# Highschools for Expat kids in Monterrey



## lauriegabriel (Jun 19, 2014)

Hello 

We will be moving to Monterrey by the end of the summer...

I have a teenage boy who will be a freshman in Highschool this year. He does not know any Spanish, except when it comes to ordering food 

I was wondering if you all could give me some advice on the best educational/ schooling scenario for him...

We have looked into a few schools in the areas of San Pedro and Santa Catarina. ASFM and San Patricio specifically. I know that we have much more research to do in regards to the choices and opportunities for him.

My questions are:

Do you think it would be better to have him home-schooled/ do online classes with a Spanish tutor visiting our home frequently the first term or two, as to allow him to learn a bit of the language prior to enrolling him at a school? Part of me feels that he would feel more confident if he were to go in with some knowledge of the language prior to integrating him. Our concerns are also in regards to the social aspect. We have made a few contacts with families that have boys his age- that we plan to meet upon arrival... I am just at a loss with what will be best for him.

Also, the schools we have looked into are very expensive. Several thousand dollars for registration and a few thousand dollars a month. Of course, we are willing to pay for a good education for him- it just seems a bit steep to me, being that it is more than most colleges cost per quarter...

What schools would you recommend for an American Expat teenager to attend and for us to tour and contact? And why?

Thank you in advance for your help.

-Laurie


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

He should take his first step today: Get online with duolingo.com and spend a couple of hours each morning, and two more in the afternoon or evening. It is an excellent language teaching method and, if he is really motivated, he might just have enough Spanish to survive in a few months. Then, going to school with his peers in Mexico will take care of getting fluent in no time at all.


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## lauriegabriel (Jun 19, 2014)

Thank you. I have never heard of that website. I too, will need to utilize it. I do not speak the language either...


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Get to it then! 
Challenge each other by speaking only Spanish from this moment on. You may have to use an online translation to speak to each other for a couple of weeks, but that is part of the motivation.
Oh, oh! I just noticed that you are from SC. My wife is from NC and you are going to have to lose that accent, as it really gets in the way; Spanish is nicely phonetic but precise pronunciation is really important, as you will discover when you respond verbally on duolingo.com, which will allow you to try and try again until you succeed.


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## lauriegabriel (Jun 19, 2014)

He is in Ohio with his Dad for another month... and his father is the "opposite" of supportive in regards to this move and opportunity, so unfortunately, that is not an option for several weeks. I can get a jump start on it, however


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Since your son is a minor, you will need the support of his father to cross international borders; in the form of notarized letters of permission, preferably in both languages. You may also need them for him to get a residence visa. Check with the Mexican Consulate, if you have not already done so, as you will both need visas.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

lauriegabriel said:


> Hello
> 
> We will be moving to Monterrey by the end of the summer...
> 
> ...



Of course every child/teen is different, and you know your son best, so obviously only you can decide if he's up to an immersion experience. With that caveat, I'd encourage you to consider just putting him in school right off the bat (hopefully with a few key phrases/words under his belt from on-line study as suggested above). 

I'm basing this on both personal experience and observation:
1. At age 16 I spent a summer living with a family in Italy through an exchange program, knowing no Italian prior to leaving. By the end of the summer I could converse, read and write at a basic level, and I was wishing I had signed up for the full year program. 

2. The following year in 12th Grade I had a student from Costa Rica stay with me - she and 3 of the other 4 international students at my high school that year arrived with almost no English. At first it was hard for them, but they quickly picked up the language and were well integrated by the end of the year. It helped that the soccer playing student from Brazil had quite an aptitude for American football and could kick a field goal soccer-style from halfway down the field! 

3. Toronto is a city of immigrants. I see a lot of newcomer kids and teens arriving with little or no English - and then a year later they are fluent, while their parents still struggle with language. 

15 years old is a great age for acquiring a new language through immersion and becoming proficient quickly. Is your son feeling positive about the move? Attitude going into this type of experience will also impact learning, so hopefully he's looking forward to it.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

I met a girl who spoke very good English who had recently arrived with her father from Germany on a 3 year contract to work here. She enrolled in a private high school here in San Luis Potosi that teaches in English. I forgot the name of it but I presume they have a campus in Monterrey also.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

What's your son think of moving to Mexico and going into a Spanish immersion program? I think your assessment of this will go a long way to determine what to do. If he's gung ho, go for immersion immediately. If he's resenting the change, I'd go much more slowly, and even consider home schooling him and bringing in a Spanish teacher, as you said.

I've been involved with a lot of kids going to a new country. Age 15 is NOT an ideal age, as one poster thought. Yes, for an enthusiastic person entering willingly a new situation, progress is fast, but otherwise, I've seen that only kids under the age 10 (ten) make seamless transitions to new languages and cultures, and will speak without an accent fairly soon. At age 15, he very well may never lose an accent, which of course can be severely limiting in teen years. Later on, as well. But I'd say much depends on his mindset. At 15, kids already have minds of their own, generally.


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

If he is to be a freshman, that means that in Mexico he will be in junior high (secundaria). Mexico is on the older system. You, of course, do not even want to think about a public school for him, as they are terrible. A private, English speaking school is the only choice for him. Monterrey Tech should have a very good school that will accept him. Also, his attitude is very critical to having success; if he is gung-ho, he has a good chance. The friends that he selects will be very important, but that is true everywhere, as I'm sure you know. He must be gung-ho, or else he would stay with his dad, no? BTW, Mexican schools start back toward the end of August, so he has about 5-6 weeks before their Fall semester begins. Good luck.


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## lauriegabriel (Jun 19, 2014)

Ah, we shall see about the level of enthusiasm once he gets home and has some time to adjust to the concept of it. 
His dad is not supportive of any move- whether it be in my son's best interest or not. I could go into much detail on that one, but I will summarize with sharing that it is toxic when he spends too much time with him. He normally returns home feeling a level of guilt and it takes a few days for him to come back around... 
He is anxious to come home, but we have not had anytime to engage him in the process or have discussions because it all came about quickly prior to his leaving (just a two days before).
I think, initially the thought of the whole thing will be quite intimidating for him- but he is a great kid and very social. We moved to SC over a year and a half ago, which was his first big move- and he adjusted quickly. I am confident that once we are there and he has seen the area and met a few kids his age, he will feel much better about the move. I do think that it will be beneficial to have a tutor immediately to help with his comfort level and confidence.


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## lauriegabriel (Jun 19, 2014)

(I replied to both your post and another below)


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Meritorious-MasoMenos said:


> What's your son think of moving to Mexico and going into a Spanish immersion program? I think your assessment of this will go a long way to determine what to do. If he's gung ho, go for immersion immediately. If he's resenting the change, I'd go much more slowly, and even consider home schooling him and bringing in a Spanish teacher, as you said.
> 
> I've been involved with a lot of kids going to a new country. Age 15 is NOT an ideal age, as one poster thought. Yes, for an enthusiastic person entering willingly a new situation, progress is fast, but otherwise, I've seen that only kids under the age 10 (ten) make seamless transitions to new languages and cultures, and will speak without an accent fairly soon. At age 15, he very well may never lose an accent, which of course can be severely limiting in teen years. Later on, as well. But I'd say much depends on his mindset. At 15, kids already have minds of their own, generally.


Just to clarify - I did not say that age 15 is an ideal age to move to a new country (if it is being imposed on the 15 year old rather than something they are choosing), but it is still young enough to pick up another language pretty quickly, possibly but not necessarily without an accent. I agree that his attitude toward the move will be key.

When my eldest daughter (now in her late 20's) was in her early teens, I was seriously looking at the option of moving to Latin America. She had spent time previously in Mexico and Central America, even attending school for a few months at a time during a couple of more prolonged stays. Her father is Guatemalan (we were no longer together, though). She spoke Spanish. But she out and out refused to even consider the move, saying she would hate me forever, etc. etc. (She was a drama queen in her younger days, my darling daughter!) I was not up to all it would entail to drag an unwilling, resentful teen to a new country, and stayed in Canada (with frequent visits down south to family and friends, which she was happy to do). 

Fast forward about 6 years later when she and a friend went traveling around Mexico and Guatemala for several months. She came back and actually reproached me for not having forced her to move down there as a young teen! When I reminded her of how strong willed she was as a child, _me dio la razón._ (she admitted I was right)

I also have some cousins whose parents dragged them off to India in their teens, where they lived for several years (studying at an international school where their parents were working). At the time they had very mixed feelings, with the 14 year old being flat out opposed. As adults now, they all agree they are so thankful they had that international experience, which shaped their lives in many ways.

The teen years can be difficult no matter what, for both the teen and the parents. Hopefully your son can be on board in seeing this as a positive, exciting adventure, rather than something he's being forced to do.


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## Mr. P Mosh (Mar 14, 2012)

In Monterrey there are many bilingual private schools, there won't be that much of a worry for that, but he definitely will need to learn Spanish... is there any doubt about the language I can always help  I've been learning English by myself, so a English speaking partner wouldn't be bad :b


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## lauriegabriel (Jun 19, 2014)

That sounds great 

What schools would you recommend?


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Mr. P Mosh said:


> In Monterrey there are many bilingual private schools, there won't be that much of a worry for that, but he definitely will need to learn Spanish... is there any doubt about the language I can always help  I've been learning English by myself, so a English speaking partner wouldn't be bad :b


Don't know about the situation in Monterrey, but in Mexico City there are lots of so-called bilingual schools, which teach mostly in Spanish with a couple of hours a day of English instruction. There are real bi-lingual schools here but they're usually not cheap.


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

Monterrey Tech, being maybe the best university in Latin America, surely has a secondaria/prepa that has excellent teaching in English. I would start my search with them. Time is short and you need to be there some time to check out these things. Really tough when you have to do things at the last minute and rely on the advice of others that may/may not fit your needs. It's a lot different than in the US, where you can just go to a school and enroll the same day and take care of paper work later. Good luck. I would think that if your husband(?) took a job and explained that he had family (children) his employer would have helped with locating housing and schools, no?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

coondawg said:


> Monterrey Tech, being maybe the best university in Latin America, …


Minor quibble.

In my field, geophysics/seismology, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) is by far the best in Mexico. I don't know about other fields.


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## Mr. P Mosh (Mar 14, 2012)

If he will go to high school: 

Preta Tec (Monterrey Tech system): https://serviciosva.itesm.mx/Planes...aCol=NO&VerReq=&VerEqui=&IdTipoArea=&Materia=

or Prepa UDEM (University of Monterrey system): http://www.udem.edu.mx/Esp/Estudiantes-Internacionales/Pages/oferta prepa/costos.aspx

both fit... English classes with some hours in a third language (or second).

UANL is my alma mater, but I don't really know how good their bilingual offer is in high school level, you should contact them too: http://www.uanl.mx/en


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

I don't know about Monterrey, but back in the day, when we moved to Mexico, there were only two private schools that taught half the day in English and provided an education that was accepted in the West, the American School and the British School. As Isla Verde says, there are plenty of private schools that call themselves bilingual, but that is mostly a hope. I put my daughter into one for the summer, and it was 100% Spanish - great for her to learn Spanish, and easy, as she was only five at the time. Within six months, she spoke native quality Spanish, but at the American School. Therefore, Laurie, I think the best would be, if no one from Monterrey contacts you on this forum, to reach out to Western expats in that city, like now, and see what the city offers.

Just a quick google search of "Monterrey Mexico + high school for Americans" brings up both the fine schools mentioned by coondawg and P.Mosh, plus the American School Foundation of Monterrey. The links have contact information for applying students and that should be started asap:

Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education ... High school students account for the difference between its total number of students and ... Based in Monterrey, Mexico, the Institute has 31 campuses in 25 cities ..... American institution at the European Consortium of Innovative Universities ...

American School Foundation of Monterrey - Jump to High school profile - For the 2007-2008 school year, the high school enrollment is ... to universities in Mexico and 34% applied to universities in ...
Mexico, Monterrey: The American School Foundation of ...
Mexico, Monterrey: The American School Foundation of Monterrey, A.C.
United States Department of State
Date: 01/11/2012 Location: Mexico Monterrey Description: American School ... The Middle School/High School Campus which opened in 1996 serves students ...

Tecnológico de Monterrey
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/me...m/connect/ITESM/...Monterrey/.../High+School?...
Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey ... High School Programs. Prepa Tec is an unique place ... Tecnológico, Zip Code: 64849 | Monterrey, Nuevo León, México |
Prepa Tech (Monterrey, Mexico) High School (, ) 2013 ...
High School Sports - MaxPreps › ... › Prepa Tech (Monterrey, Mexico) Football


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## Mr. P Mosh (Mar 14, 2012)

I have no experience with the American School Foundation, but I know ITESM & UDEM pretty well, they're pretty preppy but for that same reason, most of the kids can at least communicate decently in English, here an example of Prepa Tec students:


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## cherylsinmonterrey (Jun 26, 2014)

Hi Laurie, 

Sorry for not posting earlier, we found out less then a week ago that we are leaving Monterrey at the end of the month and heading off to Reno, NV.
But the English speaking that I know anything about here in the Santa Catarina/San Pedro area are:

ASFM- Might not have any openings this year, but worth a check. They are also the most expensive school here.
AIM- Had 2 campuses and just bought another school, just like ASFM classes are in English, but social is mostly Spanish.
San Roberto- English school and friends have been very happy there.
Prepa Tech and Prepa UDEM - I have been told that they both have an all English Stream. both worth checking out on line. 

All of these schools are marketing themselves as international schools, but in practice they cater to the wealthier Regios in the area. That being said, they also offer Spanish classes for the international students they do have. You might have to fight a bit to get him the classes and tutoring he will need though.


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## miaux (Jul 16, 2014)

Hey, 

Im originally from Monterrey, so hope I can help. 

As a lot of people stated, TEC or UDEM have bilingual programs, a bit pricey, but the prices vary from campus to campus. Worth checking Prepa Tec Cumbres, Prepa Tec Valle Alto, Prepa Udem Valle Alto, Prepa Tec Garza Sada or Prepa Tec Garza Laguera

Public highschools are mostly in spanish except for 2: CIDEB UANL and Prepa 7 Bilingue... honestly I only know that middle class families that cant afford Tec or UDEM send them to CIDEB and they say the quality is quite nice and Ive personally interviewed people from this highschools and they have quite good english... worth having a look.

And finally, I rememeber when I used to live there, I saw an advertising for a bilingual highschool in San Nicolas called " Oxford", just a quick google and you will see their page in english ( just click on preparatoria and it will redirect you to the english site). 

And finally I would encourage you to sign your son to a school, as social skills will really help them to integrate in society. Personally, I studied in a bilingual school until grade 9, and remember on that year (9) a girl came from California... no spanish at all, but she was signed in my bilingual school... at first she was quite shy, but all the kids were quite curious of having a real "gringa" in school and she became quite popular... by the end of the year, she was able to curse in spanish (wey, *******, etc) and she became sort of the queen bee of mean girls... so bottom line, dont be scared to sign him up in a school, Monterrey is SLOWLY becoming quite globalized and kids make everything possible to integrate them ( I have seen kids from India, Nigeria, Germany and Americans integrate quite well, being themselves sons and daughters from expats). 

Hope this helps!


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

I think that most people forget that she said that her son will be a 9th grader, that is not Prepa, verdad? That is secondaria, no? And, I'm sure it thrills her that he could become the "king bee" of bad boys.


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