San Salvador, El Salvador Report of what it's like to live there - 10/05/11
Personal Experiences from San Salvador, El Salvador
School Name:
Colegio Los Robles
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
parent
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
3-5
3. During what years were you affiliated with this school?
2007-2009
4. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
USG employee at Embassy San Salvador
Admissions & Welcome:
1. Are the admissions and placement procedures clearly stated to prospective families, either on the school website or through other means of communication?
A, Los Robles is very clear on the website regarding admissions and were clear in their communications to me during the process
2. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
A+, we felt very welcome and appreciated the efforts by the staff to reach out to us to let us know how our son was doing
Administration & School Procedures:
1. Describe the general climate of the grade level that you teach or your child attends:
Very productive! Los Robles is a small school, but very focused on the needs of each child. Colegio Los Robles is the "little school that could", and we loved our experience there. After being in a gigantic "American School" at a previous Latin American post, this is just what my son needed. The drawback is that the school is half-English language, half-Spanish language. My son arrived speaking so-so Spanish, but with extra tutoring the first year he quickly excelled and left the school speaking, reading and writing fluent Spanish.
2. For the following attributes, down to the next blank box, grade your experience at the school on a scale of A (excellent) to F (unacceptable/terrible) and provide comments:<br><br>Overall fair and equitable treatment of all students and families:
A, My son was only one of a handful of expat students, but was never made to feel different or singled out.
3. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
A, really great effort made by the staff to inform me when there were issues and productive parent/teacher conferences
4. Services for gifted students who need academic challenge and students with learning difficulties:
A, My son excelled in math and science. The school created a separate curriculum for him to work one on one with an instructor a few days a week then with a high school class once per week when he was just in fifth grade.
5. Availability and variety of after-school activities for various ages:
C, Los Robles is a very small school, which limited the possibilities for electives and after-school activities
6. Maintenance of appropriately high standards for all students:
A, Los Robles' administration were very clear about their standards for student performance and conduct, and students all seemed well aware of what was expected of them
7. Homework assigned (quality, quantity):
A, not too much, but challenging. Great project work for science fair!
8. Administration-parent communication:
A, same as teacher-parent communication
9. Teacher-student communication:
A, my son loved the small classes and the several one-on-one sessions each week
10. Academics, answer the following questions "yes" or "no" with an explanation if appropriate:<br><br>Are there any classes or subjects where students are not appropriately challenged?
This is not the school to learn U.S. history!
11. Does your child receive any special-needs assistance or instruction at this school? If yes, what types? Who provides services and where:
My son received advanced math and science instruction in the form of one-on-one sessions with a teacher and then interaction with high school math and science classes. The first year he also received one-on-one sessions with the school counselor twice a week to ease the transition from his previous school.
12. Do you believe the special-needs assistance is appropriate and fills your needs? Explain:
Yes, and appeared to be far more expansive than what was offered at Escuela Americana at the time.
13. Does the gifted and talented program meet the needs of students? Please explain:
Yes, because the school is so small they are really attuned to the individual student's needs and have the flexibility to customize the student's schedule accordingly.
14. Does the school offer a wide variety of elective or non-core classes such as art, music, and drama?
They did offer music appreciation and art, and had a couple of big school-wide productions each year. But the size of the school did limit the options.
15. Please describe any classes or programs that you believe are missing:
none
16. Are there academic requirements such as trips or other activities that cost money in addition to school fees?
There were a few local field trips, inexpensive
17. What activities do you feel are missing?
Sports, after-school clubs
18. Have your children participated in the activities offered? If no, please indicate why:
n/a
19. Does the school provide appropriate assistance to new students?
YES! The advantage of being in a small school was that no new student was ever lost in the shuffle or left to find friends amongst students who had all already been together many years.
20. Please describe any problem areas or challenges in social interaction at the school:
Older kids who have little or no Spanish-speaking ability would find it difficult, the recess chatter was almost exclusively in Spanish
Academics & Resources:
1. What personal or academic counseling resources are available at this school? Is there a dedicated college counselor at the school? Is he/she familiar with universities worldwide?
A, also great. After struggling at a big "american school" the two previous years, my son had some behavioral issues the first year at Los Robles. They very quickly identified a strategy to help him transition and then kept me in the loop with his progress.
2. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
B
3. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
B
4. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
B
5. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
A+, very small school, with 5-10 students per grade.
6. Are Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses available in upper grades? If this is an IB school, is the full diploma required of all students?
B, I believe Los Robles offers IB courses but my son was in elementary.
7. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
Yes
8. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
C, Los Robles is a very small school, which limited the possibilities for electives and after-school activities
9. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
The school is taught half in English, half in Spanish. They do have an English language class as well as a Spanish language class. Math and Science were taught in English, most others in Spanish.
10. What services are available for gifted/advanced students at the school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
Yes, math and science, provided by instructors (one-on-one).
11. What extra-curricular activities (including sports) are available at this school? Have your children participated in these activities? What activities do you feel are missing at the school?
There are a few, but again the size of the school limited those opportunities
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
Yes, my son made a lot of very close local friends at this school
2. Are there are any problems with exclusionary behavior, cliques, or bullying at this school? Please describe any problems your children may have experienced in this area.
NO. School standards were set high and bullying was not tolerated in any form. The kids really seemed to love the school and positive environment set by the administration.
Overall Impressions:
1. What is the greatest strength of this school?
The administration and small size
2. Greatest challenge?
Lack of resources/ after-school activities, also due to its small size
3. Would you choose this school again? Why?
Absolutely. We left San Salvador a few years ago but my son still raves about Los Robles. I'd encourage anyone headed to Salvador to seriously consider it as an alternative to Escuela Americana.
