Families Abroad! Cloud Forest School

  Costa Rica

• Monteverde: 
Monteverde

Durations of Program: 3-6 months, 7-12 months and 1-2 years
Dates: Fall semster, Spring Semster, or entire Academic Year

Description: An authentic world classroom and community comes to life at the Cloud Forest School in Monteverde, Costa Rica. For families with an interest in exploring and living in a new culture, our Families Abroad program provides not only a framework but also a community in which to base an unforgettable lifetime adventure.

The Cloud Forest School, locally known as the Centro de Educacion Creativa, is a bilingual Pre-K through 11th grade independent school that offers creative, experiential education to 200 students with an emphasis on integrating environmental education, English, and Spanish into the curriculum.

While 90% of our students are local Costa Ricans, the Cloud Forest School has long welcomed visiting international families and high school exchange students to our campus in the clouds. Our visiting students provide wonderful diversity to our campus and are excellent English language models for our local students. Our visiting parents have helped the CFS move forward by leaps and bounds as they share their expertise, gifts, and skills with our organization. From carpentry to fundraising, from dance to computers, our visiting families provide our school with immeasurable gifts.

To date, our high school exchange students have hailed both from Europe and the United States or either a semester or a whole calendar year. These adventurous young people live with one of our local CFS families. Our exchange students find that their world view expands exponentially not only as they learn a new language, but as they live immersed within an authentic Costa Rican family unit.

Most of our core courses are taught in English at all grade levels, and our Families Abroad and exchange students are also provided with a specialized, progressive Spanish as a Second Language program which meets students at their level and moves them forward.

Highlights: The Cloud Forest School sits upon a 106 acre campus of pastureland and rainforest, nestled at the top of Costa Rica's northwest Tilaran mountain range. Monteverde is renowned for its unique biodiversity, and is surrounded by tens of thousands of acres of conserved cloud forest. Our town of 5,000 people is comprised of local Costa Ricans and north American and European nationals who have decided to make Costa Rica their home. Full of art, music, yoga, dance, the best coffee and ice cream in the nation, and a magnificent natural ecosystem, Monteverde is a safe and dynamic place for families to live.

Please contact our admissions office for an information packet regarding our Families Abroad program.

Cost in US$: Please contact us, as grade-level prices differ

This Program is open to American, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi, South African and Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Costa Rica Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Other
• Phone Interview
• Transcript
• Written Application

Cloud Forest School's Mission Statement: Our mission is to nurture generations of ecologically aware, academically well-rounded bilingual individuals. We will work to provide students with the knowledge, values and skills needed to make environmentally and socially conscious decisions on a local, national and global scale. Our vision is a sustainable future for the Earth through educating individuals to love, respect and protect the natural environment, to strive for justice and peace as well as academic excellence and to work towards conserving biodiversity and enriching community life.

Year Founded: 1991