Best bilingual school in the country?

[hatuey13]

I know the most expensive is Carol Morgan..but is it the best?
Some people say i's Abraham Lincoln School From La Romana....others say it's The American School and ABC...from the capital..how about Santiago Christian School? I think education wise ALS is in the top list...what do u guys think????

 

[aegap]

I don't which currently is, but I can tell you some years from now this will be the one:

Heritage School At Cap Cana

 

[hatuey13]

i was actually reading about it...seems to be very well administrated school.....hope it becomes an elite school like the others mentioned....to compete with ALS it has to come up with a very good faculty.....sometimes school have all the money and don't invest on the best teachers.....best wishes for this school....we need more good bilingual schools...i'm wondering if we will be having more but maybe cheaper bilingual schools....is it hard to find americans with some spanish knowledge willing to get paid less to teach kids in DR for them to have a brighter future.....

 

[Chirimoya]

The sticky schools thread in the Living Forum has a recent post by a teacher who defines "bi-lingual" and explains why very few schools in the DR actually fit that description. New Horizons is one of them. Many of the schools people think are "bi-lingual" are actually American schools with some lessons in Spanish, to keep with DR Education Ministry guidelines.

In my opinion, there are a number of very good schools, each with particular strengths. The one that I personally rate the highest is the Community for Learning in Santo Domingo.

 

[aegap]

here's their website:

The Community For Learning Online

via, ..

List of schools in the Dominican Republic

 

[Mirador]

...The one that I personally rate the highest is the Community for Learning in Santo Domingo.

...of course it has the highest rate, with a yearly tuition (K-12) of about US$50.000 per year/student. In my book its way overrated.

 

[Chirimoya]

Mirador, where on earth did you get that figure???

 

[aegap]

...of course it has the highest rate, with a yearly tuition (K-12) of about US$50.000 per year/student. In my book its way overrated.

holly ****! ..that's more than a grad at Harvard would pay.

..I doubt that's how much they actually charge, or else they would be out of business by now.

 

[Mirador]

sorry, typo

 

[Chirimoya]

It's probably nearer US$4,000-US$5,000 (based on what a friend who has two children there told me recently) in the same bracket as New Horizons and St Michael, and considerably less than Carol Morgan and St George.

 

[Robert]

I hear lots of very good things about The Community For Learning.

Maybe one of our regular posters would like to chime in and post some details?

 

[expatsooner]

If there were five different families looking for the "best" school in the DR they may well decide upon five different schools between them. The first thing to do is sit down and decide what is important to you in the terms of short and long range goals for your child's education. Knowing if you want your child to end up pursuing post-secondary education in the United States or Britian for example should influence your decision about the school they attend. You want your child to go to UK university? ALS would be the best choice.

If you feel the physical plant of the school should offer multiple athletic venues or if you are interested in your child being able to have access to competative athletic teams that travel to other countries to play in tournaments then you should perhaps look at Carol Morgan School.

Want your child to really improve their Spanish and be exposed to more native Spanish teachers and for your child to receive a Dominican diploma and to attend university in the DR? St. George might be a great option for you.

In the DR temporarily for a job and need your child to stay fluent in French for the move back home? Then the French speaking schools are a good choice. Etc, etc, etc.

The most important thing to keep in mind when choosing a school is to look for one that most closely matches the educational/lifestyle needs of your child and family. Do your research and talk to someone connected to the school other than the admissions officer. Go to the school before dismissal time and strike up a conversation with several different parents - esp. those with children around the age of your own. Don't ask just one parent's views. Ask to sit in on classes for part of the day and see if your child would "fit" in well with what you observe.

You must know what you are looking for in a school before you can decide what is the "best" option for you.

 

[hatuey13]

ALS graduates actually enroll more in US universities.....they even offer scholarships for the best student to go to LSU in Louisiana. Big percentage of students from ALS do got Santo Domingo universities....the others go to the US....almost everytime about 10% of the class....somewhere around that percentage......sometimes theres less sometimes almost all of the class goes abroad........Sports wise....ALS has an exellent golf to offer students....graduates of ALS have been part of the dominican teams a few times......representing our country aroun a few countries...i can mention a few names.....Michael Gil....Antonio Olivo...Ramon Campechano.....Dominique Gagnon...theres more.......so...yeah ALS has a good sports program.....golf dominates more though......Carol Morgan i hear its a very good school....it tends to deal more with sports in general.....I myself competed agianst Carol Morgan in different sports......including baseball....basketball...volleyball....soccer....they have an exellent sports program......education wise i haven't heard that much.....The American School was mentioned a lot before don't know what happened to it.....i know in general....all these schools have some sort of merit....most of them are too expensive....thats for sure......

 

[expatsooner]

ALS graduates actually enroll more in US universities.....they even offer scholarships for the best student to go to LSU in Louisiana. Big percentage of students from ALS do got Santo Domingo universities....the others go to the US....almost everytime about 10% of the class....somewhere around that percentage......sometimes theres less sometimes almost all of the class goes abroad........

That is true but I'm not addressing where others go, just if a student has a goal to study in the UK ALS has more Brit teachers and their curriculm is the closest to UK standards so it is the logical place to enroll if that is your long term goal.

Sports wise....ALS has an exellent golf to offer students....graduates of ALS have been part of the dominican teams a few times......representing our country aroun a few countries...i can mention a few names.....Michael Gil....Antonio Olivo...Ramon Campechano.....Dominique Gagnon...theres more.......so...yeah ALS has a good sports program.....golf dominates more though. Carol Morgan i hear its a very good school....it tends to deal more with sports in general.....I myself competed agianst Carol Morgan in different sports......including baseball....basketball...volleyball....soccer....they have an exellent sports program......education wise i haven't heard that much.....

Lots of very good golfers (of course Dominique had a bit of an advantage considering her father's job ) I am speaking of team sports and CMS does have better facilities/opportunities for playing abroad than ALS excepting that ALS could use the pool at the club behind the teacher's apartments for class if they wanted. What years did you play against CMS? Perhaps I saw you play. We know quite a few of the teachers that used to be at ALS - Mr. Smith, Mr. Saunders and others whose last names I can't remember.


The American School was mentioned a lot before don't know what happened to it.....i know in general....all these schools have some sort of merit....most of them are too expensive....thats for sure......

The American School is nice, it had some of the American Embassy kids attending it when I lived in the DR. Yes many of these schools are very expensive but keep in mind that due to simple laws of economics these schools could not continue to stay open if there weren't enough families in the position to pay the fees. And to be fair the prices are probably a little low compared to the average fees of comparable private schools world wide. I would judge the cost average for Latin/South American schools.

CMS does receive grants from the US embassy but it is not the "official" embassy school. Most of the children from the embassy do attend CMS but their parents are free to enroll them in any school that they would like and the embassy pays the bill. I know families that enroll younger children especially in another school, say the Mondtessori school; and their older children would attend CMS since they felt it most closely replicates an American school experience. These are people that due to temporary jobs, embassy based or otherwise know that they are returning to the US and do not want their child out of an American based education loop.

 

[hatuey13]

who knows if u saw me compete...maybe....i was more known for playing basketball we won the 1st championship in CMS i was the MVP back then.....han an injured arm.....Dominique was in my class....we graduated together......all u say it's true about bilingual schools...or english schools how ever ppl want to call it.....u graduated at CMS? yes......those teachers are no longer in ALS i heard..Mr. Saunders is in Beijing (i think) and Mr. Smith left with his wife Ms. Smith maybe to Scotland..don't know..i know miss Guilmore left too.......a lot of them are not there any more....