So here we go. Which one is the best? If we're just talking academics, there is no doubt, the school in Florida is the best one by far! They are easily, at least one year ahead of the Graded. And the Graded is ahead of ASF by far too. Athletics? ASF is number one. They do have a very strong athletic program, followed by the Graded and then school in Florida. For whatever reason the school in Florida does not have a strong athletic program. And the Graded program is ok. They substituted a bad teacher with another at the lower school and their after school athletic program is really bad, but the kids are exposed to lots of different sports. Arts? Now this is where the Graded excels. The music teachers are amazing! To hear the children there singing is unbelievable! They sound great! And the art work the kids bring home is also really good. They have a state of the art Art Center. And the kids learn how to draw, paint and sculpt at an early age. Creativity is highly encouraged. During middle and high school they start with drama, video, photography and design classes. There is a tie for number 2: ASF and the school in Florida. They both have very good programs, but they're not the Graded. Diversity? Tied for the first place: Graded and the school in Florida. Well, it is Florida, so the population is very diverse. Same with the Graded. Both schools have kids from all over the world. ASF has mostly mexican kids. Both my american friend and my mexican friend feel like there is a separation between the majority of mexicans and the minority of foreigners at ASF. For some reason the groups don't mix much. Bullying? Number one: School in Florida. Hands down. They have a strong anti-bullying policy and they enforce it. Number 2: Graded. They still overlook the atrocities some teachers do - like yelling and disrespecting children, but they are changing - kudos to the new Superintendent and Lower School Co-Principal. They started a new anti-bullying policy and the new co-principal of the lower school is enforcing it. Even with the teachers. He fired at least one already. Number 3: ASF. They don't have a bullying policy in place as of today. So when things happen you don't know what the outcome will be. According to my friends it depends on the kids and teachers involved. Some kids and teachers are more equal than others. We really hope this changes by next year.
So overall, what is my opinion? I would put the school in Florida as number one. Not only it is the best one academically and with the anti-bullying issue but it also has other good things to offer, in spite of what you'll read bellow. Number 2 is the Graded. What it lacks in academic it has on art and in making our kids global citizens. It does teach them non-academic important skills. Graded is also a fully accredited international school, it is on the top 5 list. Number 3 is ASF due to poor academics and falling short on other categories. Maybe this is also the reason why they are not fully accredited. I don't know.
My side note here is about teachers here in Florida. I still don't understand why the teachers at the school here are so serious. My kids call them angry. And angry is how I call the administration at the school here. Luckily my kids are very nice and don't get in trouble often but the teachers here are always yelling at kids telling them not to run, not to yell (hello! what kind of example are you setting?). I rarely see them smiling at school and the kids notice it too. They asked me about it. Most teachers and administration have been at this school for years. The Graded had the same issues with its older teachers. They all seem to have a sense of entitlement. They seem to think that they can do no wrong and even if they do they know that nothing will happen. Besides my first year at the Graded when my kids had the worse teachers in the world, my kids were fortunate enough to get awesome teachers. They would smile all the time, the were very kind and loving. And the kids had a great deal of respect for them. Here my son has a great teacher but my daughter's teacher is not that good - the never smile, angry type. Apparently she used to be a good 4th Grade teacher and switched to a different grade that she is not too fond of. She'll be switching again next year. The kids will be better off. ASF also has its share of bad teachers. Unfortunately, bad teachers happen everywhere, my problem is the administration enabling this behavior on them. They should be fired. I can't wait for the day when schools are not only going to enforce discipline but also take advantage of positive reinforcement. Praising the kids goes a long way.
I also believe that the reason why the Graded is academically behind is because it would be unfair with the kids who come from all over the world to have a strong academic curriculum. Every year there are kids from several different countries, who can't speak english, joining the school. Or kids who can speak a little bit of english but can't read or write in english. How would they be able to accommodate this kids if the academics were strong? It would be extremely hard on these kids. I've seen in my kids class, kids from Japan, Korea and all over Latin America that join the school without speaking a word of english and in 6 months are speaking as natives. But I mean speaking, because when it comes to writing and spelling... But they are catering to the international community and I need to give them credit for it. There is also a great deal of stress on the kids during the relocation's first months. The Graded sees it. On the plus side, as the kids reach high school the standards are higher and the kids have access to the best universities in the world.
Just to put this whole academic talk in perspective, I considered the schools perform on the National Ranking. The school in Florida is on the 90%. Graded is on the 70%. I could not find the data about ASF, but my friends told me they were told, last year while their kids were attending that they were on the 60%.
So am I happy with the school here? Yes, I am. Would I go back to the Graded? Yes, I would. Would I still consider ASF? No, not at this moment. But if they get their full accreditation I will. I really hope someday all the international schools will have high standards and cater to the growing global community so no matter where we go we will be able to provide the best education to our children.
P.S. Some people are not happy about me saying that ASF is not fully accredited. But they are not and here is the proof. Here is the link to the AdvancED page stating their accreditation status. AdvancED is linked to the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges and they accredit schools worldwide.
http://www.advanc-ed.org/oasis2/u/par/accreditation/summary?institutionId=12526
And here is proof the Graded is fully accredited:
http://www.advanc-ed.org/oasis2/u/par/accreditation/summary?institutionId=31959
Just so you can see the difference.
My side note here is about teachers here in Florida. I still don't understand why the teachers at the school here are so serious. My kids call them angry. And angry is how I call the administration at the school here. Luckily my kids are very nice and don't get in trouble often but the teachers here are always yelling at kids telling them not to run, not to yell (hello! what kind of example are you setting?). I rarely see them smiling at school and the kids notice it too. They asked me about it. Most teachers and administration have been at this school for years. The Graded had the same issues with its older teachers. They all seem to have a sense of entitlement. They seem to think that they can do no wrong and even if they do they know that nothing will happen. Besides my first year at the Graded when my kids had the worse teachers in the world, my kids were fortunate enough to get awesome teachers. They would smile all the time, the were very kind and loving. And the kids had a great deal of respect for them. Here my son has a great teacher but my daughter's teacher is not that good - the never smile, angry type. Apparently she used to be a good 4th Grade teacher and switched to a different grade that she is not too fond of. She'll be switching again next year. The kids will be better off. ASF also has its share of bad teachers. Unfortunately, bad teachers happen everywhere, my problem is the administration enabling this behavior on them. They should be fired. I can't wait for the day when schools are not only going to enforce discipline but also take advantage of positive reinforcement. Praising the kids goes a long way.
I also believe that the reason why the Graded is academically behind is because it would be unfair with the kids who come from all over the world to have a strong academic curriculum. Every year there are kids from several different countries, who can't speak english, joining the school. Or kids who can speak a little bit of english but can't read or write in english. How would they be able to accommodate this kids if the academics were strong? It would be extremely hard on these kids. I've seen in my kids class, kids from Japan, Korea and all over Latin America that join the school without speaking a word of english and in 6 months are speaking as natives. But I mean speaking, because when it comes to writing and spelling... But they are catering to the international community and I need to give them credit for it. There is also a great deal of stress on the kids during the relocation's first months. The Graded sees it. On the plus side, as the kids reach high school the standards are higher and the kids have access to the best universities in the world.
Just to put this whole academic talk in perspective, I considered the schools perform on the National Ranking. The school in Florida is on the 90%. Graded is on the 70%. I could not find the data about ASF, but my friends told me they were told, last year while their kids were attending that they were on the 60%.
So am I happy with the school here? Yes, I am. Would I go back to the Graded? Yes, I would. Would I still consider ASF? No, not at this moment. But if they get their full accreditation I will. I really hope someday all the international schools will have high standards and cater to the growing global community so no matter where we go we will be able to provide the best education to our children.
P.S. Some people are not happy about me saying that ASF is not fully accredited. But they are not and here is the proof. Here is the link to the AdvancED page stating their accreditation status. AdvancED is linked to the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges and they accredit schools worldwide.
http://www.advanc-ed.org/oasis2/u/par/accreditation/summary?institutionId=12526
And here is proof the Graded is fully accredited:
http://www.advanc-ed.org/oasis2/u/par/accreditation/summary?institutionId=31959
Just so you can see the difference.
2 comments:
I am thoroughly reading your blog as we have a possible assignment to Mexico DF in our near future. We have been expats before and encountered school issues. It was with much trepidation I read your report on the American School. Would there be any other school you would feel comfortable recommending we look at?
I would only recommend the British School in Mexico City. Still, this is only my opinion about the school based on my visits and the fact that ASF is not fully accredited in the USA - something extremely important to me. We opted for the super commute so our kids were never enrolled at ASF. If super commute is an option for you, this is what I would recommend.
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