Need insiders advice on school for our son

RanCin

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Oct 20, 2003
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We are coming there 11/01/03 to look at property for a move there. We have choosen to settle in Sosua and have a 13 year old son. He will finish 8th grade before we move. We saw the prices for the international school (US$5,200 yearly) and decided we would like to home school him instead. Are any of you already doing this for your children and do you know the laws? We have spent many many hours of research and have read every post here and seen every DR related site that there is. However if any one has any other advice we would greatly appreciate it. Thanks... in advance :)
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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Why not send him to the "BEST" Dominican highschool

in Sosua,so he will become fluent in Spanish,and meet his Dominican peers? Then "Home School" him as well,so he will not fall behind in his "Native" studies!CC
 

wtf2001

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Aug 22, 2003
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Excellent comment

That was a very interesting comment Criss made. Probably pretty keen too.

There is alot to be said for learning social skills in school as well as the problem solving ones. If you are going to invest yourself into education of your child, why not be extremely active with his public schooling rather than taking the burden of being a full-time teacher yourself?

I have heard nothing but great things about ISS. 5200 a year isn't much by US standards for private schooling. I have heard the instructors there are top notch by international standards. Unless I learn otherwise, our 6 year old boy will go there as well.


Just a comment from a peanut in the gallery.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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Please think of where your son will be living and going to college

if you plan to make the DR his home and his future here, than you had better educate him in Spanish and do the home schooling.

If you are thinking about him going to college in the States or Canada, then you had better send him to the best school around, and still stand on him at home.

This would mean sending him to Santiago or Puerto Plata, depending on what he is thinking of doing. New Horizons just opened up a school here and they have a very good rep.

I am sorry, I do not know much about ISS.

HB
 

RanCin

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Oct 20, 2003
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First of all thank you all for your helpful advice... Hillbilly I looked into the New Horizons and it's for struggling and troubled kids. Our David (born in Mexico) is as bright as they come and more well behaved than the average teenager...or adult.. though he is still young and we know there will be days and we'll keep them in mind. lol And as far as the $5200... no it's not bad for private school but would mean the difference in our budget to move soon or wait years. We will be on a limited budget but think that you can't pay for a life style like the one there. Still wondering if any one home schools there now? Maybe it would be good transition and then in a year or two put him in regular school. He speaks more spanish than I do now!
 

RanCin

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Oct 20, 2003
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David is qiet shy but very mature for his age. We also have two older boys. One's a 23 yr. old graphic artist (he works in San Diego now to be near the beach) and he will be moving with us. He's hundreds of miles from us now. He get's a trust fund in a year (from when his Dad died) and will decide then but wants to live his life there. Our other son 21 yrs. old is a Marine (served in Iraq during the war) and due to an injury will be getting a medical discharge. He's the real beach lover and hated that we moved from Hawaii. So we could easily see him taking his disability check and moving there too eventually. All of our boys are independent, confident and have kind hearts. We will only ever incourage them to do what truley keeps them learning and makes them happy. The education our older boys got here was ok but sometimes life experience is more important. I'm so long winded I'll have to post again to sum it up. :)
 

RanCin

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Oct 20, 2003
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So basically besides the added info on us... I suppose we are asking if the one's of you with real experince there... think we should put our move on hold because of the schooling and smaller budget problem or go for it? We like to make important decisions with as much info and imput as possible... We'll still follow our hearts of course but maybe miss a few pitfalls along the way. And by smaller budget I mean a nice home ($75,000) and $2,000-2,500 a month income. Maybe the school would be no problem with that kind of money? Well, can't wait to meet some of you on our visit... We love to play guitar... sing... cook great food and share with friends old and new! OK had to stop and laugh... it sounds like we're signing up for a dating
service... but we are just very open and humble people.
If we make this move we can only learn more about others and ourselves and if we wait will the same opportunities still be there in 5 years? Like anyone really knows... that one. LOL
 

Jane J.

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Jan 3, 2002
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While ISS is a good school, I don't feel it's a great school - for $5,200 I would expect a bit more. The grounds are fabulous, although isolated, and the kids are typical rich-o snob-o. "How many cars does your papi have? Only two? We have threeeeeee.." :ermm: (If that's not the case anymore, I apologize, but it certainly was when I worked there in 1996.)

There is also Cristobal Colon in Sosua, which I think is also a good school, and even better if the child is somewhat motivated. My husband's niece who lives in Spain spent a year there (she was 15 then) and according to her, the curriculum was similar to her school at home. There's also a nice mix of local and foreign kids, who speak Spanish, French, German, Italian, English etc. Tuition would be considerably less.
 

Escott

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Jan 14, 2002
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Wow 5200 dollars seems out of line from what I have heard. I paid 8900 dollars a year for 6th grade in NYS but that is a horse of a different color. My daughter decided she wanted public school in 7th grade for the first time in her life. I just got her report card and she got 89 in chorus because she talks too much and is too social according to her teacher but got between 90-100 in every other subject and 95-100 in what I consider the 3 most important ones.

I am happy about the change in schools since I save 9k a year and she is still doing great.

I think I would still be looking somewhat of a private school and the one Jane is recommending sounds like something I would try first for different reasons expressed.

Good luck and I look forward to meeting you in Sosua.

Escott
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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RanCin, I recall a past post by Mainer when she talked about a school in Sosua where all the children were using a home/school type program, but their work was supervised by a couple of teachers. As I recall from her post, it was much less expensive. Whether there are children the age of your son, I don't know, but it would be another option to consider. If you search the archives for posts by Mainer I believe you will find it. She and her family have since left because of some family issues, but I know finding a school for her kids was an important consideration and she did write about it on the board on several occasions.
 

GirlieGirl

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Jun 19, 2003
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Not to beat the topic to death...

ISS is very good curriculum wise... previous poster is correct... snob heaven, but then again... what private school is not? Home schooling I am not sure would be the best sole decision for a child of that age moving to another country. I would want to make sure that the child was subjected to being around people as much as possible... meaning school... in conjunction with a possible home tutoring program. I would come here and check out the various schools... spend a day in each one... see which one he likes or interacts with best. Somebody here once told me that all these oppinions and advice are great but mean nothing until you get out their and look for yourself. It was true... Thanks BB;)

GG
 

mainer

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Mar 22, 2002
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Homeschooling in the DR

We homeschooled in the DR for four months. There basically are no Dominican laws to worry about.

As Ken said, there are schools that use a homeschool curriculum, School of Tomorrow. One is at Colegio Nueva Vida up to grade 8, I believe. High Schoolers can be taught at the school run by Dr Bob. I cannot remember the name of the school, but as you go from Sosua to Cabarete, it is the first right past the coastal station.

There are several home schools that will give your child a diploma from an accredited school. School of Tomorrow, A Beka, and Alpha Omega are three of them. They are all three Christian curriculm, with A Beka being the strongest academic curriculum.

Homeschooling is not hard, and you will really form a strong bond with your child. Many expats homeschool their children. There are also Correspondence schools (non-Christian) in which you can enroll your child. You just need to be sure that they are accredited. Colleges in the US accept homeschooled students, and they also accept diplomas from accredited schools, including homeschools.

In my opinion, ISS offers about what an average public school in the US would offer for your child. My children did not attend the school, but I talked to many parents and children who used the school. Several parents actually thought the Learning Center in Sosua is a better school. That is in town somewhere. I didn't check it out, but have heard great things about it.

One issue that I did not consider before our move was the influence of children of other foreign cultures on my kids. I don't know how to word this without slamming other cultures. I guess that I can say that people from other countries have varying degrees of expectations for their children. The English schools in the DR are like a mini United Nations. Great Culturally, but the behavior of many of the kids leaves a little to be desired.

We are in year four of homeschooling. I would be happy to answer any specific questions if you would like to email me.

Mainer