San Salvador - School Report Question and Answers
Are other schools available to expatriates in this city? Why did you choose this particular school?
The majority of Embassy families go to Escuela Americana (EA) or Academia Británica Cuscatleca (ABC). There are several other options including French and German Schools and Colegio Internacional de San Salvador, among others. We were deciding between EA an ABC and ultimately chose EA for several reasons. During COVID, ABC was much more conservative with in-person learning and we really did not want to go back to virtual learning. I had also talked to several families that switched from ABC to EA during COVID for that reason. The majority of Embassy families were at EA at the time of our arrival. EA's campus is beautiful, we received a very warm welcome from the admissions team, we wanted to stay in the American curriculum, we liked the various specials and opportunities they offered (for example STEAM), and EA's school day schedule worked better for our family. - Aug 2023
Yes, there are a bunch, most prominently the British school (ABC), the German school, I believe there’s a French school, there are Montessori schools for younger kids. A few local private schools have partially English instruction. Almost all the kids from the U.S. Embassy go to EA or ABC. We were delayed getting to post so I chose EA virtually; they were more communicative, and I had heard there were problems at the British school and a bunch of families were transferring to EA. - Mar 2022
Escuela Americana and German and French schools, plus a few other smaller bilingual schools - Sep 2020
Yes, there's an American school. French and German school as well as some other Bilingual options. We chose the British school because we felt it was more diverse and definitely more hands-on as they use an international primary curriculum for younger grades and an IGSCE and IB program for older kids. They look at the student as a whole and teach them to be global students. They encourage students to be (ROCs) Responsible, outstanding citizens. We felt it was more academic but also just really liked the attention to each student we received from the headmaster and the teachers when we arrived and toured the school. They were very accommodating when we transferred over in the middle of the 2-year IGSCE program. We also like that kids as young as 8th grade can pick electives they like such as drama and music etc. It seems more student-friendly for kids who like to learn in various ways. More hands-on. - May 2018
Yes, there are several good schools in San Salvador. Over the years, embassy families tend to send the majority of kids to either the American school or the British school. When we arrived two years ago, most families sent their kids to the American school. We chose the British school because we liked the curriculum and approach to education better, because it was somewhat smaller than the American school, and because we thought our kids would have more opportunities to learn Spanish. We also heard reports that other schools place heavy emphasis on homework, even at young ages. We have been very happy with our decision. - Nov 2016
