CVIS opens August 18th! (sayulita schools)

Costa Verde International School is now enrolling students for the 2008-2009 school year starting late August. This multilingual preschool and elementary school with an ecological theme has over 35 students already signed up, reports the Director, Adriana Martin del Campo.

Sayulita has been in need of an alternative school for some time. Just this past school year over 40 children, between 3 and 11 years of age, have daily braved the curvy 200 highway driving to San Francisco or Bucerias where the towns offer several private school options.

Support by many local Sayulita donors and the Punta de Mita Foundation, CVIS offers a large scholarship program. These scholarships are guaranteed throughout the child's education at CVIS and include enrolment fees, textbooks, uniforms and funding for fieldtrips and materials. The SEP, Mexican school accrediting office, requires at least 6% of students be on scholarship at a private education school. CVIS will have at least 20% the first year and hopes to increase this to at least 30-50% within the first 3 years.

Costa Verde has also designed an after school program for local children in grades fourth, fifth and sixth, to learn English. English, computers, gardening and research classes will be offered in the afternoons. The total cost including materials is 1000 pesos a month.

CVIS is in the process of renovating their temporary school site, located on Avenue Revolucion across from Koranay and Ferrecar. Because of the size, the current site is limited to a maximum of 75 students and staff predicts that the school will reach that cap within the first year. The permanent location is at least a year away from being completed. Donated by a local firm, Sayulita Construcciones, architect plans have been created for the buildings on the permanent site located on the Punta Mita road near the famous Zip lines. Construction has not begun on the permanent site, as supporters have been concentrating on making sure the first year at the temporary site operates smoothly.

Enrollment fees are slightly higher than the neighboring schools of Bucerias, but the Director boasts the small student to child ratio, teaching methodology, computer learning, and ecological curriculum. The site offers peaceful gardens, well equipped classrooms, and a public library. The development of this school owes much to the experience of its co-founder and head of the Jefferson School in Guadalajara, Meldoy Martin del Campo. With a resume going back 30 years in education, she has been instrumental in providing the planning, curriculum, and contacts needed to start a school.

CVIS will also open its Cultural Center offering classes in the evenings and weekends for adults and children in a wide range of workshops including Spanish, English, cooking, dance, gardening. Costa Verde will also host a series of Spanish Immersion courses week long intensives for locals and tourists. For more information on the upcoming courses you can go to the website and click on Costa Verde Cultural Center.

Contact
e-mail: adriana@colegiocostaverde.com
Phone: 329-291-3355
Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico

www.colegiocostaverde.com