Ometepe Bilingual School

Origins

The idea of Ometepe Bilingual School initially came from two teachers visiting Hacienda Merida on Isla de Ometepe. These guests taught English at one of 10 public bilingual schools in Costa Rica which, like many other similar schools, is located in a poor village near the banana plantation in Guapiles.

These schools allow the children to learn English and subsequently increase their opportunities for employment later in life. From the success of the public bilingual schools in Costa Rica, Ometepe Bilingual School was started in June 2007 within the grounds of Hacienda Merida. For the initial three months a teacher was hired in to teach English but after this, volunteer travelers (paid with room and board) took over the teaching.

Initially the school consisted of the children of the employees at the Hacienda. However, through word of mouth to the children of the local villages, the numbers started increasing. Having started off with one two-hour class in the morning, it quickly expanded to three sessions a day to allow children of all ages to be able to attend one session a day. The school is voluntary and many of the children will work in the mornings, go to their normal school in the afternoon and finish their day with two hours of English lessons at the bilingual school. After the first two sessions, each child is given a healthy meal of granola porridge.

Opportunities

The school offers many opportunities for the children aside from English. They all have access to high speed internet to allow them to become familiar and competent with laptop computers. The location of the school is an ideal environment for the children to learn English as there are many tourists with whom they can put into practice what they have learned. There are also part-time job opportunities for children to work at the Hacienda, teaching them skills of working in a hotel but also allowing them to further practice their English.

However, with the school being voluntary there are problems with consistency of attendance. Only 50% of the children come on a regular basis. The numbers can range from three to twenty-three students within a class. To try to overcome this, the Hacienda runs a dinner with the parents to promote the importance of attendance and the benefits of the school. A reward system was also started that allows children to earn Sunday field trips, such as kayaking, sailing, or excursions (e.g Ojo de Agua fresh water springs, San Ramon waterfall) based on a point system of good attendance.

It has been a very successful start to the school and many children already have a conversational level of English. A few of the children sit behind the reception counter at the hotel and can talk to tourists with confidence.