General Information:

Balboa Academy is a private non-profit co-educational day school, which offers an American college preparatory educational program from Pre-Kindergarten (3 and 4 year old programs) through 12^th grade for students of all nationalities.

The Academy's goal is to provide a quality educational program for students with high potential who come from diverse cultural backgrounds, interests, and talents, and whose commonality is a desire to learn and achieve social and professional success.

We strive to instill in our students a lifelong love of learning through the application of modern methods of instruction and prepare them to meet the challenges of the future in the fields of science, fine arts, language arts, sports, technology, and civic and moral values.

The School Year:

The school year will consist of 183 days of classroom instruction divided into two semesters extending from early August to mid June.  School vacations are four weeks at midyear, mid Dec to mid Jan; one week at carnival,  and one week at Easter; . The school observes Panamanian school holidays and Thanksgiving (2 days). The 2007- 2008 school year starts on 9 Aug 2007 and ends on 11 Jun 2008.   The school opened in August of 1999.

School Hours:

The school class hours for grades 1-12 are 8:00 AM to 2.55 PM on M, T, Th, & F and 8:00 AM to 12.45 PM on W.  Kinder hours are 8:00 AM to 12:45  PM on M, T, W, Th, & F.  Pre-Kinder hours are 8:00 AM to 11:30  PM on M, T, W, Th, & F.

Curriculum:

The Balboa Academy curriculum is a college-preparatory program similar to that of private schools in the United States. The instructional program is implemented in English.  Spanish is taught as both a native and foreign language.  French is taught in High School as an additional foreign language.  Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered in all major subject areas.  U.S. and Panama history, geography, and government are integrated into the social studies curriculum to satisfy both U.S. and Panamanian academic requirements.   All graduates qualify for a U.S. diploma. Graduates may also qualify a diploma from the Panama Ministry of Education.   There is no religious instruction.

Educational Priorities:

• Develop thinking and problem-solving skills

• Use writing throughout the curriculum

• Integrate technology throughout the curriculum

• Encourage students to apply prior knowledge in new situations

License:

The Balboa Academy is licensed to operate as an international private school on a U.S. schedule by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Panama.

Accreditation:

The Balboa Academy is fully accredited in the United States by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. 

Organization:  

Balboa Academy is a non-profit foundation (registered in both the US and Panama) governed by a Board of Trustees (nine members) selected from the founding educators to maintain the mission, goals and facilities and a Board of Directors (nine members) composed of parents who oversee the operation of the school.

Faculty:

There are 68 full-time teachers, 3 part-time teachers, 2 counselors, 2 educational prescriptionists, 6 education technicians, and 3 administrators on the faculty of Balboa Academy.  There are  50 US, 15 local, and 3 third country teachers.  The all classroom teachers except Spanish language teachers are English speaking, educated in the United States, and have U.S. teaching credentials. The Spanish language teachers are native Spanish speaking with Panamanian university degrees and teaching credentials.   Forty faculty members have masters degrees. The student teacher ratio is approximately 11:1.

Enrollment:

Enrollment (30 Jan 08)  for second semester school year 2007-2008 is 782, broken-down as follows:

The student population is approximately 40% US, 30% Panamanian, and 30% international from 38 countries. 

Facilities:

The campus is located in the City of Knowledge, Clayton, Panama City, Republic of Panama.  The school leases four air-conditioned classroom buildings and a health & fitness gym complex, which include: 67 classrooms, 3 libraries, 6 computer laboratories, art and music classrooms, 4 science laboratories, and 2 multi-purpose rooms (lunch room/auditorium).  Capacity is approximately 800 students (60 per grade).  The school has use of baseball and soccer fields, tennis courts, gymnasium, Olympic swimming pool, 600 seat auditorium and physical fitness and activity areas of the City of Knowledge.


 

Fees:

Tuition fees are commensurate with that of other quality international private educational institutions in Panama.  The annual tuition fees for the 2007-2008 school year are as follows: Pre-K : $3700; Kinder: $5,140; grades 1-5: $6,140; grades 6-12: $6,800. Additional a Registration Fee for PK of $320 and for K-12 of $650 per year for books and supplies.  A one-time Admission Fee of $6,000 for the purchase or remodeling of buildings and purchase of durable equipment such as computers, furniture, and library books.  Each family additionally contributes $300 annually to the Infrastructure Fund for expansion of school facilities. Additionally, there is a $20.00 annually dues for the Parent, Teacher, and Student Organization (PTSO).