La Escuela La Altura

We are visiting a rural primary school to learn about education in Costa Rica. Teachers of primary grades are required to have a college degree but are assigned to a school for the first five years. To teach high school, a masters is required. The school has a morning group and an afternoon group for a total of around 250 kids. The school is fully funded by the federal government. Even though provinces collect property taxes, those funds don’t go to education as they do in the USA. But funds are earmarked...teacher salaries, books, etc. The government will pay for materials for buildings but not labor. As you see in the pics, we planted trees, jumped rope, played soccer, and enjoyed the warm hospitality.Read more