What You Need To Know About Costa Rica That Nobody Tells You

CRIA (Costa Rica International Academy)

CRIA's curriculum is based on the American model which allows graduates to apply to any university/college in the world. All the essential subjects such as math, science, English, Social Studies, etc. are taught in English while subjects like music, art, gym, and drama are taught in Spanish.

This school provides advanced placement where children who excel can complete subjects early, as early as grade 10, so they can save time or lighten their load at university. They have computer labs and STEM programs. They have computer programming and coding available. There is no option for grade 7 and above to take music as it’s offered only up to grade 6. Grade 7 and above have swimming once a week and swimming club might enable them to swim twice a week.

The school grounds are beautiful with some play structures. The gym is spacious and covered. There is a swimming pool for gym and extracurricular activities. The cafeteria has breeze going through it and I love how the kids are exposed to fresh air and sun all day long. There are security guards at the gate.

They hire only licensed teachers from all over the world and provide housing onsite to attract qualified teachers. They are familiar with IEP’s and work with resource teachers to accommodate students. They have a dedicated resource teacher for special needs kids. They have a clinical psychologist as a guidance counsellor and have a dedicated college counsellor. Hallelujah!

If your child needs psychoeducational testing, it’s better to have it done in your home country as there are only one or two that administer it in English in the Tamarindo area. These tests may be outdated and not as informative.

There is a cafeteria so kids can buy lunch, or you can sign up ahead of time (e.g., buy tickets or put in $100 credit and use it up) if needed. Transportation cost is about $150 per month with vans going in all sorts of directions to concentrated areas, so kids don’t have to commute too long.

There are about 360 students total with about 120 of them enrolling in just 2021 alone. 30-50% of students are locals, and the rest are expats depending on the year.

The school year runs from August to June with one 3-4-day weekend once a month so parents have opportunities to do the border run for their visas. They take one week off for thanksgiving, three weeks off around Christmas, two weeks off in April for Semana Santa Holiday, and two months off for the summer. The school starts at 8 am and ends at 3 pm.

The tuition as of 2022 is $11K USD per child per year (i.e. high school) plus one-time fees of $1000 for registration and $1800 for the new student fee. The registration and new student fees are standard for international schools in CR. Primary school and kindergarten tuition is lower.

Educarte

Educarte claims to be an international school, but it is not accredited by any English-speaking educational bodies. They teach based on Costa Rican curriculum and their grades go up to grade 11. If your child wants to go to a university in another country, there may be more credits or paperwork required depending on the university. They incorporated a high school (grade 7-11) curriculum only four years ago, so their capacity is limited to a total of 20 students. All their subjects are taught in Spanish except for ESL. They have some students that come from other parts of the world but most of their students are Spanish speaking. Having said that, a couple of students I encountered spoke excellent English.

This is a smaller school with a smaller facility. The security is not as tight in that there is no security guard or main gate. The gate is locked but a student opened it for us and let us into the school. There was no other way of contacting the office to be let in otherwise. Their tuition is the lowest of the four schools at about $5000 per child annually. Their school runs from June to August 31.