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Spanish / Bilingual Elementary Schools

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sontek

Hello!  My wife and I are moving to Puerto Rico next summer.   We are from Florida and are both computer programmers, we work remote so we won't be looking for work or anything.

The big thing we are trying to plan and figure out is where we will send our children to school.  We have a son who will be starting first grade next fall and then another who will be in preschool.

None of us speak spanish but it is going to play a major part of why we are moving there, so we don't want to be in an all english speaking school or an all gringo neighborhood.

Do any of you have recommendations for good bilingual or spanish speaking schools?  We don't mind private school and have the finances for it as long as they maintain some type of diversity so we aren't going to a 100% english speaking expat school.

We do need non-sectarian since we are non-believers :)

Justpeachyy

You should ask this question next year. PR has no power or water and who knows how much damage the schools have sustained.

sontek

I understand that the current state of things is rough, but I do believe that there is plenty of information to learn about the schools now without having to wait a year.

we are going to visit the schools before we make the choice, so if they don't recover we can choose another school. But I'd like to start building a list so I can start communicating with the schools and scheduling tours.

Justpeachyy

Best of luck.

GuestPoster550

Where on the island are you moving to? That kind of dictates where you should be looking at schools :)

sontek

I'm letting the school dictate where I move on the island :)    The move is mostly to expose the boys to a bilingual education.   In Florida there are a few bilingual schools the programs are limited.

NomadLawyer

This topic has been covered at length on this forum. Look up those posts.

sontek

I've read every post that mentioned elementary school and found very little info on bilingual elementary schools. Do you have specific posts you are thinking of that cover my questions?

marathomama

I think Marista is bilingual which is in Guaynabo as well as San Ignacio which is coed up until high school.

SSABRINA6

I live in Palmas Del Mar and chose Palmas much because of the school. TPA is a private school and has a large expat presence but it is primarily attended by Puerto Rican kids especially at the elementary level. My daughter is in second grade. Her class of 12 has Asian, Indian, Puerto Rican, American kids. In the school, there are kids from France, Korea, England, Mexico, Middle East that I am aware of. In the second grade class more than 1/3 take SSL class.  Neighborhoods vary in the mix of course but my daughter tends to gravitate to friends who speak English first, her predominantly Spanish speaking friends are ones she made in camp during the summers. The small classes at palmas though pretty much guaranty submersion and improved language skills. The Palmas community is much like a small town. Hope that helps but if you have specific questions dont hesitate to ask.

MLSR

Look at the Robinson School in San Juan. It’s got amazing credentials and is secular. Many local kids go there.  Also, it’s hard to find secular friends/community here. We have been lucky to find a few so feel free to stay in touch on that level with me.

davidtx

Check out Arts and Beyond in Rincón.  It's not religious which was important for us as well.

https://www.facebook.com/RinconSTEAMeducation/

When we left last week they were in session with reduced hours.  Our kids were enrolled and enjoyed it, but I'm a developer who works remotely as well so we had to leave so I could work... good luck!

David

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