Need a School for Your Kids? Start Your Own
By Catherine Keogan, thebeachtimes.com

What do you do if you're an experienced teacher with two young children and a shortage of toddler schools in the area in which you live?

Open your own school, apparently.

Which is exactly how the Jardin del Niños in Tamarindo, newly opened last month, came into existence.

With a new baby girl of only four months, and her eldest daughter, at four years, too young for elementary school, Laura Cascante put her experience as a pre-school teacher to good use.

Ms Cascante had trained for four years as a teacher at the University of Costa Rica in San José before moving to the Guanacaste region, where she met husband Jean-Luc. She then worked a few years at two local schools, Pacifico del Norte and the Escuela Niños del Mundo in Tamarindo. She left the latter to go on maternity leave, and when it closed down, many parents in the area were left short � including Ms Cascante.

In her time as a schoolteacher, she had witnessed the increase of tourists staying as residents in the area, and the corresponding need for schools that would provide the kind of education that will be recognized outside of Costa Rica.

"The people of Tamarindo need a place for their kids, as many of them are working, and there are not enough toddler schools in the area. I have two daughters, and I thought of starting a school when I started thinking about what I was going to do with them," she explains.

So in December she posted notices about town explaining her idea for a new pre-school in the Tamarindo area. The response was immediate, and enthusiastic. Two meetings were held with interested parents and Ms Cascante was given the green light to pursue her project.

Within two months, she had found a small house for rent, hired assistants, and opened the Jardin de Niños in Villareal.

"Everyone thought it was a very good idea," recalls Ms Cascante. "Many of the parents work; they have nannies, but it's not the same. The nannies can take care of the children, but here at school the children can learn."

Today, the yard is swarming with 18 small children between the ages of one and five, with some of the older children helping the three assistants tend to the little ones. At the brightly painted school, the children are taught art, music, basic English, physical education, in addition to the familiar litanies of numbers and letters.

Ms Cascante follows the program of instruction provided by the Ministry of Education, but only as a baseline. With the children from such diverse countries as England, France, Argentina, and the Netherlands, parents' expectations can be quite varied, and the young entrepreneur found it necessary to improvise somewhat.

"I like to add some items that are not found in their program, to make it more interesting," she says. �Sometimes I will find ideas on the Internet. These kids are from all over the world "they need more than is found in the government's curriculum. I need to do an adaptation here in Tamarindo."

Parents are also provided with the services of two psychologists who visit twice monthly from San José, to help guide them through the challenging task of raising young children. They can also consult with a nutritionist to help plan healthy meals, and overcome some of the difficulties posed by finicky eaters.

Medical services are close at hand thanks to a contract with Emergencies 2000, and regular visits from social workers help to secure the emotional well-being of the school's young charges.

While not officially recognized by the government, the Jardin de Niños operates as a private school in the morning, and daycare in the afternoon, with the prices ranging between $150 monthly for the half-day and $200 monthly for the full day.

Despite her many responsibilities, the busy mother of two is not resting on her laurels just yet. In addition to opening and running a new business, she is studying to teach English, and is planning to one day open a school for older children.

"I would like to start an elementary school, so that I can grow with the kids, step by step," she says.

She is scouting the area around Villa Real for a location that will meet the government�s requirements, including adequate space, a play area, and two bathrooms. At the elementary level, she explains, government assistance becomes more valuable, and she will apply for permits to operate as a government-recognized school.

"The fact is teaching is a good business, but you need to do it well," she says.