[tsamprasxx]

Just recently Melanio Paredes, Secretary of Education DR*presented a national school ranking placing Carol Morgan School in position #245 among(approx)5000 schools in Dominican Republic. However, in its segment, it was ranked among the lowest.
I have no idea what criteria and measurements were used for this low ranking. But from the start, the Dominican Republic, nor any of its educational institutions is equipped, or qualified in my opinion*to rate CMS, including the Dominican Education Department.
CMS is not a Spanish curriculum school. It is totally English speaking. *In its early years it was 95% foreign student with a token Dominican roster. It was founded to serve the children of the US diplomatic corps and Americans living in DR.
Today, CMS's student body is overwhelmingly Dominican thanks to the upward mobility of Dominicans and the desire to have their children educated in an American Genvironment.*But CMS*is not a bilingual school. While Dominican students remain faithful to the Spanish language when communicating with each other, in class they must communicate in English.
It would be hard for someone from the outside to distinguish Dominican students at CMS*from U.S. or other foreign students due to their English fluency and their acquired American culture.*
A CMS Dominican student transfering to a U.S. school, college, or university would feel right at home. Most CMS graduates attend universities abroad and are readily admitted to top American schools. Some stay in DR and attend top Dominican universities*UNIBE and Madre y Maestra.
However, it would be unfair to test, or rank*CMS *students *using Dominican standards. *The Dominican curriculum is totally different. *A. CMS student *is more *comfortable with American , or world history than Dominican history.
I was CMS educated and while well versed in Dominican history, culture and customs, I am a product of American culture. *There are Spanish language, Dominican history
*geography, and Dominican social science courses at CMS, but education is geared towards the U.S. market.
I venture to say that a Dominican who learned English in a Dominican school is not qualified to teach*English at CMS. *Most teachers at CMS are American born and trained under international school standsrds.**Dominican born teachers at CMS *graduated at CMS, or in U.S. *schools.
How would a top native Dominican school *fare if given the IOWA *or College Board tests ? *Likewise, using Dominican standards on a U.S. curriculum *school would be *unfair.
I studied at La Salle Dominicana, Colegio Evangelico Central during my elementary years, CMS and Riverside Military Academy in high school. While Riverside students carry their school logo proudly forever, I consider CMS the most important educational milestone*in my overall education.
CMS is not just education, it is an experience. International schools are a different breed.
I sense that apart from the curriculum, ranking a school Pmust include facilities, technology, environment and other like criteriap
I dare say that in DR, CMS is in a class of its own. It sits perhaps in the most valuable piece of real estate in the country. The views from its football fields is breathtaking with high rises and a skycraper(Canei Tower) It has the best sports facilities in the nation with an air-conditioned gymn and huge outdoor sports fields.
CMS automated cafeteria is as large as the Plaza Central, Bella Vista or Jumbo malls food areas with a menu that meets restaurant standards.
Its most impressive site is the Library-Technology center featuring the best English libray in the Dominican Republic. You can read the Miami Herald, all Dominican newspapers and El Pais daily. Almost every important magazine is available, not to mention its huge reference library. Its comfort is five star. *
The other impressive feature at CMS is the highly computerized ambient. The very latest technology is available everywhere short of having computers in the bathrooms. Any student at CMS can reach a computer easier than their own calculator. The Wi-Fi system covers the entire campus and ironically, all students possess lap tops and the latest technological gadgets like i-Pads and smartphones.*
Students are taught the very latest computer science and are so good with computers many could easily teach computer courses. Audio visual and video conference*equipment is almost taken for granted. It has a first class conference center, The envy of any university.*
Its art department is so well equipped that a professional artist can come and produce work there. The music department has one of the best music bands of any school in the world. So good is the band that it performs at Teatro Nacional and to watch it play the tickets are as expensive as those for top MTV stars. It has won several international competitions.
*Every classroom is air-conditioned and classes are less than half the size*of most Dominican schools(tops 20 ) Every student has its own assigned secured locker.
Its Health Center is equipped to handle medical emergencies and routine situations. It has its own school store, printing center and its immaculate gardens are more an arboretum than garden. The security is first class. Students are brought to and picked up at safely guarded parking lots.
I learned my English at CMS. I studied abroad using my CMS skills and was so well prepared for the big leagues that I was not required remedial English or American history courses to meet U.S. Standards. I passed college entrance tests handily, I breezed thru my college education easily and was so well adapted to American standards of education that it was almost a natural. Yet, I was not among the best CMS students at the time.
I know hundreds of CMS students. I find them smart, technologically advanced, prepared for tghe future challenges facing youth today, marketable in tough environments and in my own personal opinion, better rounded*than I was at their age.*
I considered myself very successful, BTW thanks to my main Alma Mater CMS.

P.S. I found posting this from my IPhone very awkward. It seems DR1 software is not vey compatible with IOS5. Sorry for any mistakes in setting this post. I did not correct a mispelled word.

[VitaliyMurnov]

He lives!!!!!

Man we miss you...Those of us "oldies" miss the good old days when you'd give us the scoop on what was really going on behind the curtains and your insight in general.

[BebopVT]

Welcome back Golo. You sure are passionate about your Alma Mater. Your intelligence has always been evident on DR1. It must have been that school you went to.

[cl004]

ouch! looks like the education bureaucrats touched a nerve here. A number of "good schools" did not do very well. Carol Morgan School is not alone.
Considering the dismal overall condition of the Dominican school system they do not get much right. CMS is one of the most respected (and expensive) schools in the DR. When it comes to education you get what you pay for. Forget it!!! One obscure Dominican survey that no one reads or understands does not change anything.

[ultimda horaf]

IIRC that survey was based on Pruebas Nacionales results - the Dominican Education Ministry examinations taken at the end of 8th grade. Bilingual/American/International schools like CMS would not make preparations for these exams such a priority, it's enough for the students to pass. Hillbilly had some criticisms of the methodology of the survey generally.

[tsamprasxx]

He lives!!!!!

Man we miss you...Those of us "oldies" miss the good old days when you'd give us the scoop on what was really going on behind the curtains and your insight in general.

Hey guys: sorry I haven't been around. But I always lurk and keep the DR1 alumni on my mind. I've staying low, except I've started hitting the Twitter board. While new at it, I've gotten into my favorite themes of International Politics. But I also hit the local scene. I'm listed under Carlos Paulino on Twitter. My photo shows me with a baseball cap and a green denim jacket. You might be able to identify me by my raucous conservative views, usually in defense of America and freedom.
If you're on Twitter hit me up. Be glad to share and argue ideas with you. It'll be fun.

[gDGwm8BC]

IIRC that survey was based on Pruebas Nacionales results - the Dominican Education Ministry examinations taken at the end of 8th grade. Bilingual/American/International schools like CMS would not make preparations for these exams such a priority, it's enough for the students to pass. Hillbilly had some criticisms of the methodology of the survey generally.

My wife just laughs at the survey, as do her friends employed at the education ministry.

[S.T.D.]

Hey guys: sorry I haven't been around. But I always lurk and keep the DR1 alumni on my mind. I've staying low, except I've started hitting the Twitter board. While new at it, I've gotten into my favorite themes of International Politics. But I also hit the local scene. I'm listed under Carlos Paulino on Twitter. My photo shows me with a baseball cap and a green denim jacket. You might be able to identify me by my raucous conservative views, usually in defense of America and freedom.
If you're on Twitter hit me up. Be glad to share and argue ideas with you. It'll be fun.

Following. Looking forward to reading your Tweets.

[dserbokim]

On Tweeter but not following.
Good to see you back here.

Was it you that dissed NASCAR in favor of F-1??? Can remember...it was good no matter.

HB

[fissasste]

My wife just laughs at the survey, as do her friends employed at the education ministry.

was your wife the person who suggested that the standard of education, at least in mathematics, was far higher in the DR, than in Cuba? i seem to remember where you made mention of some spousal relationship in your anecdote a while back.

[Erexecike]

Where can I find that school ranking? Thanks for reply

[8jIDXQ80]

Where can I find that school ranking? Thanks for reply

it's a fairly big PDF file:
Ranking Escolar CLACE 2011.pdf

[gDGwm8BC]

was your wife the person who suggested that the standard of education, at least in mathematics, was far higher in the DR, than in Cuba? i seem to remember where you made mention of some spousal relationship in your anecdote a while back.

My wife is an Algebra teacher, with a degree in Mathematics and another in Statistics. Your memory is faulty because what I said was she had to teach high school grads from Cuba how to do grade 8 math ( Dominican grade 8). Now my wife has only taught in private schools, except here in Canada and teacher practicums through PUCMM back in the 1980's. Carry on multi-headed monster.

[fissasste]

My wife is an Algebra teacher, with a degree in Mathematics and another in Statistics. Your memory is faulty because what I said was she had to teach high school grads from Cuba how to do grade 8 math ( Dominican grade 8). Now my wife has only taught in private schools, except here in Canada and teacher practicums through PUCMM back in the 1980's. Carry on multi-headed monster.

ç

correct me if i am wrong, but the tenor of your assertions, then, as now, is that the standard of education in Cuba, at least in mathematics, is lower than that in the DR. it is the worst kept secret in the world that education in the DR is not exactly something which can be characterized as inspirational. in a recent round of international scholastic testing, the DR placed 130 out of 131 countries in mathematics. if Cuba was below the DR in standards, it would be safe to deduce that Cuba would have placed last, had it been included in the list of countries tested. given that take on the subject, i am a little bemused, having read numerous working papers which suggest that Cuba is way ahead of Latin America in educational prowess. as a matter of fact, in one round of testing, the USA score was used as the base number, 100. Cuba scored 103, while the DR score was 86. so, let us make a fair exchange. i will give you a bibliographical list of all the papers which i know of, which have analyzed the Cuban education system, and deemed it to be exemplary. you give me a list of essays, or datasets, which buttress your assertion that it is beneath that of the DR, which, incidentally, seems to be considered to have the lowest acheivement in all of Latin America.

[Theariwinna]

Wow. Hadn't checked out the Forums since early 2011, then as soon as I log in, the top thread in General Stuff is one that was started by Golo. Good timing on my part, as his threads are highly informative and always give the inside scoop of DR's power circles.