Relocating Family
If you’re reading this from somewhere far away, picturing a move to Costa Rica, the school question is probably keeping you up at night. It should. Everything else about the move is reversible. Your child’s education is the one piece you don’t want to get wrong.
Here’s an honest guide to choosing well, written by people who run a school but would rather you ask hard questions than enroll on faith.
Start With Fit, Not Features
Glossy websites all blur together. Before you compare amenities, get clear on what you actually want for your child. Do you want them to come out of this fluent in Spanish, or just supported in English? Do you want them connected to Costa Rica, or sealed off in an expat bubble? Do you care more about test rankings or about your child being genuinely known?
Our own answer drives everything we do: a child who is known will outgrow a child who is ranked. Whatever your priorities are, name them first. Then judge schools against your list, not their brochure.
Ask About the Community, Not Just the Curriculum
A curriculum is easy to copy. A community isn’t. Ask who actually goes to the school. A place that’s all international families gives your child a very different experience than one that’s genuinely mixed.
We’re roughly fifty-fifty, local Costa Rican and international. That balance is the whole point. It’s how a child becomes truly bilingual and how a new family stops feeling like outsiders. When you tour a school, ask for the real ratio. It tells you more than any mission statement.
Pin Down the Bilingual Reality
“Bilingual” means wildly different things at different schools. Ask exactly how it works. At Ballena, English Language Arts and Math are taught in English, Spanish Language Arts and Social Studies in Spanish, and Science is a mix, so language is the medium, not a single daily class. Make any school you consider show you the actual structure.
Don’t Skip the Practical Stuff
The unglamorous questions matter most. How big are the classes? Ours are fifteen or fewer. What support exists if a child struggles or arrives behind? We keep a dedicated Student Support Services team for exactly that. What’s the school calendar, and does it fit your family’s plans? Ours runs August to mid-June with breaks built around the seasons.
Editor’s note: confirm admissions steps, required documents, and deadlines before publishing.
Come See It
The single best thing you can do is visit. Photos lie by omission. A tour tells the truth. When you’re ready, schedule a tour and bring your real questions. The right school will welcome every one of them.
