Once best known for the cattle and horses wandering on the long, lonely stretches, the Libramiento (Chapala bypass) is now a center of education. The newest of the schools built on the hills overlooking the shortcut joining La Floresta and the highway to Guadalajara is perhaps also the most innovative.
When the fall session of Instituto International begins on August 18, 100 students in grades 7 through 12 will take their places in modern “green” classrooms with sweeping mountainside and lake views. The dramatic building offers students more than just a view. As part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB), the 2015 seniors will graduate with accreditation recognized by the best universities in North America and around the world.
The totally “green” lakeside Instituto Internacional compound has it all. A solar panel system produces the school’s energy, classrooms are equipped with latest in educational technology and feature lighting systems that automatically adjust to ambient light from the banks of windows.
In harmony with the school’s mission to create a community of mutual assistance in the formation of innovative and critical global citizens, a fully operational aguaponic farm is just steps from the classroom building. With six tanks of tilapia and carp and five water beds, the recently certified organic farm is producing celery, a variety of lettuce, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables. The produce, which is all raised from heritage seeds saved from previous crops, are used for student meals, with the excess sold to help support the scholarship program.
Maintaining the delicate balance in the aguaponic system are Araceli Farias and Randy Fligel, who among their gardening and farming assignments also help conduct tours for students from schools and universities all across Jalisco.
Aguaponics is just an example of the broad-spectrum education students at Instituto International receive. In all of the sciences, language arts, ethics, standards and even the theory of learning, the school’s curriculum is divided into a bilingual program with heavy emphasis on learning in both English and Spanish and a bicultural program.
Students Diana Perez Gonzalez and Anali Ramos spent part of the July break at a conference in Montreal designed to guide students in discussions of current international human rights issues. As students return to classes this week, each will be assigned a country to represent in this model United Nations program. During the year each will continue to study their country’s situation and conditions. Periodic mini-conferences, based on the Montreal model, will be scheduled so students can issue reports to advise others of recent developments. Along with increasing production, the school’s board hopes to begin an aguaponics teaching program, organize a conference in aguaponics at the school or bring members of the community into learning about aguaponics at the current installation.
The IB program sets strict educational, recreational, and extra-curricular standards that must be met in order to qualify schools for inclusion in their system and, in turn, make graduates eligible for accreditation. For example, this school has the state’s only high-school chemistry lab with an adjacent shower and clean room in case of accident or emergency. A tour of the complex reveals many of the adjustments made to meet the IB building and classroom requirements.
The specific method of accountability and standards for curriculum and the 30 local teachers in the IB program are just as strict. In addition to their college training, some teachers are required to attend subject conferences scheduled around the world. The lakeside school’s science teacher recently attended a required training course in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The school’s founder and board director, Lily Ehlebracht, outlined the tremendous progress the school has made in its three-year history: “We opened in 2011 with just eight students in a high school program. We’ve always wanted not just to be the best, but to offer the best of the best education possible. We’re achieving that goal, even in this short time. Our students from that first class are currently attending the University of Guadalajara and the University of Alberta.”
Lana Ehlebract is Lily’s mom, who serves as secretary of the school’s board of directors: “By the end of that first year, we realized that we needed to add a middle school for grades 7 through 9 to better prepare our students for our rigorous form of education.
“That year, 2012, we had 35 students. This building was completed by the beginning of the 2013 school year, and 100 students enrolled. When we start classes next week, it looks as if we’ll have close to 150 young people in classes here.”
Aaron Baker, who attended school in Missouri with Lily Ehlebract, is the newest member of this enthusiastic administrative group. Baker has come on board to learn the school and its system and prepare for the next big development. By the start of the winter term, Instituto International will be enrolling up to 40 residential students.
This summer the third floor of the building was a beehive of activity as workers built dorm rooms in two separate wings, complete with separate study and lounge areas. The two on-site residential advisors will be housed in the area where the wings meet so that they can be on hand to meet the students’ needs and to maintain security in the area.
“Residence space for students is the next obvious step for a bilingual and bicultural school like this,” said Baker. “There are parents in other areas of Mexico and around the world looking for passionate education and a beautiful, accredited system like this. It’ll be a prime place for parents who want to enrich their children’s learning experience.”
Lily Ehlebracht added, “The IB program has an A+ standing worldwide. It’s our blueprint to help students gain the foundation they need to formulate and achieve their dreams. That’s the vision we’re striving toward, creating a community of independent students with an international mentality and a great love for learning and an understanding of social responsibility.”
For more information about Instituto International, email Lily Ehlebracht at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Aaron Baker at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The school welcomes visitors for tours of the school and the aguaponics. Guests can make arrangements through one of these email addresses or by phoning the school: (376) 688-0004.