IB World School between Flamingo and Brasilito, built around dual-language immersion and experiential learning.
La Paz is the school families move to Flamingo for. That is not an exaggeration — I have had buyers rule out entire towns because of the drive to this campus.
It sits between Flamingo and Brasilito, 400 metres east of the Mar Vista entrance, and it runs preschool from age one all the way through Grade 12.
It is an IB World School, and it teaches through dual-language immersion — not Spanish as a subject, but genuinely operating in two languages. Kids come out actually bilingual rather than bilingual on paper.
The school's stated aim is to "cultivate informed and mindful citizens of the world" through a dual-immersion and experiential learning program, emphasising analytical skills, multicultural empathy and creativity.
Their distinctive pieces, in their own terms: Peace Practices, mindfulness, service learning built around environmental stewardship, place-based experiential learning, and what they call Anchor Projects. It is a real philosophy, not a tagline — and it is either exactly what you want for your kid or it is not.
IB World School, accredited with Costa Rica's MEP, plus ACEP and the College Board. The IB Diploma Programme runs in grades 11–12. The grade bands have their own names — Bajura for preschool, Miravalles for K–2, Arenal for 3rd–5th, Tenorio for 6th–8th, Chirripó for 9th–12th.
There is also an Events and Sports Center, and a second campus inland at Tempisque running the same program.
Families who want IB, want genuine bilingualism, and are drawn to the mindfulness-and-stewardship end of education. If you want a conventional US-style school with a big sports complex, CRIA down the road is the other answer.
Whichever way you lean: drive it from wherever you are considering buying, at 7am, before you commit.