FAQ

What kind of student is The Sierra School for?
Our families and students value education. Our program is rigorous. We welcome highly-motivated Mexican and international students entering the 7th, 8th grade or 9th grade for the 2017-18 school year. Our students love to learn. Our students have homework and do their homework. Our students speak either English or Spanish or both languages, and learn to speak both; following the IB model, our students become bilingually literate.  Our students are athletes, artists, ecologists, readers, problem-solvers and more.  Our students are open-minded, open-hearted, caring, thinking inquirers.  Our students will pursue a higher education and professional careers to intelligently contribute to a sustainable future in Mexico and beyond.  Our students are leaders.

Does The Sierra School offer financial aid?
Yes! Financial aid is integral to the Sierra School social mission. We know that motivated students come from all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. At least 70% of our students will be granted full or partial scholarships in our third year. Scholarships are determined carefully, and reviewed and renewed annually. They are funded by individual sponsors, people like you as well as foundation grants. Financial aid awards are offered to very motivated, promising, under-resourced students whose families can prove financial need through our estudio socio-economico standard financial aid application.

What are the Great Books?
In order to better understand our present society, and anticipate a sustainable future, we must understand our past. The Great Books are those texts that are considered to be the foundations of western literature and thought. See a definition of the great books here: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_books
We study the great books of world literature as an essential element of our development as thinkers, inquirers, readers, writers and problem-solvers.
 Is the school English-Spanish bilingual?
Our program is bilingual, with roughly half of our classes in Spanish and English as the official language of our program. We teach the Mexican national SEP curriculum with Spanish language and history in Spanish. Team sport and Art classes are also in Spanish. Students read literature in Spanish as well as study world and Mexican history in Spanish. Spanish classes study an enriched version of the Mexican national curriculum. Sciences, math, sport, arts and literature are also offered in English.

Do students need to speak English or Spanish or already be bilingual to come to The Sierra School?
No. Students do not need to be previously bilingual nor already speak our school languages to be accepted. We offer a culturally rich immersion experience via intensive language classes in both English and Spanish so that our students can develop the confidence and skills to become academically literate and bilingual by the time they graduate the equivalent of 12th grade. Students become bilingual at different rates; we offer the resources to help them do so in a relevant, authentic and personal way.

I Get Involved?
Yes! The Sierra School promotes a range of meaningful opportunities for parents and professionals in our community to get directly involved in our learning program. From helping our fundraising efforts, building community partnerships in Todos Santos, to promoting ecology, providing learning workshops, and helping students develop their skills in English, Spanish and other specific subject areas, we welcome adults to become engaged in our school. As important as encouraging adult support of our learning, we nurture engaged parenting. Engaged parents are aware of their child's experience at school, support their child's well-being, and help promote their child's studies and development as responsible citizens. Children of engaged parents are more well-balanced, confident, responsible and make healthier life choices.