Mission & Vision
The Gaia School of Costa Rica is a community of people committed to fostering a joy of learning and a deep connection to Mother Nature. We offer a rigorous educational approach in which the unfolding of each student's unique gifts is recognized and developed through a holistic and developmentally appropriate curriculum. Our graduates are inspired and empowered to pursue their passions and gain the skills needed to have a positive impact on the world.
Gaia School Values
Expertise
We believe that the greatest gift we can give students is a lifelong love of learning and the ability to develop expertise. Our rigorous academic standards provide students with the foundation to become experts in the fields that interest them so they have freedom in their adult lives to adapt to the changing world around them.
Connection to Nature
Environmental stewardship is a cornerstone of our curriculum and our impact in the local, regional and global community. We believe that we must have a healthy planet for our children to have a healthy future. We seek to foster an appreciation for nature and to help students build the skills necessary to protect it.
Health
We recognize that the health of the planet and the health of people are inextricably connected. We provide a healthy environment free of toxins; we provide healthy, whole, unadulterated food; and we foster healthy relationships and emotional intelligence, all with the goal of creating graduates who know how to create healthy lives for themselves.
Community
Recognizing our interconnectedness to all things, relationships are at the center of Gaia School. We believe that a healthy school requires the buy-in and contributions of the students, teachers, parents, and the broader community. We actively seek to foster that community.
Inclusiveness
The greater Santa Teresa community contains a rich diversity of races, nationalities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. All are welcome at the Gaia school. To ensure diversity, we have a scholarship program to help students with financial needs and we have a bilingual curriculum to ensure graduates will be fluent in at least English and Spanish.
Our Master Plan
The construction of the campus will happen in stages, and the first few stages are expected to be as follows:
Stage 1A
Stage 1a is expected to be complete by January, 2023. This stage is primarily focused on renovating an existing house on the property to meet the requirements of a school, and will be ready to accommodate 25-35 students in Grades pre-kindergarten – 4th grade.
Stage 1B
Stage 1b is expected to be complete by September 2023. This stage expands the facilities around the existing house. These facilities will be ready to accommodate 60-80 students in Grades pre-K – 5th grade.
Stage 2
Stage 2 is expected to be complete by September 2024. This stage is primarily focused on building our Early Childhood campus in its permanent location. When this phase is complete, we will be able to accommodate 100+ students in Grades pre-K – 6th grade.
The remainder of the campus
The remainder of the campus build out will likely span 8 – 10 years, depending on student demand and the growth of the school.
Our Land
Each morning students step out of the bus and onto the winding jungle path far from the hurried pace of modern life. Ripe mangoes and starfruit fall to the ground. Lucky for us all when it is the water apples that ripen overhead as the ground is blanketed with magenta blossoms. The Howler monkeys swing through the branches feasting throughout the day, their babies clinging tightly to the mothers’ backs.
Gaia School sits on 50 hectares of land that enlivens the senses and slows down time. The previous steward of this land bought it 25 years ago as cattle pasture. He lovingly reforested it and planted hundreds of fruit trees, creating a bountiful fruit forest that benefits the Gaia School community today. Eleven natural springs provide an abundance of water for the many plants and animals who call this land home.