One challenge you will face having children in Ecuador is education. Some families homeschool their children. I know there is a large homeschooling community in Vilcabamba. There is a small homeschool meetup here in Cuenca that we have attended — we went bowling. There is a great Facebook group called Expat Parents in Cuenca that generally has great information. We are friends with Cuencanos who utilize public schools, and we have spoken with an American family who lives outside Loja (Average Family Abroad on YouTube) who love the public school there.
For us, we feel better paying for private school when the time comes in a couple of years. Right now there are two private schools competing for our consideration. The first is Colegio Alemán, which has a German curriculum approved by the German Ministry of Education. When students get older, there is a German exchange program where Ecuadorian students visit and live with a German family. They also have a symphony program. The campus is modern with many open-concept classrooms, and once children get older, classes are taught almost entirely in German. One big negative of this school is the cost. All things considered, you can expect to pay around $800/month for school and transportation. With this high cost, you can expect other students to come from high-net-worth families — doctors, lawyers, and foreigners. Some people might prefer this environment while others might not.
The second school we are considering is CEDFI. CEDFI has therapists and a nurse on staff. They have a great campus and classrooms. We have been told that, for a Spanish-language school, they have a more developed English program than most. Though our daughter would only be bilingual, the extra focus on English — rather than learning a third language — might help her settle into the curriculum more comfortably. The school has around 46 teachers and 460 students and is well regarded. Their motto, translated, is: “We educate for life, autonomy, and belonging and commitment to the local and planetary context.” Lastly, tuition and transportation are much cheaper than Colegio Alemán — we have been told it is around $300/month.
Some comparisons between the two schools:
Credentials & Diplomas
- Colegio Alemán: Offers a triple-diploma pathway — the Ecuadorian Bachillerato, the German Fachhochschulreife, and the Multilingual International Baccalaureate (GIB). This is a major differentiator for families with international university ambitions.
- CEDFI: Ecuadorian Bachillerato only.
University Access
- Colegio Alemán: Graduates are prepared to enter top-tier universities in Germany, Ecuador, and around the world.
- CEDFI: Oriented toward Ecuadorian university entrance.
Size & Scale
- Colegio Alemán is noticeably larger (~600 students) with a substantial campus.
- CEDFI is more intimate (~460 students).
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