Today, November 23rd, we departed San Jose, but first we stopped by the Blue Valley School on the outskirts of the city. Blue Valley is clearly a school for upper class and upper middle class students. It's an independent school founded in 1989 by Mwaria Cristina Gutierrez de Urbina. She remains head of the school til this day.
Lower grades are structured in Montessori style and are divided by age, but upper grade classes are mixed grade levels. Class sizes average 18. At 8 o'clock the Montessori Academy has DEAR (Drop Everything and Read). High school starts at 7th grade.
The high school runs on two schedules. The traditional Costa Rican schedule starts in February and ends in December. The IB (International Bacculaureate) schedule starts in August and ends in June. Classical music starts each day signaling that its time to go into class.
The high school has a community servcie initiative called ADA. The students tutor local children in reading and writing. It is an elective course in which they receive school credit. The students volunteer 80 hours each term, and are with the children once per week. They keep a weekly log that tracks their pupils' progress. Each session must incorporate reading, writing, and drawing. They also help them prepare for end of year examinations. The
FAJ program focuses on tutoring high school kids. These are students from lower income households. They get out of school early every Wednesday to come to Blue Valley for tutoring. This is an extra curricular program and not a school course. These tutoring programs are aimed at preventing dropouts.
Only 10.6 % of Costa Rica population speaks English. There is more demand for English speakers in the production industry the National English Plan was developed in order to bridge that gap. The program was founded in 2008. The FAJ program students learn English from the Blue Valley students. We are introduced to two students from the program, Daniel and Walter. They proudly show off their English skills and explain how this will make them desirable workers to a future employer.
Lower grades are structured in Montessori style and are divided by age, but upper grade classes are mixed grade levels. Class sizes average 18. At 8 o'clock the Montessori Academy has DEAR (Drop Everything and Read). High school starts at 7th grade. 
The high school runs on two schedules. The traditional Costa Rican schedule starts in February and ends in December. The IB (International Bacculaureate) schedule starts in August and ends in June. Classical music starts each day signaling that its time to go into class.
The high school has a community servcie initiative called ADA. The students tutor local children in reading and writing. It is an elective course in which they receive school credit. The students volunteer 80 hours each term, and are with the children once per week. They keep a weekly log that tracks their pupils' progress. Each session must incorporate reading, writing, and drawing. They also help them prepare for end of year examinations. The
FAJ program focuses on tutoring high school kids. These are students from lower income households. They get out of school early every Wednesday to come to Blue Valley for tutoring. This is an extra curricular program and not a school course. These tutoring programs are aimed at preventing dropouts. 
Only 10.6 % of Costa Rica population speaks English. There is more demand for English speakers in the production industry the National English Plan was developed in order to bridge that gap. The program was founded in 2008. The FAJ program students learn English from the Blue Valley students. We are introduced to two students from the program, Daniel and Walter. They proudly show off their English skills and explain how this will make them desirable workers to a future employer.
No comments:
Post a Comment