La Paz Community School Receives MEP Recognition
La Paz Community School is honored and privileged to announce to the coastal Guanacaste community and the world that they have officially received recognition as an accredited Costa Rican private school. On Tuesday, April 8th, 2008, the Director of the Ministry of Private School Education, Minor Villalobos Rodríguez, presented Resolution CP-003-2008 MEP to La Paz Community School demonstrating that La Paz has fulfilled all of the requirements of governmental decree Number 24017 for Education Cycles I, II, and III. President of the Republic Oscar Arias and MEP Director Dr. Leonardo Garnier Rímolo both signed the resolution to mark the official recognition.
The accreditation comes only seven months after the official inauguration of the non-profit, bilingual, cooperative, community school and only 11 months after the first general assembly meeting to form the school association board of directors. Already with an enrollment of 57 students from 16 countries, La Paz has filled a necessary niche in the Guanacaste area offering an education that emphasizes the preservation of local Costa Rican ecology and culture while celebrating the relatively recent influx of international communities into the region. Through a comprehensive scholarship program and admissions policy, La Paz is able to realize its mission by accepting students regardless of socioeconomic status, gender or ethnicity.
The bright future of La Paz is reflected by the overwhelming number of applications that are arriving at the school on a daily basis from near and far. The board of directors and founders of La Paz have chosen a modest growth model that aims for a expansion rate of approximately 20% per year while establishing a full high school program by 2012. The present installations behind the Jungle Gym in Flamingo will remain the school grounds for at least the next 2 years at which point the school will be forced to expand either at their present campus or through the construction of a new facility on donated land in the area. Both options are being explored in detail over the next 3 months in order to decide the best possible path for the future of the school.
La Paz Community School wishes to extend a special thanks to their sponsors, board members, teachers, students, families, and community for their continuing support. The dream of La Paz has most certainly become a reality!