Dear Futuro Verde staff, teachers, board, parents and students,
The final week has come of what, for our family, has been a seven year adventure here on the peninsula and in Costa Rica! It has been over 15 years since we first made the plan to take our lives around the world, to join school communities in far off lands, to learn as much as we could, to give as much as we could, and to do our very best to live deliberate and full lives, replete with diverse experiences and enriching challenges. Finding Futuro Verde was a perfect fit over these seven years and we move on now with very full hearts and an enduring love for this inspiring school community!
When we came here our kids were still so little and we leave now with three teenagers in tow, growing taller each day, and excited for the adventures ahead. As parents, we are grateful that our own children leave with their hearts planted firmly in the rich soil of this beautiful land, with a love for the oceans, rivers, waterfalls and jungle. It has been an enviable childhood for them, by any accounts! As educators, we are grateful to each and every teacher at Futuro Verde who has shaped our children’s lives and has inspired in them an insatiable love for learning and a curiosity about the world. Thank you all for the big and the small moments- for teaching them to read, how to master long division, how to hook a reader into a story…and for the much more important teachings: how to be good people, to be kind and polite, to listen and to care. And, to our school’s loving auxiliary staff we extend our warmest appreciation. You have been like extra moms for our kids- finding their lost items, cheering them on when they try something new, and loving them even when they arrive early each day and hang around until late, waiting, like teacher’s kids do, for mom and dad to finally head home. We are firm believers in the village that is needed to raise all children and we thank you all for being part of our children’s village of caring and loving adults!
As members of the school staff, we send our love and appreciation to the Board of Directors for keeping this amazing school front and center in their lives, breathing air into its lungs and keeping the wind beneath its wings when it has been needed. You are the true, unsung heroes of the school and though many may not perceive just how important the work you do is, as your Head of School these past six years, I can attest to how important you all are- representatives of a broader association of parents, giving of your time and your energy, with no benefit but knowing that what you do truly matters. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for everything you have done, and will do, to support Futuro Verde!
Alejandro and I will miss the parent community dearly! Thank you all for all you have done for us throughout the years, for your kind and friendly nature, your commitment and support and for raising these beautiful and special children that are our Futuro Verde students! Parents are the first teachers and you all are doing a fantastic job- committed to sacrificing so much to ensure your child lives in an amazing place AND has a top-notch education, leaving the doors open for endless future opportunities! We salute you and we reaffirm for you that the most important investment you will ever make, hands down, is the one you make in your child’s education!
But, as a teacher, it is always your students you most remember and miss and we have been fortunate to have made such a meaningful connection with all of our FV students over the years and we will miss you all! Thank you for joining in sport and song with us, for the heartfelt conversations, the laughs and for aguantando nuestras regañadas! We hope the best for each and every one of you- that you may be happy, fulfilled and that you learn as much as you can so that you can go off into life and do important and good things in the world, that you think of others before yourself and that you live purposeful lives.
Our Futuro Verde school community has come so far and the future is bright for this little school, with a big heart and big dreams, here on the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula! There is nothing more powerful than joining together, united behind a cause like good education and we hope the community continues to unite and to support one another, bringing this dream of a school for all, united in peace and sustainability and determined to develop the leaders of tomorrow, and that you all hold our school forever in your hearts and in your minds because a good school is a game changer for the entire community and yet it must be prioritized, tended to and loved as we all strive to, as Barack Obama has said, ¨belong to ourselves, while belonging to others, in just the right amount.”
Thank you all for these incredible years and for your support and love! Happy Holidays, take care and be well!
The global pandemic and consequent closures of schools around the world has presented an unprecedented administrative and school leadership challenge. Only time will truly tell what the most appropriate approach will turn out to have been, but at Futuro Verde we are striving to stay true to the intentions of our founders and to the mission and vision that guides us as a school. With those founding principles at the forefront, we have added in a good deal of grit, determination and creativity to arrive upon our current programming models, all of which fall within the broader Futuro Verde Project: a non-profit association with the goal to create a community education organization consisting of three parts:
Centro Educativo Futuro Verde: Private bilingual international school which is auto-financed by monthly school fees and which extends scholarships of some kind to at least 30% of the student body.
Educación Interactiva Futuro Verde: Outreach to area rural public schools to provide academic enrichment programs through our volunteer and service learning program.
Centro Recreativo Futuro Verde and Centro de Atención Integral (CAI) FV: Extra-curricular program open to all students of the region providing organized activities (sports, arts, music, language, etc.) and Integrated Educational Center designed to support students ages 3 to 12 years.
Our students in Centro Educativo Futuro Verde are currently working through a blended learning model, designed to meet the needs of all students, irrespective of their specific and individual circumstances and preferences. At this time, we are not operating any part of Educación Interactiva Futuro Verde. However, you can read more about our blended learning program as a school and our complimentary and optional programming through Centro Recreativo FV and CAI FV by accessing the latest updates on our website.
During these difficult times we are all living, we remind our entire community of our love for you all, our sincere desire that you take all necessary precautions to keep yourself and your loved ones safe, and our hope that we will be able to see one another under more “normal” circumstances very soon!
As schools across the world, and within Costa Rica, face the reality of a return to on-campus schooling in some form or another, emotions on the subject can run quite high and opinions, even among researchers and scientific experts, can vary widely.
From our perspective as a school, we continue to research the evolution of the disease as well as follow closely the recommendations from, not only the Costa Rican Health Ministry, but from other researchers and experts around the world.
Today, I would like to share some sample research and thoughts with you in the hope that it helps you have new and varied perspectives on the virus and the concept of school reopening when the virus is still present.
Health and safety
Regarding the concerns of wearing masks and the potential, related health risks of mask wearing, I recommend listening to this journalistic report from National Public Radio on the topic and their analysis of the scientific research behind prolonged risk from wearing masks.
Emotional and Psychological Impact of Quarantine
Does a pandemic cause emotional and psychological stress that is of grave concern in children? The answer is- it depends! Parental emotional regulation and the maintenance of a safe home environment are primary factors that contribute to the level of negative impact on children. The following article provides guidance and additional links related to supporting positive long-term health for your child throughout the distinct stages of the pandemic.
Considerations Regarding Short and Long-Term Response to a Virological Crisis
When there is a circumstance that so strongly impacts our lives and that is, in so many ways, out of our direct control, it is wise to consider the short and long term impacts of the crisis as well as the emotional response it is recommended by experts to take when facing such apparent uncertainty. In this article, renowned Belgian virologist, Peter Piot, reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our Commitment as a School
One of the most commonly heard reflections from this time of crisis schooling is a re-commitment by families, and by society as a whole, to the importance of the incredibly challenging and essential work that is done each day by our professional educators and by our schools. We are fortunate in Futuro Verde to have an incredible group of highly-qualified and professional educators who have taken on the challenge of distance and online learning with the same enthusiasm and problem-solving nature that you have come to expect from a FV teacher! The ingredient currently missing from our learning program is, thankfully, not a lack of progression in learning, as is the case in too many schools around the country and the world, but instead a joint presence on campus during learning processes. Being together, though physically separate, is important for children’s mental health, academic progress and intellectual and social-emotional development.
For this reason, as soon as the health conditions permit, we plan to open our campus to students. The Futuro Verde campus reopening will be gradual and measured and will include the following of all health measures required or recommended by the Costa Rican Health Ministry.
We commit to the ongoing education of our students:
Online and through a distance format when that is required, through a blended learning model when on campus learning is allowed, and in a full on campus mode when the pandemic conditions permit.
A medida que escuelas por todo el mundo, y dentro de Costa Rica, se enfrentan a la realidad de un regreso a clases presenciales de una u otra forma, las emociones sobre el tema pueden llegar a ser muy fuertes y las opiniones, incluso entre los investigadores y los expertos científicos, pueden variar mucho.
Desde nuestra perspectiva como centro educativo, continuamos investigando la evolución de la enfermedad y seguimos de cerca las recomendaciones, no sólo del Ministerio de Salud de Costa Rica, sino de otros investigadores y expertos de todo el mundo.
Hoy me gustaría compartir con ustedes algunos ejemplos de investigación y reflexiones, con la esperanza de que les ayuden a tener nuevas y variadas perspectivas sobre el virus y el concepto de la reapertura de las escuelas cuando el virus todavía está presente.
Salud y seguridad
En cuanto a las preocupaciones sobre el uso de cubrebocas y los posibles riesgos de salud relacionados con el uso de mascarillas, recomiendo que escuchen a este reporte periodístico del Radio Público Nacional de Estados Unidos que habla del tema y analiza la investigación científica que respalda el riesgo prolongado del uso de mascarilla.
Impacto emocional y psicológico de la cuarentena
¿Causa una pandemia grave estrés emocional y psicológico para los niños?La respuesta es- ¡depende! La regulación emocional de los padres y el mantenimiento de un entorno doméstico seguro son los principales factores que contribuyen al nivel de impacto negativo en los niños. El siguiente artículo proporciona orientación y enlaces adicionales relacionados con el apoyo a la salud positiva a largo plazo de su hijo/a a lo largo de las distintas etapas de la pandemia.
Consideraciones en cuanto a una respuesta a una crisis viral a corto y largo plazo
Cuando nos encontramos frente a una circunstancia que tan profundamente impacta nuestras vidas y que está, de muchas maneras, fuera de nuestro control directo, es prudente considerar los impactos a corto y a largo plazo de la crisis, así como la respuesta emocional que los expertos recomiendan tomar cuando se enfrenta a una incertidumbre tan aparente. En este artículo, el prestigioso virólogo belga, Peter Piot, reflexiona sobre la pandemia COVID-19.
Nuestro compromiso como centro educativo
Una de las reflexiones que más se escucha en esta época de crisis escolar es el compromiso de las familias, y de la sociedad en general, con la importancia del increíblemente desafiante y esencial trabajo que se realiza todos los días por nuestros docentes profesionales y por nuestras escuelas. ¡En Futuro Verde tenemos la suerte de contar con un increíble grupo de educadores altamente calificados y profesionales que han enfrentado el desafío de la educación en línea con el mismo entusiasmo y una actitud de resolver problemas como la que siempre se ha esperado de un profesor de FV! El ingrediente que falta actualmente en nuestro programa de aprendizaje no es, afortunadamente, la falta de avance en el aprendizaje, como es el caso de demasiadas escuelas en todo el país y el mundo, sino la presencia conjunta en el campus durante los procesos de aprendizaje. Estar juntos, aunque separados físicamente, es importante para la salud mental de los niños, el progreso académico y el desarrollo intelectual y socio-emocional.
Por esta razón, tan pronto como las condiciones de salud lo permitan, planeamos abrir nuestro campus a los estudiantes. La reapertura del campus de Futuro Verde será gradual y paulatina e incluirá el seguimiento de todas las medidas de salud requeridas o recomendadas por el Ministerio de Salud de Costa Rica.
Nos comprometemos a la educación continua de nuestros estudiantes:
En línea y a distancia cuando sea necesario, a través de un modelo de aprendizaje mixto cuando se permitan las clases presenciales, y en un modo completo en el campus cuando las condiciones de la pandemia lo permitan.
I come to you today with some reflections on educational response to the global pandemic, specifically an argument for why curricular enrichment should always be prioritized and, during times of immediate crisis, why it is needed more than ever.
For years, national governments, pedagogical leaders and individual school leaders have battled with the choice of curricular structure.
What is best for each and every child? What is most important? And, most often, where should we invest our limited budget?
During my 7-year tenure here at Futuro verde we have journeyed through these exact questions and pedagogical ponderings. We have arrived at the conclusion that “everything is equally important”. But, what do we mean by that? Many schools place extraordinary emphasis on specific subjects or areas of expertise, but at Futuro Verde we are strongly committed to a holistic curricular commitment. That is why, when you divide our subjects between academic and what are often referred to as “specials” classes, you find a much more even split than can be found at most schools. If there is imbalance, it can often be found to be skewed toward more specials than not with classes such as: Comparative Language Study, Mindfulness, PE, Music, Art, Environmental Education, and the like. The culture of our school is strongly aligned to the notion that, even if I love math and want nothing more than to be an amazing mathematician, I also know that physical and mental strength and health is important and so I practice that too and I ensure a healthy and balanced mind and body during my PE and mindfulness classes. This same approach permeates throughout our school, with an approach very similar to that often championed by elite Liberal Arts colleges and universities around the world.
But, how has our holistic curricular approach translated to crisis schooling in response to the global pandemic?
We continue to self-reflect on this throughout our response to the crisis and our implementation of our COVID-19 protocol, but what we have seen is that, whereas a holistic curricular approach is what we consider best during normal conditions for learning, it has become a lifeline during a time of crisis. And so, we have strengthened our commitment to our holistic values and we maintain our commitment to the liberal arts development of all of our students, from preschool through 12th grade. This commitment has brought with it some inspirational student growth, processes and products during our online model, including:
A whole school music project to create a virtual choir that is currently in the works and will bring our student voices, instrumental and technological skills together across all grade levels in our unique interpretation of “Where is the Love”. How will we do this? Watch an interesting instructional video on the process here.
Participation by our Visual Arts students in the #gettymuseumchallenge, which challenged them to recreate a famous work of art and, in so doing, express their worldview and perspective or reality through art. See some of their inspirational recreations here.
Commitment to the theoretical and practical aspects of physical conditioning and activity through challenges, research and resources for a variety of physical activity, at-home options.
These are only a few samples of the way that a holistic curricular approach has brought balance, peace and creative development to our students during this difficult time we are all living. As a school, we remain committed to a holistic curricular approach and we hope that our school community joins us in this doubling-down during the hardest of times on ensuring a well-rounded approach to learning and to life.
For further exploration on why holistic learning is important in education, please enjoy this Ted Talk from Sir Ken Robinson and shared with me from our own IB 12th grader, Tristan.
If you love our holistic programming and you want to help us through this difficult financial time, please consider contributing to our fundraising campaign at chuffed.org. And, in advance, thank you for supporting an example of what education should look like around the world!
