American International School of Costa Rica

AIS follows a US curriculum aligned with AERO standards and NGSS science, and students graduate with a US high school diploma. In parallel they can complete the Costa Rican high school diploma recognised by the Ministry of Public Education. High School offers College Board Advanced Placement courses with AP exams on campus, honors classes for high-achieving students and MATEM classes for Costa Rican university entry. Students also prepare for the PSAT and SAT and can join Model United Nations and the National Honor Society.

Early Childhood includes four levels: Toddlers (age 2), Preschool (age 3), Pre-K (age 4) and Kindergarten (age 5), with half-day or full-day options. Elementary is the largest division and uses project-based learning. Middle School leads into High School, which runs to Grade 12 and offers US and Costa Rican diplomas, AP and honors courses.

AIS presents itself as a place where high-quality education meets multicultural soft skills. It aims to know and support each student in a small, personalised community, building confidence, curiosity, collaboration and perseverance. The school stresses respect for nature, community service, strong ethical values and a global outlook, and a life skills programme focuses on non-violent communication and bullying prevention.

The green, single-storey campus is organised around covered walkways and landscaped courtyards with picnic areas. Facilities include an artificial-turf soccer field, a covered basketball court with a stage, a covered playground for young children, a cafeteria, a science laboratory with a specialist teacher and a MakerSpace equipped for coding, simple circuits and 3D printing.

A cafeteria run by an external caterer serves hot breakfast and lunch every day, and a private bus service is available at extra cost. All students wear a school uniform. The Learning Support Programme, staffed by special education teachers, assists students with learning difficulties, while a college counsellor guides High School students through university applications in Costa Rica and abroad. Early childhood pupils can attend half or full days.

After-school activities run from 15:10 to 16:10 and include gymnastics, soccer, tennis, karate, volleyball, basketball, an acting club, choir, guitar, a percussion ensemble, art, needle felting, Minichefs cooking and Model UN. High School basketball and volleyball teams compete in AASCA tournaments, and soccer teams for all ages are formed with a partner soccer academy. Each grade goes on field trips, and from Grade 3 students attend annual overnight camps.