At Vermont Medellin, we efficiently contribute to educate competent women and men who excel on ethic and intellectual fields as responsible citizens in our society. With a humanistic approach to education, we promote the students to respect their gender differences and take advantage of their own skills through pedagogic strategies and designated spaces for each one. Thus, our students start to develop such values at an early total immersion educational program with a bilingual (English & Spanish) curriculum that fosters interaction in other school activities, therefore reach a harmonious coexistence and continuous search of excellence.

Historical Background

In 1945 the teachers María Rojas Sanchez and Magdalena González Fernández both graduates from the Universidad Pedagogica Nacional in Bogota, founded in the same city, the school Nuestra Señora de la Paz. This school was initially oriented to educate competent women in the different humanistic tasks and to promote an integral education taking into account every aspect of life and concentrating in the importance of values.

The name was chosen to honor Virgin Mary and thank her because the same year the school was founded, peace had been recently reached in World War II. Since the beginning, the school was very popular within the Bogota’s society and the class of 1957 was the first one to graduate. In the year 1993, the school was graduating its 36^th class.

In 1994, the board of directors of the school decided to take a closer look at the educational project and change it according to the needs of the changing century. They developed a bilingual project with the assessment of Saint Michael’s College located in Vermont, USA. This institution designed the bilingual Spanish – English program, assessed the implementation and trained teachers through an agreement established between the two schools. This new school’s educational project led to the change of the name to Colegio Gimnasio Vermont.

The educational project went through another change in 1997. Following the new and modern educational trends, it implemented a coeducation program. The system helps identify and recognize the differences between boys and girls and establishes pedagogical strategies. Based on these differences, both sexes take advantage of their strengths and different skills.

This same year in the suburbs of Medellin, the school Gimnasio Vermont Medellin was founded in order to attend the needs of the families in this city. It started only with preschool due to the demand of a bilingual program with an early total immersion in English. From this date until now, the school has been growing thanks to the interest the project has raised in Antioquia. Now, the students who started the school are in 10^th grade and are looking forward to graduating in June 2009.

The academic excellence of the Gimnasio Vermont Bogotá, has been acknowledge by the results in the SABER and the ICFES tests where students have taken the first places over the past years. Furthermore, in the past four years, students have earned scholarships offered by the Universidad Nacional and Saint Michael’s College.

Our Director:

Dr. Fernando Rojas Rivadeneira