Bachelaureate) or a different diploma? Where are they accepted for college admission? Are there Spanish as a Second Language courses available at the school? Although it may seem way in advance to stop and think about your child’s college options when they are just starting elementary school, having an idea about what you would like their options to be will affect your decision choice of private schools in Costa Rica. Research private schools, join message boards, contact resident associations and ask around about the options and what is being said about different schools. As a parent, you’ll need to do some homework before your kids can begin doing theirs!
Other factors to take into account when choosing a school is an actual visit to the grounds. Pictures and written descriptions can help some when making the decision, but actually visitint the private school is key to getting a grasp of other important factors. Take your children along with you if possible. Since they’ll be the ones to study there, getting a feeling of the campus can help them, and if they go around the buildings it could make it easier for them to face the first day of school, since they’ll at least know where their classrooms will be. Before deciding for a particular school, know that choosing one doesn’t mean that your children have to study there for the length of their stay. Be prepared for the possibility of your kids deciding to change schools if they don’t fit in or if they dislike the first one enough, there are enough schools to be able to have a bit of flexibility regarding your children’s happiness. There are private schools such as the British School of Costa Rica for a European style education, The International Chrsitian School for a religious bent to the education with bible studies included in the curricula, or diverse American Schools of Costa Rica such as the Lincoln School, the Mariam Baker, the International Christian School, the American International School of Costa Rica (previously known as the Costa Rica Academy) or the Country Day School. Ask our relocation experts about possible School tours where you can visit the different education centers in Costa Rica before deciding on a certain one.
