When does school start for elementary school age in panama and if i plan to relocate when should i do it?

Question

if i'm pregnant-due in october?

Answer 1

Elementary school starts in late March/early April.  It all depends if it's a private school or a public school.

However if you plan to relocate you should consider different things if you're pregnant.

First, remember that after a certain month airlines won't allow you to fly, so if you want to give birth in Panama or in your home country you should consider relocating after you give birth; specially if you have citizenship issues with your new child.

Also finding space in a private school in Panama is not easy.  If your children speak Spanis you at least have one end of the problem fixed, as they don't have to learn a new language.  If that's not the case then you're limited to go to a private school that only teaches courses in English.  As far as I know there's only one school in Panama like that called the International School of Panama (where all the ambassadors and foreign diplomats children go).  Their diplomas are accepted worldwide, so there's no problem with continuing higher education.

However if your children speak Spanish you should start going to schools now, and finding one that seems fit for you, and start the admission process, as it may take some time.  That way you can at least be sure that your children will be in school for next year, specially if you're from out of town.

Believe me, my firm does relocation for our clients, and recently a group of Venezuelan clients relocating to Panama have that particular need, and the hurdle we've found is that they're late for this years admission period.  They may be able to go in next year, at least the big kids.  If your children are going into kindergarten, then there's no problem, as there are plenty of good kindergartens that will accept children, and then you can transfer them next year to elementary school, and that will give you enough time to look for a suitable school.

Answer 2

I agree, most schools begin in late March early April and go to mid Dec.  As you may know, the "dry season" is Dec-March.

Note, some private schools stick with the US schedule Aug/Sept - May/June.

If you have pets, they can't be put in the cargo area of an airplane during the winter months.

Plan early and find out everything you can, as you are doing now.

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