Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education
Cooperative Extension Service
Office of International Public Service and Outreach
Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach

	Fourteen teachers and principals and five agricultural extension agents traveled through Costa Rica. Extension agents and teachers prepare to visit Tico Fruit Company. The group visited the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center at Turrialba to learn about agricultural and environmental research in Central America and local organic farming. Extension agents at Fina La Bella.		Connie Page with home stay family at Altos San Luis. Connie Page assists local farmer with early morning milking. Extension agents at Fina La Bella.

From June 8 through 23, 2004, 14 teachers and principals and five agricultural extension agents traveled through Costa Rica for a two-week cross-cultural seminar sponsored by the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE), the Cooperative Extension Service, the Office of International Public Service and Outreach, and the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach. The purpose of the seminar, "Culture, Science and Education Content in Costa Rica," was to help educators, teachers and extension agents better understand and work more effectively with Georgia's growing Latino population. Already, Latino children account for more than 50 percent of K-12 students in some schools in Fulton and Gwinnett County, where many of the seminar participants work.

The seminar, led by Glenn Ames, director of the Office of International Public Service and Outreach, and CLASE director Mike Padilla, began with a walking tour of downtown San Jose to exchange money and buy rubber boots at the Central Market for hiking to mountain pastures at the base of the humid cloud forests of Monteverde near the UGA EcoLodge San Luis. The group traveled from the peaks of the continental divide in the Central Highlands to the San Miguel Biological Station in the Cabo Blanco Absolute Reserve on the Pacific Coast and back over the mountains to the Atlantic coastal plain during their study of Costa Rican culture, education and rural economy.

Costa Rica has set aside 25 percent of its land in reserves; ecotourism is a thriving industry, and many areas are protected and managed, while other areas are open for tourists to enjoy the country's cloud forests, volcanoes, rivers and wildlife.

The diversity of the agricultural enterprises the group encountered on the trip was amazing. The farm families at Finca La Bella, who hosted them for their weekend home stays, were limited-resource farmers who cultivated small plots of coffee, beans, bananas, vegetable crops and livestock were grown on steep hillsides, primarily for home consumption and farm income. Milking by hand began at 5:00 a.m. for the early risers at the Ecolodge San Luis; surplus milk was sold at the Monteverde Cheese Factory.

SEE ALSO
	• "Touring Tico Culture," UGA Competing in a Global Economy

Highlights of the seminar included home stays with small-scale farm families at Finca La Bella, high in the mountains near the EcoLodge San Luis, and visits to rural primary and secondary schools in Santa Elena. The participants came away impressed by the Costa Ricans' dedication to providing the best education possible for their children. Rural families with limited means were committed to their children's education either in public or private schools.

The contrast between public and private schools in Costa Rica was dramatic. At the Colegio San Enrique de Ossó, a new private Catholic comprehensive school in San Jose, parents pay about $120 per month for tuition. The minimum wage in Costa Rica is around $200 per month, but partial scholarships were available for some students from families with limited resources. The extra resources were clearly evident in the up-to-date textbooks and other resources available to the students. The group met Stephanie Brooks, an American teaching English at the Colegio, which was accredited in the U.S. Students took the PSAT and SAT in the 11th and 12th grades, respectively; their scores demonstrated that they were well prepared for college in either Costa Rica or the U.S.

At the other end of the spectrum was Tico Fruit, a large agribusiness complex, which produces fresh pineapple and orange juice at its huge plant near Muelle on the Atlantic coastal plain. Juices and concentrates are sold in Tampa, Florida.

At the end of the trip, the group visited the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) at Turrialba to learn about agricultural and environmental research in Central America and local organic farming. CATIE's experimental farm specializes in coffee, cacao (chocolate) and dairy production and its collection of exotic fruits is extensive. Their visit to APOT, an organic farmers' cooperative, illustrated the challenges of survival in a very competitive environment. Small farmers receive no support from the government, certification can be expensive, and marketing a challenge. As the group listened to the president explain the co-op's 12-year history in a steady downpour, a participant remarked, "It must be a struggle to survive under these circumstances."

Teachers and extension agents discussed plans to utilize their experiences in teaching and programming activities like speaking engagements at public schools and civic organizations, diversity training, 4-H programs, and CES winter classes during reflective sessions on the road in Costa Rica.

"Our group's experiences in Costa Rica will provide an additional perspective on our state's Hispanic community," remarked one educator. Another commented, "I firmly believe that we will see immediate and long-term benefits for programs designed to build a better understanding of our Latino community in Georgia."

Culture, Science and Education in Costa Rica is the third cross-cultural seminar coordinated by the Office of International Public Service and Outreach designed to foster a better understanding of Latino culture in Georgia. The intent is to give participants—extension agents, teachers, social workers, and nurses—a broad set of cultural experiences so that they can better understand, communicate with, and ultimately develop programs benefiting the Latino community and, indeed, all Georgians.