The Monteverde Friends School strives to be a place where students and teachers can live and learn in a context of peace, honesty, openness, self-worth, creativity, work, sharing, personal responsibility, and respect for and understanding of others. It is as much a place of community development, personal growth and spiritual awareness, as it is an educational institution While excellence in instruction is certainly one of the goals of the school, it is to be achieved in an atmosphere of cooperation, friendship, and respect for the individual.

The school was initially set up by the Friends Meeting to create a place where children of the original settlers could learn and grow. The school has been an exciting opportunity for parents, Meeting and community to work together to offer children a nurturing and healthful environment. To make this environment successful it is important to be aware that our homes must maintain and support the values that are central to the school. Since its inception, the mission of the school has shifted from one of solely educating the children of Quakers coming from the United States to providing education for children from the surrounding area. This shift is reflected in the make-up of the student body and the fact that instruction is bilingual in the early grades. At the same time that the school and the meeting have taken on this new role, they have been careful to recognize the limits of their ability to accommodate the rising demand in the area for the kind of education that Monteverde Friends School offers. Any and all growth to meet part of this demand must take place within those limits.

MFS seeks to educate the whole child. Therefore we tend to integrate curriculum rather than specialize. Recognizing that the compartmentalization of subjects is an artificial division that does not reflect real life, instruction at the Friends School seeks to find ways to connect the various subjects to each other. Many important aspects of an MFS education do not happen in the classrooms or around academic studies. Interaction with teachers and peers, planned trips in the zone, and the Friends Meeting all play a vital role in the education of our students.

Each student at MFS is seen as a unique individual with particular interests and abilities which deserve recognition. Instructional methods are designed to be flexible so as not to repress the natural curiosity with which a child starts school, but rather offer a happy, stimulating and positive experience. Integrity is an important feature of the way members of the school community treat each other. We also emphasize cooperation rather than competition. Constructive communication among teachers and with parents is given a high priority. While MFS is not a college preparatory
school, the teachers and others have traditionally worked to provide support for those students who wished to pursue that goal.

As a Friends’ school, MFS operates on the principle that spiritual development is as important as intellectual and physical development. The religious tradition of each student is respected. Moments of silence and other times of “togetherness” are an important part of the school day. The all school assembly at the start of each day provides a time for religious and inspirational readings, singing, news and announcements or group games. The mid-week meeting for worship is a central part
of the education offered by MFS. All students and teachers attend every week, and much of the morning is spent preparing for meeting through lessons or activities in each class and a time for the whole school to sing together. Setting aside so much time for spiritual matters demonstrates the importance of religion in an MFS education At the same time, we believe that our religious beliefs are best expressed in the way we meet each situation as it arises in the day-to-day running of the school.

Each teacher has their own style and approach, and we recognize the importance of allowing teachers who work at MFS to find their own way of gathering and presenting material. It is also true, however, that there are certain qualities which we feel very important. Among these are : sensitivity to each student’s needs ; an ability to stimulate the desire to learn ; and a capacity for connecting the interests of the child with the resources available. Also important is that the teachers are able to
draw the children together into a working group.

The atmosphere at MFS is friendly and informal. Nonetheless, courteous and caring behavior is expected in the students’ dealing with their teachers and their peers. Similarly, disciplinary measures that in any way humiliate or intimidate students are to be avoided. Profane and vulgar language by either students or teachers is not acceptable. From the teachers’ example and instruction children can learn more positive and productive methods of expressing themselves. We strive to make a fundamental belief in the dignity of each individual human being the basis for how
we treat each other within the school community.

The use of alcohol of tobacco on school grounds by anyone is not acceptable. The use of drugs such as marijuana and cocaine is illegal in Costa Rica and we abide by these laws.

To set aims and ideals is to deal with intangibles of the human spirit. Once written down, these goals are often difficult to achieve. While we frequently fall short, they do serve as important guideposts amidst the bustle and hurry of each school day. These are not intended to serve as a manual for the day-to-day running of the school, but rather to set out the larger mission in both the lives of its students and in the larger community.