Dominican Schools

[audboogie]

I have a few questions for those that are familiar with Dominican schools....first, how equivalent is the DR school system with US? meaning, is highschool just as difficult and challenging in the DR as it is in the US? i am assuming no, and would like if someone could give me an idea of the comparison.....ex 10th grade in DR is equivilant to 8th grade in US?

another question, the students who go to for example universities in the US, do they just come from the private schools that are expensive in the DR? like Abraham Lincoln? or is it possible for a student to attend a public school in DR and get a good enough education to be accepted in a US university? (obviously i have no clue...maybe this happens all the time?)

another...what is the schooling required to be a public teacher in the DR? as compared to US where u need a bachelors degree/teaching cert/masters eventually?

and finally, could anyone tell me what the average salary is for a teacher in a public school in DR? private school in DR? are the teachers in the private schools mostely foreigners or Dominicans?

as you can see, im trying to figure out the DR school system....

 

[Hillbilly]

On paper, Dominican schools are far beyond US schooling.
Reality, however, is an entirely different thing.
1) Teachers are poorly paid--in the neighborhood of $150-$200 a month per session-> Morning, afternoon or evening
2) There are only minimal facilities in many, many schools and even the most inspired of teachers has a hard time teaching with no logistical support.
3) There are government programs that award scholarships to foreign universities--and most, if not all, of these kids take to the new educational environment like ducks to water. And these kids come from the public schools!
4) At the very best schools, Da Vinci, De la Salle, Loyola, New Horizons, Babeque and probably a few others, the kids get a good education, certainly enough to make it in an elite US college environment- Harvard, Yale, Northwestern, Stanford etc...
5) There are teacher certification programs and Continual Learning/In Service programs for teachers. Not all take them, but those that do are enthusiastic.

HB

 

[lucel]

do you have the website for new horizon school in DR?

thank you

 

[Mirador]

do you have the website for new horizon school in DR?

thank you

http://gcnewhorizons.net/colegiox/

Check out my friend Livito's page (http://www.livio.com/). He's got the websites for every Dominican school and everything else Dominican and/or internet related.

 

[RHM]

http://gcnewhorizons.net/colegiox/

Check out my friend Livito's page (http://www.livio.com/). He's got the websites for every Dominican school and everything else Dominican and/or internet related.

Lawrence, Massachusetts has the largest Dominican population outside of NYC. The Lawrence Eagle Tribune www.eagletribune.com has several articles in it right now about how far behind the Dominican students are. It is an interesting read.

Scandall

 

[dresposa]

New Horizons is nice, but it doesnt pay much at all. First of all they only pay in pesos, and when coverted to US dollar it equals about 800 a month. Who can live off of 800 a month?

 

[HOWMAR]

New Horizons is nice, but it doesnt pay much at all. First of all they only pay in pesos, and when coverted to US dollar it equals about 800 a month. Who can live off of 800 a month?

Obviously you have no appreciation of salaries in the DR. $800 is approx RD@$ 24,000. About double a University professor, government physician. Triple a police officer, government office worker. When you work in the DR, you work on DR pay scale.

 

[carina]

Here in Puerto Plata, even at the private schools, the ones that are considered good schools, such as San Jose, Alic etc the salaries are 8000-11000 pesos monthly.

Many teachers there are doing a wonderful job, and they would be in heaven for 800 US a month. But it won?t happen.

For most employments, schools, in tourism, hotels..whatever you get paid in pesos, as that is the national currency. Even if YOU are a foreigner, this is still DR.

 

[Chris_NJ]

Lawrence, Massachusetts has the largest Dominican population outside of NYC. The Lawrence Eagle Tribune www.eagletribune.com has several articles in it right now about how far behind the Dominican students are. It is an interesting read.

Scandall

Interesting article. Any idea what percentage of the country is educated in those conditions? With the amount of "teaching" those kids were getting it would be a miracle if they could do anything more than spell their names when they reach Lawrence, Mass.

 

[Rick Snyder]

Audboogie your statement "as you can see, im trying to figure out the DR school system" is very interesting and brings forth the question as to why you are researching this? The education system in a lot of countries need improvement, the USA included, but here in the DR it's in really bad shape for a number of reasons. The link that Scandall gave you is interesting reading and might give you a bit of an idea.

There are a large number of countries that offer free or almost free scolarships to Dominican students each year. The requirement, if I remember correctly but I'll research it and get back, is for a 75% GPA.

Below are some links concerning the education system here.

Law of the Dominican Education system;
http://www.jmarcano.com/mipais/cultura/educacion/leyeduca.html

An article on how many students repeat their grade each year;
http://www.listindiario.com.do/antes/mayo05/240505/cuerpos/republica/rep12.htm

Conditions that some of the children here must endure;
http://www.listindiario.com.do/antes/mayo05/040505/cuerpos/republica/rep11.htm

An article on the number of hours of education that a Dominican child receives here each day;
http://www.listindiario.com.do/antes/enero05/250105/cuerpos/republica/rep8.htm

What the Dominican authorities admit to concerning the condition of their education system;
http://www.listindiario.com.do/antes/octubre04/031004/cuerpos/republica/rep3.htm

An article on the percentage of students that drop out before receiving a diploma;
http://www.listindiario.com.do/antes/abril05/210405/cuerpos/republica/rep10.htm

Enjoy.

Rick

 

[bob saunders]

I know that Leonel's government has instituted a program where teachers go to rural area's several days a week to setup programs and teach children that can't get to a regular school. My wife pays her teacher's anywhere from 6000-12000 pesos per month, based on ability and qualifications, public schools pay 10,000-16,000 pesos per month. I don't think that the school system is as bad as the article implies, in that young guy's case, i would say that for the most part; his parents are to blame. There are Catholic schools(private), public schools, and small private schools like my wifes that are no way close resourcewise to the level of the average public school in Canada, then there are the Carole Morgan level private schools that are equal to or better than the average school here in North America. I know that my step-son has to do his English literacy test that is part of the requirement to graduate here, I based on his English marks since grade five, he shouldn't have any problems.

 

[dresposa]

Howmar Howmar Howmar...lol

Like I stated before.... 800 isnt enough. If youre looking to teach in dr... hope you dont mind living a simple life. Now there is a school in Santiago that I heard pays well... and I dont think Carol Morgons pay is half bad. Overall, most schools (at least the private) have an excellent curriculum.. so thats a plus.

 

[juancarlos]

Just out of curiosity, what is the average yearly tuition fee at CMS, Da Vinci, La Salle etc? Just to have an idea.

 

[daddy1]

I know that Leonel's government has instituted a program where teachers go to rural area's several days a week to setup programs and teach children that can't get to a regular school. My wife pays her teacher's anywhere from 6000-12000 pesos per month, based on ability and qualifications, public schools pay 10,000-16,000 pesos per month. I don't think that the school system is as bad as the article implies, in that young guy's case, i would say that for the most part; his parents are to blame. There are Catholic schools(private), public schools, and small private schools like my wifes that are no way close resourcewise to the level of the average public school in Canada, then there are the Carole Morgan level private schools that are equal to or better than the average school here in North America. I know that my step-son has to do his English literacy test that is part of the requirement to graduate here, I based on his English marks since grade five, he shouldn't have any problems.

Bob...maybe you can give me your honest reply..about this theory....back when I was a kid growing up in Jersey I remembered how many of my friends ended up in catholic schools, but left because they were bored of just sitting in class not doing anything but school work, when the catholic school noticed they were losing alot of there students due to public school athletic programs, they started renting out Y.M.C.A. gyms for basketball leagues, and rented city baseball fields for there baseball programs...it's my theory that despite paying the teachers which will help and motivate themselves to teach students, my question is what is there to motivate the students....the drop out rate saids it all, you know that children also suffer some forms of stress, and active young boys and girls need something to shoot for in order to keep there interest and keep up with there grades, or to stay in school rather...this does not garentee anything but the numbers will get lower, I mean if U.S. schools had just a school building with a court yard only and they had no athletic programs or other leisure activities the drop out rate would be enormous here as well.

 

[RHM]

Like I stated before.... 800 isnt enough. If youre looking to teach in dr... hope you dont mind living a simple life. Now there is a school in Santiago that I heard pays well... and I dont think Carol Morgons pay is half bad. Overall, most schools (at least the private) have an excellent curriculum.. so thats a plus.

All schools are different. Some pay poorly (like all of the examples on this thread) and some pay pretty well. You can usually tell by the turnover of teachers and how many foreigners they have. Low paying jobs have high turnover and do not attract great teachers.

Scandall

 

[HOWMAR]

Overall, most schools (at least the private) have an excellent curriculum.. so thats a plus.

Again, you have no appreciation of reality. Even though private schools are better than the public, only a few provide what can be considered an "excellent curriculum". I would estimate that to be a handful nationwide.

 

[Rick Snyder]

The continuos mentioning of private schools here in the DR fails to bring out the fact that very very few of the Dominican population can afford to send their children to said private schools. It is my opinion that the curriculum that presently exists within the Dominican education system is one of the major problems for the education, or lack thereof, that the children here are receiving. All schools public and private must follow the curriculum mandated by the department of education and that's the law. The private school have the sense to add to the mandated curriculum in order to turn out a better student. There are some examples where a public school will add to the curriculum but these are far and few between. The majority of the public schools only teach only what is mandated and therein lies that problem for the majority,above 75%, of all students here in the DR.

Rick

 

[bob saunders]

Bob...maybe you can give me your honest reply..about this theory....back when I was a kid growing up in Jersey I remembered how many of my friends ended up in catholic schools, but left because they were bored of just sitting in class not doing anything but school work, when the catholic school noticed they were losing alot of there students due to public school athletic programs, they started renting out Y.M.C.A. gyms for basketball leagues, and rented city baseball fields for there baseball programs...it's my theory that despite paying the teachers which will help and motivate themselves to teach students, my question is what is there to motivate the students....the drop out rate saids it all, you know that children also suffer some forms of stress, and active young boys and girls need something to shoot for in order to keep there interest and keep up with there grades, or to stay in school rather...this does not garentee anything but the numbers will get lower, I mean if U.S. schools had just a school building with a court yard only and they had no athletic programs or other leisure activities the drop out rate would be enormous here as well.

I agree that athletics are an important parts of school, and not for just the reasons you give. Athletics can also give pride of accomplish, thus giving a child higher self-estem, which with teenagers is critical. It is interesting what you say about Catholic Schools because my experience has been that Catholic school here in Canada have very strong sports programs, and I know the Catholic High School in Jarabacoa has a better athletic program than any of the public high schools. They have almost no organized sports programs.

 

[daddy1]

Kids need constant stimulation, if not.. they will become un-balanced

yeah, now all of the catholic schools have incorporated ahtletic programs, but if you keep these programs out of your school, students will become stressed, and bored otherwise...