Colegio Bolivar

Colegio Bolívar
Address
Cl 5a #122-21
Cali
Colombia
Information
Type Private
Established 1947
Director Dr. Joseph Nagy
Accreditation AdvancED
Yearbook Kiosko
Information +57 2 4855050
Website Colegio Bolivar Website

Colegio Bolivar is a private, non–denominational, American school located in Colombia's third largest city (population more than 3 million), Cali.

Founded in 1947 to serve the dependents of expatriate personnel assigned to Cali, the school's population has shifted over the years from a majority of expatriate students to a majority of Colombian nationals, made up for the most part of dependents from multinational businesses, faculty members, alumni, and Cali's business community.

The community, including just over 1,300 students, is divided into four school sections: Preprimary, Primary, Middle, and High. Each is led by its own principal and has its own faculty and facilities. The school, whose primary language of instruction is English, is college preparatory, with almost 99% of the graduates continuing onto higher education in Colombia and abroad.

Located on a thirty-five acre campus at the foothills of the Andes, Colegio Bolivar consists of ten classroom blocks, a science building, a library/media center, an auditorium, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, a cafeteria, an administration area, several athletic fields, and a great deal of open space. Cali's weather allows for the unusual feature of truly "open" classrooms: the rooms themselves have only three walls, with the fourth open to the outdoors.

History

Colegio Bolivar's green campus, featuring the Dale Swall auditorium.

Directors

Notable Alumni

Academics

Colegio Bolívar is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Colombian Ministry of Education. Both the US High School and the Colombian Bachillerato programs are offered, and diplomas are awarded for each.

The 105 faculty members, 16 teaching assistants and seven administrators of whom 46% are North Americans and third country, and 54% Colombian. Nearly 80% are either native English speakers or have near native fluency. Twenty-five of the faculty are "import" teachers, those brought specifically from the U.S. for employment with Colegio Bolivar. The staff includes twenty one master's degrees and five PhD's.

This is an English language school, beginning with English as a Second Language in the pre-school (K4 and K5) and early elementary school. While all students have at least one hour of Spanish language study daily, virtually all other academic classes are taught in English. By upper elementary school, the students are all academically bilingual. Traditionally, some 20-30% of the graduates attend universities in the United States where they matriculate as any North American would, with none of the special requirements of the average foreign student.

College Preparation

Colegio Bolívar prepares students for higher education by offering rigorous courses and extracurricular activities that allow the students to get a feel of what they want to do in their future lives. It also offers the Advanced Placement program, which is a set of rigorous, college-level courses that prepare a student for future studies. Aside from these, it also offers other classes that engage students to exploit their skills. The following is a list of courses and extracurricular activities offered by the school:

Electives

Extracurricular Activities

Advanced Placement

Colegio Bolivar offers the Advanced Placement program, which allows students in grades 10, 11, and 12 to take rigorous, college-level courses, for them to be prepared for higher education. The school offers the following AP courses: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics I, AP Physics II, AP Calculus AB, AP Psychology, AP English Literature and Composition, AP English Language and Composition, AP Spanish Literature and Culture, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP European History, AP United States Government and Politics, AP Comparative Government and Politics. Additionally, the school allows students to take AP courses not offered in-site through the online platform K-12 international.

Students that have taken the AP exams, have scored above the United States national average: 13%-15% of the students score a 5 (extremely well qualified), 18%-22% score a 4 (well qualified), 32%-36% score a 3 (qualified), and 32%-36% score below a 2 (possibly qualified). These scores are taken by the universities to give the students college credit.

TOEFL

The TOEFL test is an English proficiency test that is given to international students to test their level. Colegio Bolivar's average score has stayed between 98 and 102 points out of the possible 120 points. The minimum score needed to enter a university in the United States is 80 points.

ICFES

Seniors at Colegio Bolívar are required to take the ICFES (the comprehensive university entrance examination), given by the Colombian Ministry of Education each April. Colegio Bolivar's average test results have consistently placed in the first decile (categoría Muy Superior), which is the highest category. Usually, 20%-25% of the students score in the top 20 places, and many of those achieve perfect scores.

ACT

The average ACT composite score of Colegio Bolivar students that have taken the test is 24-25, which is approximately 4-5 points more than the United States' national average, and above the 75th percentile.

SAT

The average SAT scores of Colegio Bolivar students that have taken the test are 565-575 on the Mathematics section and 540-550 on the critical reading and writing section. The average overall score is 1115, which is approximately 115 more points than the United States' national average score, and above the 70th percentile.

University Acceptances

In the last five years, between 28% and 42% of Bolivar's graduates carry out their undergraduate studies outside of Colombia, mostly in the United States. Of those who remain in Colombia to study, between 51% and 63% do so in Bogotá. Additionally, each year there is a group of about 11% who do a foreign exchange, and/or study a third language abroad before starting their undergraduate studies. Between 40% and 50% of the seniors receive merit scholarships or financial aid. The total amount offered to the students oscillates between USD$2,700,000 and USD$3,050,000, including that offered by Colombian universities.


References

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