HISTORY

 

There was no high school at all in Tortuguero until 2001 when some locals got together and decided to fight for the future of education in the village.  This small high school had nowhere to call its own and it was borrowing two run-down classrooms from the local elementary school.  As the high school has grown exponentially in the past several years, it now proudly enrolls more than 65 students in 5 grades.  The two classrooms and 20-some-odd desks were not sufficient to meet the needs of the students.

 

  

So, thanks to many generous donations and a lot of hard work, on June 17, 2006 classes were held for the first time in an official Tortuguero high school building.  This construction project has been massive and multi-faceted, and has benefited from collaboration by experts and caring people in many parts of Costa Rica and the world.

 

The main construction occurred in two phases.  In phase 1, a main building with two large rooms, a small office, and bathrooms was completed. 

Phase 1 construction complete

The second phase of the construction began in December of 2006 with the building of 5 classrooms with sufficient space for at least 25 students in each class in order to make room for more and more students, as enrollment is projected to grow steadily over the years.  According to the design plan, the classrooms will be built in a circle, which will look like one of the turtles for which Tortuguero is famous.  But more than just aesthetically pleasing, the shape will serve to form an open amphitheater in the center that can be used as a common area, a place for performances and assemblies, and a place for community meetings.  As of June 2009, we have also built a cafeteria and small kitchen area.

 

One and a half classrooms completed All five classrooms are now completed. Library and Study Room With a donation from Gerard A. Verduga of 15 computers, we have a fully functional computer lab. We are currently working on pooling resources to pay for internet service here in Tortuguero. The plaque was unveiled during the inaguration celebrations.