Costa Verde International School Provides Sustainable Education for the Children of Our Community

Our Vision

We believe CVIS will provide a critical role to our community now and in the future. We will produce thoughtful, empathetic and inspired individuals who love to learn. We will work to bridge cultural and language gaps. We will create a community in which teachers, staff, students, parents and community members work together to build a better place. This school is just the beginning of what we hope will become a living and growing resource for all those in Sayulita. Beyond providing an educational site, we hope to partner with our community to promote ecological endeavors, art, culture and fun!

Our Mission

The mission of Costa Verde International School, a living inspiration for a diverse, sustainable community, is to cultivate broad-thinking, multi-cultural learners who are stewards of their local community and the global environment; through holistic and progressive methods to implement a bi-lingual curriculum with a focus on academics, arts, and ecology in a unique sustainable site with an impassioned international staff.

As a school with grades from preschool through 9th, our aim is to produce healthy, happy and well-adjusted, curious life-long learners. Our target is that each child acquires fluency in a second language and a profound understanding of the necessity for a “green” approach to living. To achieve this, Costa Verde International School is dedicated to a small student to teacher ratio and has focused education on the whole child in an environment designed to develop the talents and skills particular to each individual. School curriculum centers on ecology and respect for the environment. Students learn to analyze and solve problems, rather than simply memorizing facts.

Costa Verde International School (CVIS) is an ecological, community-oriented, multicultural, and bilingual private school located in Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico. CVIS provides an intellectually stimulating curriculum for preschool through 9th grade with small class sizes and hands-on instruction to inspire healthy, happy and well-adjusted life-long learners.

In an environment designed to develop the talents and skills particular to each individual, students analyze and solve problems relevant to the world around them. Our dedicated staff of teachers, personnel and parents work together to provide a joyful and nurturing atmosphere with a strong commitment to diversity, the surrounding culture, and the education of conserving the resources of the world.

Teaching Methodology

Active Learning: Children will learn curriculum through hands-on experiences utilizing active learning techniques where the pupil's interests and innate curiosity are stimulated.

Whole Child: Educators concentrate on the emotional, social, physical and moral development for the children of CVIS. Teaching techniques and individualized lessons focus on each child's personal talents.

Project Based Learning: Classes are planned around thematic ideas and students and teachers create project goals to demonstrate their learning. Parents, staff and volunteers help the students realize their potential with support and guidance.

Green Curriculum

Classes bring environmental themes and concepts to all aspects of the curriculum.

Students learn about sustainability and embrace responsibility. Language arts are learned within text, stories, and conversations about the necessity to protect the world’s ecosystems from development and the global crisis of a dependency on fossil fuels. Math is learned from measuring sprouts in the school garden, analyzing weather patterns, and counting the number of trees saved from reusing and recycling paper. Art, music, dance, physical education, and history are taught within the background context of the undeniable necessity to acknowledge our union with our environment. Incorporating the environment, children learn all the requirements of their grade level curriculum.

CVIS holds Mexican school accreditation with Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP). In addition to the standard grade level curriculum in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and health/physical education, CVIS teaching focuses on the following areas:

Ecology: Students learn about the delicate balance of nature, the interconnectedness of all things, and the necessity to reduce reuse and recycle in order to create a sustainable environment.

Languages: There is a strong curricular emphasize on multilingual conversation and learning. This is achieved by teaching the program of study in both English and Spanish and specific second language instruction as necessary to access instruction and curriculum.

Multiculturalism: Cultural and linguistic diversity is promoted as an enriching and positive feature of modern society. Respect, empathy, tolerance and appreciation of diversity are encouraged in all events of the school.

Technology: To prepare for the future, students are introduced to using technology responsibly to communicate, explore, and enrich the learning process. Videoconferences and webcasts bring the far reaches of the globe into student reality.

Creative Arts: The school offers a rich program of art, music, dance and drama as an integral part of the learning and development process.

Our Campus

We have a unique opportunity to proliferate ecological learning in Mexico.

When you walk into the Costa Verde International School the first thing you will see are green trees and smiling children. We believe that a learning environment that is outside more than inside, that is open instead of structured,
is the best way to inspire learning. Using the resources close to the school the students walk to the beach or the jungle to study local ecosystems, become passionate about saving the environment, or just enjoy a new place to read.

CVIS campus is on one of the oldest properties in Sayulita. We have turned a cozy Mexican style home into a warm learning environment. In the classrooms that were added to the property, we have explored alternative building styles as an example for the community. All classes have garden boxes where they learn about companion planting, the growing cycle and celebrate healthy eating practices when it is time for a class garden salad!

We are always adding new projects and examples of sustainable living and construction to the campus. Some of our recent accomplishments are:

Eco Cleaning – We utilize only biodegradable cleaning supplies for daily cleaning of the campus.

Grounds and Gardens – Nature; the outdoor classroom. Plants and trees exist throughout the school preserving the tropical jungle setting in which the school is nested. Parents, kids, teachers, and the community as well, care for and cultivate our bio-intensive garden.

Sustainable Gardening – The garden and outdoor science program is working towards becoming totally self sustaining by selling the produce in the farmers market, growing start flats for a local organic farm, and delivering nutrient rich compost to local growers.

Recycling – The campus has receptacles for separating garbage for kinder through 6th grade. We reuse paper products from the office and classrooms. Students practice living under the reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink guidelines in every class.

In the future we hope to find a campus that grows with us and where the community as a whole will reap the benefits as we build in a new sustainable architecture. We are looking for an architectural design which takes into consideration the aspects of sustainability and green approaches required to promote an ideal learning environment with the lowest impact on the environment and provide for general student and community well-being.

Our goals are to:

Build Responsibly — The permanent school site will have construction optimized for conservation of our world’s resources. Utilizing materials and building techniques that are friendly to the environment we will lessen our ecological footprint.

Go Solar — Our solar goal is to equip the school with a large enough solar array not to require assistance from the local power grid.

Diffuse Sunlight — Roofs will integrate new light funneling technologies to focus sunlight into the learning centers of each classroom. Where lighting is necessary, low wattage energy efficient bulbs will be used.

Eco Play – An incredible playground will be built from recycled materials and renewable resources. A child’s swing will pump water to the garden and a stationary bike will light a light bulb.

Rain Collection — Rain water collection will be built into the structure of roofs and runoff areas, enabling the school’s independence from the city water supply. Grey water will be collected and re-used to water plants. Water conservation will be enforced with low flow toilets and faucets.

Our Location

Sayulita is about a 45 minute drive northeast of Puerto Vallarta. Sayulita was once a small fishing village but has been discovered by surfers, tourists, world travelers, investors, and those who want to get back to living life in a welcoming community.

Costa Verde Students

Student Population: CVIS enrolls preschool and elementary aged students in small class sizes. Costa Verde students represent global diversity which bonds the inhabitants of our ethnically shared community. The children of Sayulita come from all over Mexico, United States, Canada, France, Germany, England, Argentina, Chile, and many other countries of the world.

Scholarships: The scholarship program is designed to provide increased access for local children who are in need of financial assistance, thereby creating a more diverse student population. Mexico requires that at least 6% of students at independent schools be on scholarship. With recent funding we have achieved an impressive 45% scholarship rate for Costa Verde students. Families must apply for scholarships with an interview of both the parents and the student. Teachers and administration follow up with the student’s academic and social commitment to the school as well as the family ́s financial commitment. Students who receive a scholarship are expected to uphold the values of the school as well as a passing academic grade. All parents of Costa Verde are also asked to give a minimum number of volunteer hours back to the school. It is with great pride that the majority of the families at Costa Verde contribute something to their child ́s education and through this program we have and the continued commitment of wonderful parents and students.

CVIS Donations

We are currently fundraising to support our CVIS scholarship program as well as support new educational programs, new school facilities, and to further the development of the Sustainable Resource Center and the Cultural Center.

If you are unable to attend one of our fundraisers, you may contribute by making a direct donation. We are able to accept donations through our non-profit organization in the United States, "Niños del Sol Inc.".

Donations are tax deductible in the United States.

Check Made Out To:

Niños del Sol Inc., 85 Circle Loop , Staten Island New York NY 10304

Credit Card through Flipcause:

Go to our website or click here, and then click on Donations or click the donate button and you will be directed to Flipcause where you can use a credit card .

Shop Online with Amazon Smile:

Sign up and shop online with Amazon smile under the name Ninos Del Sol and a percentage of your purchase is donated back to CVIS.

Thank you!

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