The Monteverde Friends School serves students from preschool through high school. It is committed to small, multi-age classrooms. A typical classroom has two grades with a total of twelve students. Founded 50 years ago by the original Quaker settlers who arrived in Monteverde, it now predominantly serves local Costa Rican children, as well as children of North American parents and Meeting members. Half of all our students receive scholarships of some kind.

Our pre-school and kindergarten emphasizes bilingual skills, self-directed activities and children-to-children learning. Our kinder staff always consists of a fluent Spanish speaker and a native English speaker who team teach. Kinder children spend only mornings at school. Younger children come three days a week, while the older ones usually come every day. We recognize the need for physical and social development through lots of play, stories and music.

Primary school at MFS is lively and hands on. Children begin reading and writing in their native language and then are encouraged to use their second language in these areas. A main classroom teacher has the children two-thirds of each day, teaching language arts, social studies, science and math principally in English. A Spanish and Costa Rican social studies teacher fills out the other third of the day in Spanish, along with weekly music, art, and physical education classes. The school’s
commitment to helping people find peaceful solutions to conflict begins with our youngest children in workshops, class meetings and town meetings.

Middle and high school classes are taught by several teachers, who each cover two different subject areas. Again, math, science, language arts and history are taught primarily in English with reinforcement of the same vocabulary in Spanish. Spanish language arts and Costa Rican social studies are taught in Spanish. We prepare students who wish to take national 6th and 9th grade tests. Community service, apprenticeships, participation in local research projects, and field trips complement our normal academic work. Music, P.E., and art are taught as well. Visiting foreign
students enrich the body of older students at MFS. High school students also participate in each decision-making committee at the school. Younger students benefit from tutoring or mentorship by older ones. Some MFS students attend university in the United States, while others go to Costa Rican university; some graduates go right to work after graduation or begin a family.

Many of our teachers are Quakers. More than half come to us from the U.S. or Canada. Others are residents of the community, both Costa Rican and North American. The Monteverde Meeting lends its warm support through making its buildings available, its presence on the policy-making School Committee, and its commitment to attending the school’s educational, fun, and work events, and
nurturing our teaching staff.

The school is rich in human resources and enjoys growing classroom libraries in English and Spanish. The Monteverde Meeting’s library (12,000 volumes) is open to the school each day. Computers are available to students in the third grade and above. Internet use is just beginning at MFS. A soccer field, basketball court, playground equipment, and surrounding woods ensure we all spend lots of time outside. We are proud to have a special education teacher for the first time this year. Parents play a vital role in the MFS community: some participate as classroom volunteers, translators, drivers on field trips, fund raisers, and maintenance and cleaning people on work days. We believe children do better when they see their parents working at their school. Regular conferences with teachers and reports home keep parents, students and staff connected.