Good to know
Good to Know
- Ecuador's official currency is the US dollar, so school tuition is already quoted in USD with no currency-conversion risk for budgeting.
- Most of Quito's international schools cluster in the Cumbayá/Tumbaco/Puembo valleys east of the city, roughly 20-30 minutes from central Quito — many expat families choose to live in this valley specifically for school proximity rather than in the city center.
- Beyond quoted tuition, expect a one-time enrollment/matriculation fee (commonly in the hundreds to low thousands of dollars) plus possible extra charges for transport, uniforms, materials, and — in IB Diploma years — exam registration fees.
- Tuition at these schools is typically billed as an annual figure paid in installments (often 10 payments across the school year), not as a simple monthly rent-style charge, so budget accordingly.
- Several schools (Academia Cotopaxi, Colegio Americano, Los Pinos, Colegio Alemán, Lycée La Condamine) do not publish tuition on their own websites — always confirm current-year fees directly with admissions rather than relying on third-party estimates.
- For Quito's established international schools, start researching 12+ months before a planned move and aim to submit applications 6–9 months out — popular grade levels genuinely do fill up and waitlists are real, not just a formality.
- Budget for a separate, usually non-refundable enrollment/registration fee (matrícula) on top of monthly tuition — this can range roughly from the mid hundreds to a few thousand US dollars depending on the school and grade, and is charged separately from (and often not covered by) any tuition discount.
- If you're hoping to homeschool in Ecuador, the practical path most expats actually use is 'Educación Abierta' (distance learning through an accredited local school), not the fully independent 'Educación en Casa' route — the latter requires district-office approval and is rarely granted to families without certified educators.
- Quito runs on the Sierra academic calendar (roughly September to late June/July), which does not align with the coastal calendar used in Guayaquil — worth checking if you're transferring a child between Ecuadorian regions mid-year.
Schools And Curricula
Academia Cotopaxi American International School
- Founded
- 1959
- Curricula
- American college-preparatory curriculum combined with the IB Primary Years Programme and IB Diploma Programme; students can graduate with a US High School Diploma, Ecuadorian Bachillerato, and (optionally) the IB Diploma.
- Ages Served
- 12 months to Grade 12
- Neighborhood
- Monteserrín, northern Quito
Tuition
- Period
- annual, paid in installments
- Notes
- Figures are from the school's 2023-2024 U.S. State Department fact sheet; the school does not publish current fees on its own website, so actual current-year rates should be confirmed directly with admissions.
Levels
Nursery (IMAGINE)
- Nursery (IMAGINE)
- $5,322
Pre-K
- Pre K
- $10,945
Kindergarten
- Kindergarten
- $18,222
Grades 1-6
- Grades 1 6
- $19,980
Grades 7-9
- Grades 7 9
- $21,469
Grades 10-12
- Grades 10 12
- $21,515
Additional Fees
- Application Fee
- $200
- Registration Fee
- $1,089
Colegio Americano De Quito (CAQ)
- Founded
- 1939
- Curricula
- International Baccalaureate continuum (PYP, MYP, DP) alongside U.S. college-preparatory standards; operates a National Section (roughly 50% English / 50% Spanish) and an International Section (roughly 90% English / 10% Spanish). Graduates earn a U.S. high school diploma and Ecuadorian Bachillerato; the IB Diploma is an optional additional credential.
- Ages Served
- 3 to 18
- Neighborhood
- Carcelén, northern Quito
Tuition
- Period
- annual
- Notes
- Fees are not published publicly. Third-party aggregator averages for IB schools in the Quito market cluster around $11,000/year, but this is a market-wide estimate, not a CAQ-specific figure — contact the school directly for a current quote.
British School Quito (BSQ)
- Founded
- 1995
- Curricula
- English National Curriculum from Early Years through Year 13, integrating British and Ecuadorian strands, with Cambridge IGCSE in Years 10-11 and the IB Diploma Programme in the final two years. BSQ is the only authorized Cambridge IGCSE exam centre in Ecuador.
- Ages Served
- 3 to 18
- Neighborhood
- Tumbaco valley, east of central Quito
Tuition
- Period
- monthly
- Range Low
- $500
- Range High
- $900
- Notes
- Range varies by grade level, per a secondary expat-guide source; the school's own site does not publish fees publicly, so treat as indicative only.
Alliance Academy International
- Curricula
- American curriculum with Advanced Placement courses, taught by English-speaking teachers; historically serves missionary and Christian-expat communities alongside secular families.
- Ages Served
- Pre-K to Grade 12
- Neighborhood
- Conocoto area, southern Quito valley
Tuition
- Period
- monthly
- Range Low
- $500
- Range High
- $800
- Notes
- Generally positioned as more affordable than Cotopaxi or CAQ; figure from a secondary expat-guide source, not the school's official fee schedule.
Colegio Menor San Francisco De Quito (CMSFQ)
- Curricula
- Bilingual school affiliated with the Nord Anglia Education group, blending Ecuadorian and American curricula; students can graduate with either the IB Diploma or a U.S. high school diploma.
- Ages Served
- Pre-Kinder through high school
- Neighborhood
- Cumbayá valley
Tuition
- Period
- monthly
- Range Low
- $400
- Range High
- $700
- Notes
- This school is positioned in local guides as high-end/premium, so this figure (from a single secondary source) may understate current pricing — confirm directly with the school.
SEK Quito International School
- Curricula
- Full IB continuum (PYP, MYP, DP), bilingual in English and French, with Early Childhood taught in English and increasing French instruction through Primary.
- Ages Served
- 2 to 18
- Neighborhood
- Quito (part of the SEK International Institution network)
Tuition
- Period
- monthly
- Range Low
- $400
- Range High
- $700
- Notes
- Figure reported for 'SEK International School' generally in a secondary source; may apply to the SEK network rather than this campus specifically — confirm directly.
SEK Los Valles International School
- Curricula
- Part of the same SEK international network; delivers IB programming on a large campus in the Cumbayá valley.
- Ages Served
- 3 to 18
- Neighborhood
- Cumbayá valley
Tuition
- Period
- not confirmed
- Notes
- No campus-specific published tuition found; likely comparable to the broader SEK network range reported for Quito ($400-700/month), but not independently confirmed for this campus.
Colégio Einstein
- Founded
- 1973
- Curricula
- IB continuum (PYP, MYP, DP) combined with an American curriculum; preschool offers full English immersion, with a Multiedad program adding Spanish, English immersion, and a third language (French or Hebrew).
- Ages Served
- 3 to 18
- Neighborhood
- Puembo, east of Quito near the airport
Tuition
- Period
- monthly
- Range Low
- $400
- Range High
- $600
- Notes
- From a secondary expat-guide source describing it as a 'German curriculum with bilingual instruction' school; note this conflicts somewhat with the school's own IB/American positioning found elsewhere — treat with caution and confirm directly.
Colégio Los Pinos
- Curricula
- Private girls' school offering a bilingual education via the IB Diploma alongside a Diploma Dual program combining the Ecuadorian Bachillerato with an American High School Diploma; English and French are both taught.
- Ages Served
- Not specified (girls' school, primary through secondary)
- Neighborhood
- Quito
Tuition
- Period
- not published
- Notes
- No tuition figures found; contact the school directly.
Colegio Alemán De Quito
- Curricula
- German curriculum leading to the German International Abitur, generally combined with the Ecuadorian curriculum, in the same tradition as the Humboldt German-school network.
- Ages Served
- Not specified
- Neighborhood
- Quito
Tuition
- Period
- not published
- Notes
- No tuition figures found; inquire directly with the school.
Lycée Franco-équatorien La Condamine
- Curricula
- French-language instruction supporting the French National Education system with CNED support, leading toward the French Baccalauréat, generally combined with the Ecuadorian diploma.
- Ages Served
- Primaire through Lycée (roughly primary through end of secondary)
- Neighborhood
- Quito (Calle Japón y Naciones Unidas area)
Tuition
- Period
- not published
- Notes
- No tuition figures found; inquire directly with the school.
Homeschooling In Ecuador
- Data Gap
- There is no official government count of how many families in Ecuador (or Quito specifically) actually homeschool — a 2025 report on Quito families choosing homeschooling noted the absence of official records is itself seen as a sign of weak institutional tracking of the practice.
- Legal Status
- Homeschooling is legally recognized in Ecuador and is regulated by the Ministerio de Educación, rather than being an unregulated free-for-all.
- Parent Eligibility Requirement
- Parents or guardians who choose homeschooling must hold at least a bachiller (high-school-level) qualification and take on full responsibility for their children's education.
- Student Registration Requirement
- Even under home-based education, students must be registered with an authorized educational institution that supervises and validates their academic progress at the end of each school year.
Cost Structure
- Educacion Abierta Fees
- Tuition and registration fees are set at 65% of the values that applied in the last regular school year.
- Educacion En Casa Pension
- Set at 30% of the tuition rate authorized for that same institution's in-person program.
Regulatory Modalities
- Educacion Abierta
- The most common and recommended path for expat families: the child is formally enrolled in an accredited Ecuadorian private or public school that is licensed to offer a distance-learning program; that school supplies the curriculum, official grading, report cards, and grade promotion/graduation.
- Educacion En Casa
- A true independent homeschooling model where the family assumes full responsibility for curriculum design, instruction, and assessment. This route requires submitting a detailed pedagogical plan to the local District Education Office (Dirección Distrital de Educación) for approval and registering the student for standardized end-of-year exams; it is bureaucratically complex and rarely approved for families without certified educators.
Quito Specific Community
- Caveat
- The scale figures for this program are self-reported by the organization itself rather than independently audited, and most other homeschooling curriculum providers found in research operate nationally/online rather than as strictly Quito-based, in-person co-ops.
- Exists
- Yes
- Description
- A documented, Quito-connected homeschool support network exists: Skholé, a program run by Fundación Voluntar, provides pedagogical, legal, and methodological support to homeschooling families and explicitly organizes in-person activities through local community groups in the family's own city, alongside its remote support services. Ecuadorian press coverage focused specifically on Quito described this program accompanying several hundred families and children over multiple years.
International Bilingual School Enrollment
- Waitlist Reality
- Waitlists (sometimes formally called a 'waitpool') are genuinely real at Quito's most established international schools, particularly for popular grade levels — qualified applicants can be placed in a waitpool rather than admitted outright when no seat is open in their grade. Applying well ahead of a planned move, ideally 6 or more months in advance, meaningfully improves the odds of a seat opening up before arrival.
- Visa Note
- Foreign students need their own student visa or must be registered as dependents on a parent's residency visa in order to enroll.
- Regulatory Note
- All schools in Ecuador, including the international and bilingual schools, must be registered with the Ministerio de Educación.
Fees Examples
Alliance Academy International 2025 2026 Published Fees
- Matricula Registration Preschool PS3 PS4
- $546
- Monthly Tuition Pension Preschool PS3 PS4
- $610
- Matricula Registration Kindergarten To Grade12
- $656
- Monthly Tuition Pension Kindergarten To Grade12
- $1,053
General New Student Enrollment Fee Range Seen Across Quito Int Schools
- Low
- $1,500
- High
- $3,000
- Note
- This is a broad range seen across Quito's international schools for the one-time enrollment/matrícula fee for new students; it varies significantly by school and grade level.
Typical Process Steps
- Initial inquiry to the school's admissions office, often followed by a campus tour or virtual meeting
- Academic/developmental evaluation appropriate to the child's age (play-based visit for very young children; academic testing and sometimes English-proficiency assessment for older children)
- Submission of a formal application with supporting documents
- Family interview
- Admissions decision — either an offer, a waitpool placement, or a decline
- If offered a seat: payment of a non-refundable deposit plus a separate registration/matrícula payment to confirm enrollment
Documents Commonly Required
- Previous school records / transcripts (for children beyond early years)
- Birth certificate
- Immunization/vaccination records
- Passport copies and proof of the family's visa or residency status
- Parent questionnaire (for preschool/early-years applicants, in place of transcripts)
- Custody documents, where applicable, for dual-guardian or separated families
How Far In Advance To Apply
- Research Phase
- 12+ months before your planned move: research schools, contact admissions offices, request information packets.
- Application Phase
- 6–9 months before: submit applications, schedule entrance assessments (many can now be done remotely), and pay enrollment deposits.
- Note On School Calendar
- Quito follows Ecuador's Sierra academic calendar, running from roughly September to late June/early July, not the coastal calendar used in Guayaquil — this affects when a family should target enrollment and when a mid-year transfer will or won't line up.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.