The Best Public and Private Schools in San Salvador (According to a Cynic With a Notebook Full of Bad Coffee Stains)

look, i didn’t come here to write about schools. i came because my firm said "go audit this banana exporter" and now i’m sitting in some third-wave cafe watching the afternoon lightning crack over *Volcán de San Salvador like god’s own flashbulb. but you asked, so here’s the dirt i scraped up between spreadsheets and existential dread.

the corporate cadets (aka private schools)
let’s start with the fancy pants academies where kids learn to say "hedge fund" before they lose their baby teeth. Liceo Francés feels like they airlifted a Parisian boulevard into Escalón - think $800/month fees and gate checks tighter than airport security (heard a rumor they fingerprint the nannies? check the expat forums). Colegio Lamatepec? yeah, if you want junior doing robotics club next to actual ambassadors’ kids. solid english programs though.

the underdog battalions (public schools)
now the real MVPs - Instituto Nacional General Francisco Menéndez (INFRAMEN). this place is louder than a reggaeton block party but churns out scholarship kids like a machine. graduated three president’s kids allegedly (proof buried in this PDF). Centro Escolar República de Panamá in Cuscatancingo? teachers buy chalk out-of-pocket but the theater program slaps. met a mom at Mercado Ex Cuartel who whispered “esa escuela está guerreando con uñas” (translation: they’re fighting with fingernails).

the wildcards
Colegio Español does flamenco + coding camps (??). Escuela Americana costs more than your rent in Zona Rosa ($1.2k/month for a 2-bed, btw) but their football field could fit my entire childhood neighborhood.

overheard at La Ventana’s terrible open mic night:
“don’t put your kid in that Montessori by Metrocentro unless you want them learning math with mango slices” - drunk architect with a 🇸🇦 tattoo.

safety stats they won’t print in brochures: zona norte schools lock gates at 3pm sharp. daytime muggings up 12% last quarter (see this depressing news site). petty crime’s down near Multiplaza mall but hello, traffic jams that’ll steal your soul.

current weather report: sweat dripping down your neck at 8am, thunder cracking like a whip by noon, then suddenly it’s all golden hour light hitting the Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo* like a telenovela finale. also guatemala city’s a 3-hour death drive away.

final thought? your kid’s future ain’t in a spreadsheet. unless they get into INFRAMEN. then maybe. avoid this scammy ‘education consultant’ listed on tripadvisor.

You might also be interested in:

• https://topiclo.com/post/qc-cash-grabs-how-im-not-starving-between-classes
• https://topiclo.com/post/daytons-not-what-you-think-a-raw-expat-survival-guide
• https://topiclo.com/post/best-afterschool-activities-and-youth-sports-in-mar-del-plata-according-to-a-pro-dancer
• https://topiclo.com/post/samsun-a-city-thats-not-quite-what-i-expected
• https://topiclo.com/post/yo-the-weather-in-pyongyang-is-wild-and-weird