There are three things very important to me in this move:
-our church and community (God first)
-an international school for our son
-a safe location for our home
My beautiful family this past Easter in Hawaii!
Trust me, I understood what would come with this move. I researched their economy and understood that there is a huge gap of the haves and have nots. In short, Panama will never be the United States. We will live a simpler life with modifications we will adapt to. As long as we are together as a family and serving our Savior above all things, we will be fine. There is lots of work to do for His kingdom.
We crammed four schools in one day and one school on the 2nd day. To say the least, I didn't prepare myself for all the pros and cons of each school. Now I understand why there are so many schools with different visions and missions statements at each location. I briefly outline my perspective of the international schools we visited. This of course is my opinion and not meant to offend anyone.
Crossroads Christian Academy:
What an amazing mission statement! It stands for everything
we believe in as a Christ centered family. As we approached the school we had
high hopes for it. Though the exterior was run down, we saw it as a diamond in
the rough. We were kindly greeted by the front desk staff and soon the
admission coordinator met with us. Within the first 5 minutes, we soon realized
that the mission statement is just words. Their love for human souls did not matter. They explained to us the mold they expect from their students and
pretty much the student as a whole wasn't something they looked at. At the end,
she was justifying why she would not accept a child with a mild learning
disability and we kindly put the visit to an end. To say the least, we were
disappointed in the schools lack of compassion as Christ followers and I could
tell by her rapport that “Christian” is just a word in their school versus a way of life, as we
live it.
Side note: The pet cemetery on the side was also a big eye sore.
This was found on Google and pretty accurate.
Balboa Academy:
When we arrived high school students were lined up outside
to attend a college fair. We meet with Mary Ann, the admission coordinator who
was fantastic!! She joyfully welcomed our family and cared for our needs as a whole.
She took her time to explain the admission process and what a treat it was to
see the children, being children – playing outside and laughing. The kids
walked by her and gave her a hug, she smiled the whole time and you could just
tell she loved her job and was proud of Balboa. Her daughter is now a teacher
at Balboa after studying in the states! We took a tour of the campus and met a
7th grade history teacher. His view and responsibility to his students was riveting! Calling his student
“future leaders” and keeping his students up-to-date with current events,
including world events such as Syria. They represent 47 countries and have
approximately 850 students. Overall they offer sports with lots of trophies to
prove their athleticism, a beautiful Olympic size pool, a soccer field and more.
Their cost is steep but it was obvious why.
This photo is generic but does have gates and security.
I couldn't locate a better photo online and did not take one.
Metropolitan School of Panama:
This campus is also located in the same vicinity as Balboa
except the outside view is gorgeous!! They overlook the Panama Canal which
makes a difference. We met with Mary
Tovar, admission coordinator, who immediately took us on a tour of the campus. It was very clean and
got to see several classes. We found it interesting and exciting that starting
in 7th grade, which my son is in, he will learn Mandarin. Yes,
Mandarin! She introduced us to the Mandarin teacher and he gave us a brief
lesson on how he teaches the students symbols with drawings. This is hard to
explain but my husband and I left his class wishing we too could attend this
class. This man was brilliant!! The opportunity to be tri-ligual would be
exceptional! Meals are included into the tuition which is unique versus the
others. We met their chef from Argentina. He was passionate about food and
explained to us that they prep all fresh food and none of it is frozen. They
are very into integrating the arts and technology into their education. They
offer an I-pad and laptop to every student they use throughout the year!! They
also offer sports and building a state-of-the-art Green building in the near future. I
was very impressed with this school and was given the opportunity to meet with their new Middle school
principal and Kristina, the admissions director. I was pleased in their overall
education program but more so, their desire in the family as a whole. She
called us “family” which left a lasting impression of this school and their future! This
school definitely displayed a sound infrastructure not representative of a
school established only 2 years ago!!
No accurate pictures of the campus online but in the City of Knowledge area near Balboa
Boston School International:
Let’s just say this school is technologically driven. They have two full time psychologists on staff
that tests every student and each need. They have only been open for one year
and broke off from another international school, which I gathered. They plan on
a being a textbook free campus next year. They also use the smart board just
like all the other campuses but taking the lead to be known for their heavy technology.
Each student will eventually be taught on a tablet and the teacher will teach
off the primary format to each student, which will be paperless. They use Singapore Math which is more geared to problem solving and heavy on English classes. They also
offer Mandarin at a young age and sports seems to be on the back burner with PE
only twice a week. Let me say that there is very little science and history.
The England based schools apparently are the same way. Overall, the concept is
interesting but not for our family. They have a very small campus and they kids
are bused for outdoor activities.
This is the building but not exactly what I remembered.
International School of Panama:
One word: AMAZING!! I could write all night on why I love
this campus. Nilsa met with us and she started her conversation with my son.
She asked him several questions and opened up that line of rapport so he felt
important in this school search decision. She was very confident in their
campus and said that there is no school that compares to them. “Watch and
you’ll see”. She was right! She took us briefly by the elementary side and
headed straight to the middle/high school area. We also got to see several
classrooms and met with the science teacher in the impressive lab. She was
Canadian and new to ISP and told us how much she’s enjoyed the school so far.
She explained all about the IB program and they offer three languages to choose
from: Mandarin, French or German. My child will also learn Spanish which is
mandatory. They have a cafetorium (cafeteria/auditorium) and it smelled
delicious. They have a brand new tennis court that was just built this year, a
track and field, soccer and two basketball courts (indoor and out). Sports are
a big deal here which I loved. Lastly, they built a brand new bus area and currently
working on a 5 million dollar Theatre Arts Auditorium. I can’t possibly put in
words how beautiful this campus is. Sadly, the 7th grade is impacted
and they offered us a wait list. The school is the most expensive off them all
but you can visibly see where your money goes as this is the only non-profit
international school in Panama.
This is off their website. A great view of their soccer area. Very spacious!
Knightsbridge Schools International:
We were kindly introduced from the beginning by Vicki Sizemore,
the head of Special Education and Nancy Pierre, the Head of Admissions. Vicki
has been in Special Education over 30 years in the states and in Panama. She
called it her passion and I could tell she was very knowledgeable in the area
of concern for our son. We spoke for a good 20 minutes and felt confident they
could meet ALL needs and accommodations with no problem. She mentioned that
they are the only international school that meets all students’ IEP needs. The
school is very small. She mentioned a little over 100 students and the 7th
grade class has only 8 students, none are from the US. The downfall was they
did not offer the basketball program my son wanted and he wanted more than just
8 friends. He doesn't know anyone and felt this school was too small. We loved
the program itself and would be a great option in 5 years down the road when more students enroll. The Panama campus is one of many campuses around the world and supported globally.
I couldn't locate a picture. Possibly because it's so new.
To wrap this up, we are really focusing on two of these schools. I will post later on which one worked out for us. The admission process consists of a lot of paperwork and a test. We just hope that the school that admits our son will see his value as a whole. He is a great son of God and works at our local church and will continue this at our new storehouse. His passion for basketball and love for children and people in need outshines any shortcoming! I am not worried for I know that God is in control and He will direct our steps to where he wants us to be. We will be content and make the best out of where he lands. For now, he is spreading his wings and praying for the best!
Next blog: House Hunting in Panama...
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