Guadalajara, Mexico Report of what it's like to live there - 04/26/14
Personal Experiences from Guadalajara, Mexico
School Name:
American school of Guadalajara
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
Both.
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
Second and Fourth.
3. During what years were you affiliated with this school?
2012-2013.
4. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
Government.
5. Are other schools available to expatriates in this city? Why did you choose this particular school?
Recommended by the Consulate.
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?
F- one person does all the admission/placement without consulting the principal, teachers or listening to parents When parents push back, she suggests that the school may not be the right fit.
2. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
F- no one cares; the school's focus is on their funding source (the wealthy locals). There is no program to help new children transition, the academics do not line up with international standards and the non-native speakers are immediately pulled out to a "special Spanish" class which keeps them from learning Spanish and becoming part of their peer group.
Administration & School Procedures:
1. Describe the general climate of the grade level that you teach or your child attends:
95% wealthy heritage families and a very small expat community. Children are segregated for the majority of the day and non-native speakers have a hard time assimilating.
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:
D- the wealthy locals run the school, make the decisions and use their money to influence.
3. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
C- teachers vary, but most information came late or at the last minute.
4. Services for gifted students who need academic challenge and students with learning difficulties:
F- although they claim they can service mild special needs, they are not willing to make any accomodations because it is "not fair" to the rest of the students. There is no understanding of 504 plans, let alone an IEP.
5. Availability and variety of after-school activities for various ages:
C- they are there, but all in Spanish which could be great if the kids didn't exclude and bully the non-native speakers.
6. Maintenance of appropriately high standards for all students:
F- the focus is on the Mexican curriculum. The entire grade-level set up as well as the daily schedule is set up to support this All non-native speakers are segregated to a Spanish class for non-native speakers wherein they spend years "practicing" but never becoming fluent. An inclusion program would resolve this but the school won't consider it because there is fear that it would slow down the Mexican curriculum.
7. Homework assigned (quality, quantity):
D- heavy amounts of homework assigned. 1-2 hours daily.
8. Administration-parent communication:
C- again, most information came late.
9. Teacher-student communication:
D- teacher quality was questionable. Some teachers were less than professional and had negative interactions with students. There were a few amazing teachers that really stood out among the rest.
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?
Yes- because the focus is to get the native speakers to learn English, the language arts program is behind the U.S. equivelent for said grade and Math is a year ahead. They changed the math program while we were there so now parents must choose whether to place their children by age or by curriculum. In relation to U.S. standards, children will be behind by a grade level academically if they are placed with their same-age peers, or correctly placed academically but with children who are 9-18 months older.
11. Does your child receive any special-needs assistance or instruction at this school? If yes, what types? Who provides services and where:
Yes- we hired a teacher to tutor our child when he was misplaced and had to catch up on a year of math.
12. Do you believe the special-needs assistance is appropriate and fills your needs? Explain:
No- there is no real support. The teacher we had was unwilling and unable to accommodate. When forced, he retaliated against the child, suggesting the child did not need accommodations but rather was lazy.
13. Does the gifted and talented program meet the needs of students? Please explain:
14. Does the school offer a wide variety of elective or non-core classes such as art, music, and drama?
Not at the elementary level.
15. Please describe any classes or programs that you believe are missing:
The daily schedule should not have separation for half the day. Children should be immersed and learn together throughout the day.
16. Are there academic requirements such as trips or other activities that cost money in addition to school fees?
Yes and there are many.
17. Have your children participated in the activities offered? If no, please indicate why:
Yes but they quit because there was severe bullying.
18. Does the school provide appropriate assistance to new students?
No - there is no effort to help new students.
19. Please describe any problem areas or challenges in social interaction at the school:
Like I mentioned before, the children are segregated and there is a major "class" issue between the wealthy locals and the international kids. There is no effort to change this at the administrative level due to the financial pressure. Non-native speakers are isolated and bullied. Extracurricular activities are all in Spanish and bullying keeps many out. The school is more of a social club for the mothers and the communication stays in that inner circle, most decisions being made by that core group. There is no consideration for working families, requiring parents to show up at school at the last minute for random reasons.
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?
C- bullying issues were covered at a surface level but no real action was taken to improve the situation.
2. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
A- great library and awesome librarian.
3. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
B-decent program, although teachers sometimes made poor choices on what forms of technology they use with the kids.
4. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
A
5. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
B- 20/23 to 1 .
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?
7. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
Lots of paperwork and repetition. Not very creative.
8. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
B- the extra curricular activities are decent.
9. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
The teachers who teach the English portion of the day are.
10. What services are available for gifted/advanced students at the school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
No.
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?
Yes.
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
No.
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.
Yes, so much so that even teachers at the school have home-schooled their children.
Overall Impressions:
1. What is the greatest strength of this school?
The elementary school principal and the science teacher.
2. Greatest challenge?
All of the above.
3. Would you choose this school again? Why?
Never and I recommend to everyone I speak with to do their research carefully.
