Public Schools
There are several public schools within walking distance of FUSBC. Classroom sizes vary between 40 – 50 children. Children attend 1/2 day with morning and afternoon turns.
These are only in Spanish.
Nearby Private Schools
There are many private schools in Medellín. Most private schools go from 7 am – 3 pm each day and operate on Calendar B. This means the school year begins in Late January and is over in late November.
Walking distance from the seminary is Colegio Ferrini which offers an all-Spanish track and a bilingual English / Spanish track. The bilingual classrooms are less than 20 children per classroom.
A kilometer away is Colegio Panamericano Colombo Sueco which is an all-Spanish Christian school that also offers classes in English (ESL). Class size runs between 30 and 40 children per classroom.
Both of these schools have a once a year matriculation fee averaging $150 per student with monthly tuition fees between $100 – $150 per student. In addition, there is the cost of uniforms and books which costs about $325 per student per year.
Finally, transportation can run between $45 and $100 per month per student depending upon distance from school. From FUSBC to Colombo Sueco, transportation is 70.000 COP per student per month.
There are many smaller Catholic private schools all over Medellin including many near FUSBC.
Other Private Schools
There are quite a few well-known private schools.
One of the best and closest is Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola. A professor’s daughter has gone there for 8 years and speaks highly of it. In addition to a much higher matriculation fee, the monthly tuition fees in 2010 ran between $350 and $400 per student.
The most “American” like school is The Columbus School. The matriculation fee is in the thousands and the monthly tuition fee is over $500 per student. It is located on the opposite side of the mountain about 50 minutes away. DIt offers a US diploma and is bilingual.
We have friends who send their two middle school age girls to a Seven Day Adventist school in Laureles and speak highly of it. They pay $250 USD per month for both girls.
Criteria for Choosing a School
Choosing a school for your children depends on many factors: Distance willing to travel from home to school, budget available for registration, tuition, transportation, uniforms, books, etc., need for Colombian calendar or US calendar, school educational philosophy, etc.
There are too many schools that are private and all-Spanish to list here. The best advice would be to come and visit as many as possible based on your criteria.
What About Homeschool?
Homeschooling your children is not a very popular option in Colombia. Few missionary expats homeschool their children because of the time commitment.
We chose to homeschool our children based upon many factors:
- Flexibility to travel to the states in June (our summer), which would mean Colombian schools would be in session
- Colombian educational philosophy which tends to be more rote memory
- Our desire to educate our children in English
- Class sizes in a Colombian school were too large for effective learning
- Budgetary concerns (costs) and distance
- More flexibility, time and money to experience more of Colombia