What Kind Of School Should You Send Your Kids To?

If you have children and you are considering an expat adventure, one of the biggest questions you’ll have to answer is what to do about their schooling. There are so many factors you’ll have to consider, and obviously different children have different needs, etc etc.

That said, there are a few overarching questions I think are worth taking into consideration no matter the academic circumstances, and if you can figure out how you feel about each of these, the choices should simplify.

Are you moving to a country that speaks a different language?

If so, how important is it to you that your child(ren) learn fluency? Without a doubt, the earlier they get involved in a native-language environment the faster they will adapt. That might sound challenging, and guess what - it is. But kids are resilient, and you’ll be amazed how quickly they can find their footing. Still, you may feel like it’s too much to ask of them, which leads to a second question…

How long do you plan to stay?

You may not know the answer to this, and that’s okay. But the more committed you are to the bit, the more this piece should factor in - especially if you’re moving to a country where you’re a non-native speaker. If you only plan to stay for a brief time (let’s say a year), you might decide full immersion isn’t a tradeoff you’re willing to make. But if you are planning to stay longer, you might consider tossing them directly into the metaphorical deep end.

Where do you want to live?

If you’re thinking of applying to international schools. many of them reside outside of city centers. So if you desire city life, that might mean a longer commute to school one way or another. On the other hand, if you want a lot of space, you’ll likely need to live further outside of a city, which in turn might require you to have a car, but can also make going to an international school easier if that’s the path you choose.

For us, we chose to move to Spain, where (surprise!) they speak Spanish, which we decidedly did not. We only planned to stay a year at the outset, so we enrolled our children in an international school where half the day was in Spanish and half was in English. It was a 30-minute bus ride each way, and we didn’t have a car, which meant we very rarely visited the school and it was difficult to build any sort of community with other families. Once we decided to stay longer, we moved our kids into local public schools, where we knew their language skills would develop faster and we’d have the opportunity to meet other families who live close by.

If I had to do it over again, and knew we were going to stay multiple years, we probably would have put our kids directly into the local schools, but you can only ever make decisions with the information you have on hand at the time.

Ultimately, there’s no perfect choice. You will likely learn way more about what suits you only once you’ve arrived and settled in. That’s why it’s important to remember that flexibility is your best friend as an expat parent. You can always adjust as you go!

When you think about moving abroad and where to send your kids to school, what questions are most important to you?