Yucatan Living

Schools in Merida 2018

17 October 2018 Education & Language 3

EDITOR'S NOTE The school information in this article was updated in June 2018. The original accompanying text is from The Working Gringo's 2008 article.

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When we moved to Merida, we brought along our 16-year-old daughter. We arrived in January and she had five more months before graduating from the 11th grade in California. At the time, we were not very impressed with the public school system in California and were not unhappy to take her out of that environment. In Merida, we looked around for a school and came up empty-handed. Finally, we located a correspondence high-school on the Internet and she completed 11th grade sitting at our desk at home. Though she was able to spend time traveling around the Yucatan and Chiapas - for which she will be forever grateful - she missed her friends terribly and eventually convinced us to send her back to California to finish out her senior year.

Our attempt at home-schooling was probably too little and at the wrong time in our daughter's life to work for her. But we have heard that some parents choose to bring their children to Merida and home-school them for the first year while they learn to speak Spanish. Learning a new language is much easier at a young age and it's debatable whether fluency will be achieved faster in a school with other children or at home with a tutor. There are plenty of English-speaking Spanish language tutors here in Merida. You can find a few recommended ones on this page about Learning Spanish (and Maya) in Yucatan.

Putting the debate about home-schooling on hold for the moment, we have decided to respond to requests we've received recently for information about schools in Merida for English-speaking children. Based on our experience, we weren't too hopeful, but we are happy to discover that things have changed in the past five years. (Or maybe we know how to cast a wider net now, because the schools we looked at five years ago do not seem to have changed.)

First, an explanation of terms is probably in order. In the U.S., we have kindergarten, primary school (usually grades 1-6), junior high school (grades 7-8 or 7-9) and high school (grades 9-12 or 10-12). In Merida (and we believe throughout Mexico), the divisions are very similar but the names have changed. Kindergarten is called Jardin de Niños (literally 'garden of children') or just Kinder. Primary school is Primaria and Junior High School is Secundaria. High School is Preparatoria in Mexico.

There are quite a few primaria and secundaria schools that welcome English-speaking children and who have English-speaking teachers or programs to help them in their transition. There are still few if any Preparatorias, however, that make any allowances for English language students. Here is a list of schools that we investigated. The prices below were established in 2008-2009 and are subject to change [updated 2018]. We will do our best to keep them current but for exact prices when you are ready to enroll, you should call the school.

Agora Comunidad Educativa

Phone: +52-999-252–0214

Location: North Merida

Address: Calle 25 x Periférico, Sodzil Norte

Levels: Kindergarden, Elementary (Primaria) and Secundaria starting in 2015.

Cost (2018): Nest 1 (Kindergarden 1): $ 6400 pesos enrollment fee and $3600 pesos monthly for 10 months tuition. (Level 1: Kindergarden 2 and 3): $7900pesos enrollment fee, $3,950 pesos for 10 months tuition. Elementary1 7900 enrollment fee and 4500 10 month tuition (Level 2 -6): $8,900 pesos enrollment fee, $4,500 pesos for 10 months tuition. Secondary school, enrollemnt 10300 and 4800 monthly fee per 10 months.

Agora is a bilingual school with a socio-constructivist model based on competencies children acquire through their lives. They have an extended schedule from 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM. for an extra cost depending on the level. Prices are with early payment discounts. Their mission is to include parents, teachers and children in school to improve the quality of the child's education.

Website: www.agora.edu.mx

Alianz

Phone: +52-999-252-5520

Location: North Merida, on the road to Progreso

Address: Carretera Mérida-Progreso behind Chrysler, tablajes 22588, 16688 y 16687

Levels: Elementary (Primaria), Secundaria and Preparatoria

Cost (2018):Ask directly for prices.

School year: Mid-August through mid-July

Allianz is a bilingual school following a social constructivist methodology. In addition to regular curricular classes they also teach art, cooking and sports.

Website: www.alianz.org.mx

Centro Educativo Piaget

Phone: +52-999-981 48 67

Location: North Merida

Address: Calle 31 No. 144 x 23 y 25, Chuburná, Mérida. They also have a location in Dzodzil.

Principal: Unknown

English Speaking Contact: Martise Brown Spadlin

Levels: Kinder, Primaria , Secundaria y Bachillerato

Students: Unknown

Cost: Ask for prices

We have heard good things about this school, but our inquiries have not been answered. If we find out more, we'll update this listing!

Website: www.piaget.edu.mx

Centro Educativo Renacimiento (CER)

Phone: 9 447596

Day care and Kinder: : calle 16 num 61 x 5 y 3 san Antonio cinta.

Primaria and secundaria: calle 33 num. 468 x 10 y 14 Fracc. Montebello

Phone:9482621

Email: info@renacimiento.edu.mx

English Speaking Contact: Martha Ruiz is the secretary and she doesn't speak English. The school has English Coordinators who can come to the phone to talk with you. Their names are the following: For Kindergarden/Preschool, Lisbet Koo. For Elementary, Elena Ranz. For Junior High (7th to 9th), Cecilia Sánchez.

Levels: Day Care, Preschool, Elementary and Junior High (1st to 9th grade)

Teachers: 80 teachers and administtatives

Students: 530 in the entire school

Cost $8800 pesos enrollment fee, $3350 pesos in Kinder ,$3800 in primaria and $4000 in secundaria per month for ten months per year.

Centro Educativo Renacimiento (The Renaissance Center for Education) has bilingual classes in all levels. Students have grammar, reading, spelling, vocabulary, math, science and other classes completely in English. The school welcomes English-speaking students, and currently has a number of English speakers in elementary school. They have some Catholic events, but it is not necessary to participate or be a part of the Catholic religion to attend. The website is comprehensive, although entirely in Spanish. It does discuss their bilingual program, from the point of view of a Spanish-speaking student.

Website: www.renacimiento.edu.mx

Colegio Americano

Phone: (999) 9285509

Location: Santiago, Centro

Address: Calle 72 #499 x 59 y 61

Principal: Ing. Floricel Ramos Pulido

English Speaking Contact: ingles@americanomerida.edu.mx

Levels: Kinder, Primaria, Secundaria and preparatoria

Teachers: 40

Students:500

Cost: $3000 pesos enrollment fee, $1500 pesos per month in Kinder for eleven months per year. $3300 pesos enrollment fee, $2000 pesos per month in primaria, $3600 enrollment in Secundaria and $2550 monthly for 11 months and $3900 enrollment and $ 2800 in high school.

This is one of the oldest schools in Merida, presbiterian missioners from United States came 100 years ago and started the school. One of the only private schools near centro. They have 3 hrs of english in kinder, 2 in primaria. Some students are foreign.

Website: http://www.americanomerida.edu.mx/

Colegio El Huerto Montessori

Phone: +52-999-1961388

Location: Cholul

Address: Carretera Mérida-Cholul, Sin número, Cholul

Principal: Tania Vidales

English Speaking Contact: Tania Vidales

Levels: Maternal, Kinder, Primaria

Teachers: 1 per group, plus teachers for extra activities

Students: 20 per group

Cost: Ask the school

While they don't have a bilingual program, they do welcome English-speaking students and they teach English as an extra class. They have had children from the USA, Russia and Germany attending class there. They also teach music, dance, stage acting and art. The enrollment fee includes medical insurance, didactic materials and SEP fee.

Website: www.colegioelhuerto.edu.mx

Colegio Iberoamericano de Merida, A.C.

Phone: +52-925-2712 and 925-3112

Location: García Gineres

Address: Avenida Colón #196-A x 12 y 14, Merida

Principal: Maria Dolores Rivas Gutierrez

Levels: Kinder, Primaria

Teachers: 18

Students:250 in the entire school

Cost: $6350 pesos enrollment fee, $2950 pesos per month (primaria) for eleven months per year. $4030 pesos enrollment fee, $2450 pesos per month (kinder)

Iberoamericano welcomes English-speaking students. They teach half of their classes in English, but the main subjects are taught in Spanish. They have associated secundaria and preparatoria schools (see below), which are located outside of Merida on the Periferico.

Website: www.iberomerida.com

Colegio Iberoamericano de Merida, A.C.

Phone: +52-999-911-0101

Location: Periferico

Address: Tablaje Catastral 16691, Merida

Principal: Lic. Juan Manuel Arrigunaga Juanes

English Speaking Contact: Claire Christine Berry Gilmore

Levels: Primaria, Secundaria, Preparatoria

Teachers: 12

Students: 75 in primaria 72 in Secundaria, 40 in Preparatoria

Cost: $6350 pesos enrollment fee, $2950 pesos per month (primaria) for eleven months $7000 pesos enrollment fee and $3400 pesos per month (secundaria) for eleven months per year. $8200 pesos enrollment fee and $3530 pesos per month (preparatoria) for eleven months per year. English is taught two hours per day and students are divided according to their knowledge of English. English-speaking students are welcomed. They currently have foreign students in the school.

Website: www.iberomerida.com

Colegio Peninsular Roger's Hall

Phone: +52-999-944-5364

Location: Colonia Buenavista

Address: Calle 21 #131 (just down the street from Office Depot)

Principal: Lilia Fuente Moreno

English-speaking Contact: Pilar Gutierrez phone 944-5434 x 107

Levels: Kinder, Primaria, Secundaria, Preparatoria

Students: 350 Secundaria, 300 Preparatoria

Teachers: 40 Secundaria, 40 Preparatoria

Cost: check this website

English-speaking students are welcome at Roger's Hall (This school is referred to as "Roger's Hall" by residents of Merida). There are foreign students attending the school, and some of the teachers speak English. There are no formal classes taught in English and no special arrangements made for English-speaking students. When we looked into it, the school encouraged students to attend a year of school without credit to learn Spanish, and then repeat the grade the next year. There are religion classes but students can choose to take a class in Human Formation in place of the religion classes. There are some English-speaking extracurricular activities in the afternoons. We have friends who send their bilingual children to Rogers Hall and who have been pleased with their experiences there.

Website: www.rogers.edu.mx

Educrea

Phone: +52-999-925-7931

Location: Garcia Gineres

Address: Calle 23 #209 x 30 y Avenida Itzaes

Principal: Zulma Avilez

English Speaking Contact: Carlos Monforte was our contact for this article. He speaks some English. Better to ask for Rebecca Góngora who is the English coordinator.

Levels: Kinder, Primaria, Secundaria, Preparatoria

Teachers: 80

Students: 650

Cost:$ 2850 enrollment fee for Kinder and $2300 per month, $4200 enrollment fee $3000 pesos per month for Primaria, $4300 pesos enrollment fee for Secundaria and $ 3500 per month and $4200 pesos enrollment fee and $3500 pesos per month for Preparatoria for twelve months

This school teaches English for one hour each day in all levels. They have had Russian children studying in the elementary school, and they also had children from the United States. The high school is newly built and located outside of town on the road between Merida and Caucel. Their website is the most recently updated of all that we have seen, though none of it is in English.

Website: www.educrea.com.mx

Escuela Modelo

Phone: +52-927-9833 and 927-9944

Location: Centro

Address: Calle 56A #444, Paseo de Montejo

Principal: Carlos Sauri Duch

English Speaking Contact: Marisol Bolio Perez, Director of English 927-9944 after 3 pm

Levels: Preescolar, Primaria, Secundaria and Preparatoria

Teachers: unknown

Students: 400 Primaria, 400 Secundaria, 500 Preparatoria

Cost: $6050 pesos enrollment fee, $3250 pesos per month in primaria, $3700 pesos per month Secundaria and $6350 enrollment fee, for ten months per year. There will be occasional additional expenses.

Modelo does not have any bilingual programs. Children receive 3 hours of English instruction per week at all levels. If you shop at WalMart in Merida, you've seen the children who attend this school out on the sidewalk when class is not in session. The school grounds are enormous, beautiful and conveniently located. They will admit children who do not speak Spanish, and Marisol is available to counsel and assist them but they have no programs for English-speaking students. They have had children from the US, Ukraine, China, Germany and Korea. They welcome all students who are hard-working and want to learn the culture here. All entrance interviews and exams are given in Spanish, but Marisol is available to assist and translate. They have one of the better websites of all the schools we have looked at.

Website: www.modelo.edu.mx

Instituto Cumbres and Godwin

Phone: +52-999-911 86 60

Location: Fraccionamiento Montecristo (North Merida)

Address: Calle 5 x 18 No.169 Glorieta Cumbres

Principal: Lic. Edgar Carrillo Cepeda

English Speaking Contact: Yes

Levels: Maternal, preescoolar, Primaria, Secundaria, Preparatoria

Teachers: Unknown

Students: Unknown

Cost: call the school for prices

Godwin is where we tried to enroll our daughter when we first moved here. We liked that it was a girl's school and that half the classes were taught in English. Math, biology and science are all taught in English. English-speaking students are supposedly welcome. They had several English-speaking students when we inquired, and their students all speak English at a good level. What we found was that very few of the administrators speak English and as we spoke practically no Spanish at that point, we had a very difficult time communicating with them. In addition, this is a Catholic school. If you are not Catholic, you must accept that your daughter will be learning the Catholic religion, taking her first communion and going to mass when requested. The enrollment application had many questions about the church you attend, and when we told them that we would be living in the centro, they were visibly displeased. After that, we were never able to get them on the phone again. Perhaps now that the centro is going through the throes of urban renewal, their attitudes have changed. Or maybe not.

Cumbres is the all-boys school that is the partner to Godwin. They also teach in English half the day and welcome English-speaking students. The schools are next to each other physically, but boys and girls take separate classes. Read the above paragraph for Godwin regarding religion and attitude. These are probably the premiere private schools in Merida.

Website: www.cumbresmerida.com/ Website: www.godwinmerida.com

Instituto de Educación Progresiva The Workshop

Phone: +52-999-941-8900 and 999-9418901

Location: Col. Ampliacion Revolucion (East of the Carretera to Progreso, north of the Periferico)

Address: Calle 46 # 317 x 19 y 17

Levels: Preschool and Elementary (Primaria)

Cost: $4500 per month

School year: Mid-August through mid-July

50% of all teaching time in Kinder and Primaria is in English, 50% in Spanish. Each group has 10-12 students with one teacher for English and one for Spanish. English program includes writing, speaking, reading and art.

Website: www.workshop.edu.mx

Instituto Moderno Americano (IMA)

Phone: +52-999-943-0511, 943-5629

Location: San Pedro Cholul

Address: Calle 28 #202A x 23B y 25

Principal: Lucero Cabrales García Conde

English Speaking Contact: Sandra Padilla

Levels: Preschool thru Secundaria, (Preparatoria & Universidad is CELA)

Teachers: 55

Students: 380-400

Cost: call the school for prices

School year: Mid-August through mid-July

50% of all teaching time in Kinder and Primaria is in English, 50% in Spanish. In Secundaria, about 8 hours per week is taught in English. Literature, writing, grammar and spelling is taught in both languages. They are a part of CELA, which is the Preparatoria and Universidad. CELA is located right next door and information on both can be found on their website.

Website: www.ima.cela.edu.mx

Loyola Comunidad Educativa

Phone: +52-999-941-5454

Location: North Merida

Address: Calle 35 #299-A x 36 y 38, Colonia Sodzil Norte, north of Gran Plaza

Principal: Claudia Álvarez Álvarez

Levels: Primaria and Secundaria

e-mail: info@serloyola.edu.mx

Students and teachers: 217 students and 60 teachers

Cost: $6900 pesos enrollment fee, $3100 pesos in Primaria and $3300 pesos in Secundaria per month for ten months per year. $2000 pesos per year approximately for other expenses. Check this page

School year: Mid-August through mid-July

Loyola was founded by a group of parents who decided that the traditional education that their students were getting wasn't the best for them. They envisioned a school in which students were conscious of everything going on around them and in which the learning was experiential, active, and significant for them. Additionally, the parents wanted to be involved in making the school a better place. They began with the ideas of socioconstructivism and pedagogía ignaciana, which ends up being similar to 'social justice teaching.' 12% of their students come from other countries like Canadá, EE.UU., Colombia, España, etc.

Website: www.serloyola.edu.mx

Escuela Particular Albert Einstein

Phone: +52-999-984-3939

Location: La Ermita in Centro

Address: Calle 66 #618-C x 77 y 79

Principal: Adelaida Garribay Limon

English Speaking Contact: Maria Eugenia Limon (speaks English)

Levels: Kinder, Primaria

Teachers: 3 Kinder, 6 Primaria

Students: 25 Kinder, 100 Primaria

Cost: call the school for information

School year: Mid-August through mid-July

Escuela Particular Albert Einstein has native English-speaking teachers and welcomes English-speaking students. Their program is bilingual: half Spanish, half English. Well, 3.5 hours per day in Spanish and 2.5 hours per day in English (close enough). They have children from the U.S. France and Japan.

Madison International School

Phone: +52 (999)6119053

Location: Country Club. Mérida

Address: Sin Calle 24776 Col.Chablekal , Mérida Yucatán C-P.97300 Yucatán Country Club

English Speaking Contact: Mónica Hernández Navarro monhernandez@colegiosmadison.edu.mx ó mceballos@colegiosmadison.edu.mx

Levels: Kinder, primaria, secundaria y preparatoria

Teachers: 9 Students: 570

Cost: Kinder: Enrollment fee is $11800 and $5950 monthly tuition. Primaria: $14800 enrollment fee and $6590 monthly tuition, Secundaria: Enrollment fee is $15300 and monthly tuition is $7210 for High school enrollment fee $ 16500 and $8150 monthly tuition. All are 11 month. Extra charges apply depending on the level.

The educational model of Madison International School is constructivism. It is based on research, reflection and the active participation of the students. It has experience with international students since 12% of its population is foreign. For more information visit the website. http://www.mis.org.mx/en/

Saint Patrick's Kindergarden

Phone: +52-999-948-0985

Location: Colonia Mexico

Address: Calle 31 #144

Levels: Kinder

Teachers: 5

Students: 80

Cost: call the school for more information

English-speaking students are welcome. Teachers speak in English all day. There are Spanish books, but instructions are given in English. They do not have a foreign student currently, but did last year. The school is 100% bilingual.

New Life Academy

Phone number : 9992686563

Location:Calle 30 Num. 323 x 25 Col. Montebello

email contact: jennyhijuelos@gmail.com

cost: Kinder 2200 enrollment fee and $1630 per month, primaria $3000 pesos enrollment fee and from $1900 to 2400 a month depending on the level.

Enrollment is open all year. We work from september to the end of June, having a recess of 15 days in December and 15 days during the easter. This is a school without official validation, but we provide the proper certification papers through INEA. We use the ACE system ( Accelerated Christian Education) The number of students in the school is 32 age range from 2 to 19 years old.

There are 5 teachers working with us. This is a school with a homeschool system. We provide art, music, mexican history, sports and cooking classes as extracurricular activities. Almost every teacher at school speaks english. The system is basically all the subjects in english,and students are diagnosed in order to find out their learning level in each subject, therefore, the learning is individualized, each student advances at his own pace. the environment is bilingual and we do have some experience working with foreign students.

Colegio Bilingue de Merida

location: gran plaza c42 #266 x 77 y 75 and Altabrisa c 24 x 25 y 30

Phone numbers: 9441839 and 4060528

e-mail: cbmmerida1@gmail.com

Levels: kinder to third grade of Elementary school

cost: call the school for more information

Website: http://colegiobilinguemerida.blogspot.mx/

Requirements and Documentation

• Typewritten application (in Spanish)

• Six 2.5 inch square recent photo of the student

• Original birth certificate

• Letter of Conduct from preceding school

• Copy of the student's latest report card

• Parents attendance at a parent meeting on an assigned date

• Psychological and academic level assessment report

• Personal interview with the Principal

• Development and conduct questionnaire

• Clinical history (by which we think they mean Medical History)

• Entrance Exam results

You will notice that all the schools listed above are private schools. There are public schools in Merida, but from what we could learn, they do not make any allowances for English-speaking students.

A 7-year-old friend of ours, who is bilingual, attends Gonzalez Guerrero public school in Santiago and she assured us that she is the only one who speaks English that she knows of, and that, in fact, she speaks it better than the maestro who is teaching English to the children.

You may also be interested in homeschooling your children some or part of the time. For more information on that, and a group of expatriates and Mexicans who homeschool their children, read more about that here in our article on Homeschooling in Merida.

We welcome any comments from those of you already living in Merida who might have experience with any of these schools, or with schools that we have not mentioned. If you know of any schools that should be added to the list, please email us at info@yucatanliving.com and supply a contact name. We will do our best to keep this list current and your comments and participation are certainly appreciated.