Montessori School

We began our morning with a visit to the Montessori school here in Escazu. Catering to students from birth to five years old, the mission of this school is to provide an explorative classroom environment through guided learning. Restored from a large house 22 years ago, the school and grounds were absolutely beautiful! In what seemed like an endless grassy space, students could roam and play on nearly a dozen different swing sets and jungle gyms. With the natural rainforest-like landscape surrounding us, I had never seen anything like it!

We each were assigned a classroom and began the four hour school day with songs and snacks. The administrators prepared a delicious breakfast of tortillas and mangos for us while we had the chance to interview Montessori's principal. It was the perfect opportunity to get a unique perspective on private education in Costa Rica. The facilities and resources available to these children were truly amazing. Even in such a cozy atmosphere, the students had the opportunity to experience all sorts of learning tools and exercises.

All in all, we were very impressed with the entire atmosphere of the Montessori school and many of us agreed that we would be privledged to be able to send our (future) children there. What a unique and memorable learning experience for both the students and us!

Later this afternoon, we had the chance to visit Yanuario Quesada, the school where we will be executing a service project later this week. The school displayed a sharp contrast to Montessori, although only less than two blocks away. The buildings and structures were clearly much older and received minimal attention and care. Because it is a public school, limited funding and resources are available. We saw the results of this with graffeti walls and broken down equipment and classrooms. The administrators spoke very little English, so it was a challenge just to get acquainted and on the same page.

With students out of school today, we were left to focus on planning our upcoming project. The school is in dire need of an efficient and effective evacuation plan in case of emergency (aka earthquakes). Therefore, it is our job to create permanent signs for each classroom and also map out an updated strategy for getting students to various "safety zones" throughout the school. It will be a big task but a much needed one! We are looking forward to spending the next two days focused on creating the best way possible to benefit these deserving students and teachers!