How are the schools in Mexico?

The quality of the schools in Mexico depends on the type of school and the region.

 

Throughout Latin America and Mexico included, private schools are considered to be superior to public schools, probably because it’s still a developing country and public schooling is inconsistent. So private schools, international schools, American schools tend to be in the highest demand and also to be the most expensive.

 

I’m not...

The quality of the schools in Mexico depends on the type of school and the region.

 

Throughout Latin America and Mexico included, private schools are considered to be superior to public schools, probably because it’s still a developing country and public schooling is inconsistent. So private schools, international schools, American schools tend to be in the highest demand and also to be the most expensive.

 

I’m not sure how their testing scores are compared to the US but I do know the schools are quite good, especially the private schools and the international schools. And they can have children of expats from all over the world including the children of locals.

 

The cost to attend the private schools in Mexico depends on the grade.  Pre-school and primary school tuition is lower than middle school and high school, for example. The tuition can be anywhere from $100 to $150 a month per student. I don’t know if they actually have a cap on how expensive it can be but it can be as much as $300 to $400 per month, perhaps as high as $600 a month per student or even more than that depending on the school. This would be for the highest rate education, and a lot of these schools are really competitive to get into.   They don’t accept just anybody.  

 

(Elementary school, Mexico, pictured.)

My experience with preschool in Mexico is indistinguishable compared to what I'm hearing from friends with kids in preschool in the States. In particular, San Miguel de Allende has half a dozen respectable, private preschools and elementary schools. You generally hear Americans putting value and emphasis that they grew up attending a public school in the States. My impression is that private schools are the way to go in Mexico to get good education. 

 

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My experience with preschool in Mexico is indistinguishable compared to what I'm hearing from friends with kids in preschool in the States. In particular, San Miguel de Allende has half a dozen respectable, private preschools and elementary schools. You generally hear Americans putting value and emphasis that they grew up attending a public school in the States. My impression is that private schools are the way to go in Mexico to get good education. 

 

One particular private school in San Miguel de Allende called Escuela Bilingüe José Vasconcelos, is actually close to Ventanas de San Miguel and has an impeccable reputation on the academic side. Jose Vasconcelos was a famous educator in Mexico. Local Mexican school kids who have studied in Vasconcelos School speak English that is virtually indistinguishable from somebody who grew up in an English speaking home. The way San Miguel de Allende is growing, education opportunities are getting better. Regarding higher education, the national university is about to break ground on a campus in San Miguel de Allende.

 

My 4-year old daughter is enrolled in a school called Carousel (merry go round) where children mostly play around and have fun with little farm animals. It's not that structured. She is on her second year of preschool in Carousel and I’ll be enrolling her to a school like Vasconcelos for her academic studies when it’s time to get serious. I pay 6,000 pesos (US $330) for the initiation fee and 2,800 pesos ($150) monthly tuition fee for my daughter’s preschool in Mexico. Her preschool in Mexico starts from 9:00 AM and ends at  2:00 PM for five days a week.

 

 

The students in my daughter’s preschool in Mexico speak both Spanish and English but there is a little more emphasis on the Spanish side. My daughter has a good mix of preschool friends in which the majority are Mexican and then the rest of the kids are from different backgrounds. Part of what makes San Miguel de Allende such a great place is that we're a melting pot. There is more diversity in the private schools than you have in the public schools in San Miguel de Allende. Generally, most of the parents who send their children to private schools are in the upper middle class. Even so, my daughter’s preschool in particular has substantial number of need-based scholarships for kids.  

 

(Escuela Bilingüe José Vasconcelos students marching in a parade, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)