Tegucigalpa - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability of international schools? What has been your general experience with them, if any?
There are many schools to choose from. Del Campo, Discovery, Macris, Dowal, AST. There isn’t one preferred option these days as they all offer something different. Older students who want to stick with IB tend to go to AST, however that trend has shifted some. Many families are very happy at Del Campo and Macris (a bit further from housing but still on a bus service) and Discovery has a large embassy family attendance and seemingly happy students. Dowal is a great school as well. Getting a chance to visit each school is recommended now that Covid is not the issue it was when most of us arrived. If Spanish is important to you then Del Campo is the closest to a true bilingual school. Discovery is the only full day pre-k program and Peque Paz which is closer to the New embassy compound. Happy faces is a daycare that has recently expanded its program to offer lower grades up until grade two. Otherwise, all the other schools only offer half day for younger grades which is something to consider if you need to begin work right away and haven’t secured in home help. - Mar 2024
Lot of options and they seems to be really decent. Our experience has been decent but three things of note: 1. Some schools have a registration fee and it's thousands of dollars; 2. Schools will put our info last minute (an activity that is told to you one day before the event); and 3. They tend to inform parents of an activity and expect you to provide money for this. What am I paying tuition for? I would rather them look at their yearly calendar and have total sum that I would pay at the beginning of the school year or monthly. - Jan 2024
There are two main international schools, but another three to five that could easily be attended. Everyone is pretty happy with their school. If not, they switch to the "other" school and seem to be happy there. We have four kids who either homeschool, attended a local school before switching to boarding school in the US, and/or attended the Montessori school at post. - Aug 2023
Check out all schools. I have heard there have been bullying issues at the American school. - Feb 2022
There are several choices for school and two main schools that Americans use are: American School and Discovery School. Our high school-aged kids have been going to Discovery School and they have been very happy! They work hard, learn a lot, and feel part of a close-knit community. Some of the teachers are truly world class, and luckily, they tend to stay there for many, many years. The one downside for high school is that the size of the school is a little limiting in terms of the numbers/diversity of kids they meet (only 19 ninth-graders). There are after school activities, but not too many. - Oct 2019
Lots of great school options. Discovery, Happy Faces, Abejitas, Del Campo, American School, Dowal School, Elvel, Macris, Lyceo Franco-Hondureno, and lots more. Most schools are almost exclusively in English. If you want your kids to learn Spanish better, go off the beaten track of Discovery or American School. Lots of good extracurriculars inside and outside of schools. My kids have done classes in ballet, cooking, music, folkloric dance, swimming, soccer, and chess. - May 2018
Most kids go to the American School or Discovery school. I've heard the American school has a bullying problem. I believe there is also a French school. - May 2018
The schools are decent, but again, not up to U.S. standards. - Jun 2016
- Excellent. There are 4-5 schools that Embassy employees send their kids too. We had a hard time choosing. For us, it came down to Del Campo and the American School. Both were better than the school I went to. - That said, the schools are not nearly as hard or intensive as Arlington County schools. Our kids were a year ahead of the work they were doing in Arlington. Del Campo thus created and tailored some "advanced" (Arlington = normal) classes for our three boys. - Feb 2016
There are several, American School, Del Campo, Discovery and Dowal all have embassy kids attending. We have experience with the American and Discovery schools. American school has a problem with bullying, and while Discovery is smaller, it happens there too. Most students are local elite, and social scene for teens revolves around alcohol. - Aug 2015
I'm single, but I've heard that the American School, Discovery School, and DelCampo International are the most used. - Jul 2015
I don't have children, though I've heard of the American School, DelCampo, and Discovery School being three of the best ones. - Dec 2014
Good. - Oct 2014
Most kids go to the American School. I found though that the kids there have a drinking culture, even in 9th grade where Juniors and Seniors will attend parties and bring alcohol and the school head won't address the problem, probably for fear of upsetting the rich Hondurans. - Sep 2014
Lots of options. I can think of at least 6 off the top of my head. American school, Discovery school, Del Campo, Pinares, Dowal School, French school...plenty to choose from. Our son went to Discovery and loved it. - Aug 2014
3 schools are generally used. They're all ok, none are great. - Mar 2014
The American School is good in general although some put their younger kids in Discovery for some reason. As my daughter is now in High School I've unfortunately discovered that there is a local custom here where at 9th grade AS private parties 11th and 12th graders show up and bring booze. I reported this to the school but they do not care to address this problem as it is off campus; in fact they told me that even chauffeurs will buy it for the kids to bring to parties and sometimes parents even supply it to the kids. - Oct 2013
Am School is ok and has either AP or IB programs. One of the middle-school teachers came across as biased towards locals, and another was teaching a subject she wasn't trained in. Middle school principal also seemed biased towards locals. There are a lot of rich kids with drivers there though, so your own kids might not fit in perfectly in terms of getting to go places day or night like the local kids. Mine have been fairly content. My oldest though, left after one year. He didn't get bullied, but he felt that their curriculum wasn't strong enough to get into a top-tier school. Most folks with kids at the Discover School seem happy, although most of the kids that go there arein the lower grades. - Jun 2013
We have been very very happy with el Campo International School. We were very unhappy with Discovery School and have heard grumblings from many within the embassy community. We don't have personal experience with the American School, but we got the feeling that the very wealthy Honduran children go there and that bullying and behavioral problems exist. - Apr 2013
Discovery, which is considered good for lower grades, and American which is considered good academically for all grades -- but I think it is kind of closed socially to expats at the high-school level. - Nov 2009
My kids are too young to be in school, but I know there are two main schools. The Discovery school is where most people send their kids, and I think it's a good option for very young kids. The atmosphere is very good there, but I would say the curriculum is not as good as it is at the American School. The American School is without a doubt a better academic choice for middle/high school, but probably there are more social struggles there, as all the wealthy Honduran kids attend the AS. - Oct 2009
