Edwin Arrieta is heading home.

Arrieta, who formally coordinated Global Studies and World Languages for the Palm Beach County School District, has been selected to head The Falcon International School in Herradura Beach, Costa Rica.

Employed by the School District of Palm Beach County since 1998, the Costa Rican native has also been a foreign language teacher and a department chair at Boynton Beach High School. 
 


“I worked in the Global Studies office for three years and saw the opening for the Falcon International. They were looking for someone to come up with the direction for the new global student,” Arrieta said.

Falcon International School is located on Herradura road just outside the gates of Los Suenos Resort. Falcon International follows the North American school calendar where children attend from September through to the end of June.

This private, bilingual elementary school opened a brand new facility in August 2006. Currently there are about 50 elementary and pre-kinder aged children attending the school, however the facility will also have buildings for high school children.

Arrieta said children from two years old to 12th grade could attend Falcon International.

“My new philosophy here is to help students to be competitive in the world market and care for other citizens of the world,” he said. “I also want to do exchanges and teach students from different countries about people from other areas.”

When he gets settled after starting his new position June 29, Arrieta said he would be looking for ways to partner with schools and organizations in Palm Beach County and Boynton Beach.

Debbie Stewart, spokeswoman for the School District of Palm Beach County, said Arrieta previously played a role in the formation and execution of numerous partnerships between the school board and other countries, including Mexico, China and Spain when he worked in Palm Beach County for the district.

One such partnership was the International Spanish Academy, a program that attempts to teach all children a language other than their native tongue. This includes domestic children who want to learn a foreign language like Spanish.

“I think there are some 20 schools in the county that are part of the program,” she said. “The interaction of teachers in Spain and the U.S. are real time and instantaneous with today’s technology.”

As for his new position with the Falcon International, the school itself has a global orientation with students enrolled from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and other areas of the world.

Multicultural Education Executive Director Dr. Margarita Pinkos says she is not surprised by Arrieta’s appointment.

She said Arrieta is skilled in dealing with people from different cultures, as he once did for the Palm Beach County School District.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.