Location:

Santa Cruz, Costa Rica

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Academic Year, Fall Semester, Rolling Starts, Spring Semester, Winter Semester, Year Round

Program Overview

Program Description:

La Paz Community School is an International Bacclaureate non-profit, bilingual school offering a dynamic and life changing study abroad program for foreign high school students who want to spend one or more semesters in Costa Rica studying at La Paz Community School. Spending a year abroad in a bilingual, IB Accredited high school on the beaches of Costa Rica offers an opportunity for motivated and inquiring students to become bilingual, live in a new and dynamic culture, and participate in a school environment that is challenging and extremely rewarding. The La Paz study abroad program matches foreign incoming students with local families who have gone through a comprehensive vetting and approval process with the La Paz Community school administration. These families have children at La Paz, are either native Costa Ricans or have lived in Costa Rica for a number of years, and provide a stable, comfortable, and welcoming living environment for foreign students.

A Summary of the La Paz Secondary School Experience (Grades 7-12) VISION The La Paz secondary experience is the culmination of the students’ path to discovery of their self, family, and community in the greater context of the world. Graduating La Paz students will have internalized the La Paz Peace Practices and be able to apply them to their future endeavors in order to generate thoughtful, progressive change in an increasingly complex, diverse, and dynamic world. ACADEMICS The La Paz secondary experience offers a balance between academically rigorous hands on classroom instruction in core/co-curricular subjects as well as complementary projects, internships, and excursions that enrich and authenticate the academic experience through place-based learning. EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES La Paz Community School offers a variety of after school activities to the student body to enrich the academic experience. We strongly believe that student involvement in extracurricular clubs and activities greatly improve a student’s social, emotional, and physical well-being while at the same time teaching them invaluable life skills such as sportsmanship, teamwork, and open-mindedness. Illustrated below are some of the unique examples of these programs.

ACADEMIC CREDITS La Paz Community School is accredited by the Costa Rican Ministry of Education from grades prek-12 and by the prestigious INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) for the 11th and 12th grade Diploma program. As a result, all credits are transferable in public and private schools both within Costa Rica and abroad. IB ACCREDITED WORLD SCHOOL As an IB Accredited World School, La Paz graduates will have doors opened for them that other accreditation programs simply can’t offer. With the most internationally recognized Diploma Program, the IB is geared to developing the creative, globally minded thinkers that are necessary to guide the world towards a more sustainable future. IB graduates are now consistently performing at higher levels in university and beyond due to the broad set of critical thinking skills that students are required to practice and demonstrate during their high school career; tools that are normally reserved for more upper level university courses. The IB community profile is at the core of the IB experience and is disseminated throughout the prek-12 curricular and extra curricular experience at La Paz.

Setting Description:

La Paz Community School is nestled in between several unique communities along the central coastal region of Guanacaste. The majority of La Paz students come from the towns of Potrero, Flamingo, Brasilito, Huacas, Villareal, Playa Grande, and Tamarindo which each offer their own little slice of local and international culture. The province of Guanacaste is located in the northwestern part of the country, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Cost:

STUDY ABROAD TUITION AND FEES Tuition for the La Paz Study Abroad program is paid on a trimester basis and is separate from any tuition costs associated with the student’s school of origin. School tuition for Study Abroad students is the same as any other incoming student. In addition to standard tuition rates, foreign students pay a monthly room and board fee of $550 to cover their accommodations and food costs while living abroad. Finally, there is a one-time fee for Study Abroad students o