|
 Saint Patrick American School is a secular private school.
The school is located near the city of Puntarenas on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
On the map we are just about halfway between the towns of Esparza and Miramar.
We are the only English language school in the area and have over 100 students from pre-school through sixth grade.
Half the faculty is gringo (native English speakers) and half tico (Costa Rican).
The students have Spanish classes and social studies in their native language; all other classes are in English.
We are on the Costa Rican school calendar.
The school year is from mid-February to the first week in December (mid-year break is 3 weeks in July).
We have mostly children of professional parents (doctors, lawyers, owners of businesses like tuna processing plants, etc).
There are some students from modest income families who are here on merit.
Most expect to go to a university in the US or Canada, hence the desire to learn English.
Only about one-fourth of them have a parent that speaks English.
There is a large Chinese community in Puntarenas, and we have many Chinese children.
We have selected textbooks from the US for Science, Language, Math, and Reading for our English classes.
The children come to the school speaking no English and leave bilingual.
Computers are integrated into our teaching program and used as a foundation for curriculum in kindergarten, first, and second grades.
Exams are given monthly with report cards every 3 months.
The school offers a training program for teachers to develop excellent teaching practices and classroom management skills prior to the beginning of school and throughout the year.
We have a structured educational plan.
We list our objectives monthly and inform the parents of the curriculum content at the beginning of the month.
Teachers can include their own ideas in both the objectives and activities.
Students bring the supplies they need.
Classes are 20 students or less.
Teachers teach 5 or 6 periods a day depending on the school needs.
There are 7 periods a day with the present schedule.
Some teachers work part time teaching night classes to adults.
Compensation includes a Costa Rican salary, housing for foreigners, and medical insurance.
Bus transportation is provided to school each morning and home again in the afternoon on days with no afterschool meetings.
Public transportation is very accessible and inexpensive.
For the school to obtain a work permit for a teacher, a University/College Diploma, passport photos, and a photocopy of their passport must be provided.
| 
