Buenos Aires, Argentina Report of what it's like to live there - 09/02/26
Personal Experiences from Buenos Aires, Argentina
School Name:
Lincoln School
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
Parent.
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
3rd/4th and 6th/7th. Attended 2024 - 2026.
3. What years did you live here?
2024 - 2026.
4. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
Government.
5. Are other schools available to expatriates in this city? Why did you choose this particular school?
Yes and no. Lincoln is one of the only schools on the U.S. school calendar.
Admissions & Welcome:
1. Are the admissions and placement procedures clearly stated to prospective families, either on the school website or through other means of communication?
The process is clearly stated, but the reasons for gathering information (grades, scores, recommendations) are not. They are not used for any sort of academic placement.
2. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
Pretty good. They assign new students "first friends." The Parents At Lincoln (PAL) group offers welcome activities for families.
Administration & School Procedures:
1. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
The school's communication is messy and inaccurate. They send emails, have multiple websites with different logins, a website, an app - all of which often have conflicting information. The academics portal cannot be counted on to be up-to-date. The main avenue of communication is WhatsApp groups set up by PAL. The parents running PAL do their best, but the groups are not an official school communication channel and hectic.
2. Aside from school fees, are there required expenses such as uniforms, laptops/tablets, musical instruments, or field trips that parents are expected to cover? What are the approximate costs?
Parents cover uniforms (elementary only) and laptops (middle/high school).
Our first year there, the school fully covered class trips. The school then started cutting back (even with rising tuition) and stopped covering school trips.
Academics & Resources:
1. What personal or academic counseling resources are available at this school? Is there a dedicated college counselor at the school? Is he/she familiar with universities worldwide?
Zero academic counseling below high school. Kids learn what is taught to everyone - no levels, no differentiation, no room for discussion.
I did not have a high school student so can't speak to college counseling.
2. Is there before and/or after-school daycare available? What are the costs?
The school offers after-school activities daily at no additional cost.
3. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
Yes - a library at every school level with a seemingly good selection of books kids can borrow in English and Spanish.
4. What are the technology requirements for students? Do they need their own laptops/ipads? How is technology integrated into the classroom and homework?
Students need their own laptops in MS and HS. Kids are on screens essentially all day long in middle school, with all assignments online. ES students are on laptops for big chunks of the day as well and even use an AI program specifically for elementary kids. Way too much screen time, and the school has little interest in addressing it.
5. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
There is a tech lab.
6. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
There is a pool, track, tennis court, basketball courts, gyms.
7. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
Maybe 15-1?
8. Are Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses available in upper grades? If this is an IB school, is the full diploma required of all students?
The IB program is offered in HS. They do not have AP classes. Academics are not a priority until IB starts in HS.
9. Are students generally challenged appropriately by the curriculum? Please describe any particular strengths or weaknesses in this area. Do you have any thoughts how the curriculum is applied and implemented at this school?
Students are not consistently challenged appropriately, and academic rigor is not a priority. Many parents, as well as the U.S. Embassy, repeatedly raised concerns about academic rigor and particularly the math curriculum, but saw little willingness from the school to change.
Despite extensive tutoring and parent advocacy, our children returned to U.S. schools academically behind where they should have been.
10. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
Middle school students get almost no homework.
Our elementary school child did not get any homework.
It is a play-based school.
11. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
The school offers music, drama, and visual arts at recreational levels.
12. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
I believe so.
13. What services are available for gifted/advanced students at the school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
Zero. In elementary and middle school, there is absolutely no structured pathway for students who are academically ahead of grade level. In mathematics particularly, obtaining appropriately leveled coursework required significant parent advocacy and outside support and even then, it was not enough. We were explicitly told that our child should learn nothing beyond her grade level so that she could remain “on track” with her class the following year.
14. What services are available for students with learning disabilities at this school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
Lincoln does offer these for additional costs. I do not have experience with this.
15. What extra-curricular activities (including sports) are available at this school? Have your children participated in these activities? What activities do you feel are missing at the school?
They offer a lot of activities. (sports, arts, games, etc.) at very recreational levels. My children did sports and enjoyed them.
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
Yes.
2. Are there are any problems with exclusionary behavior, cliques, or bullying at this school? Please describe any problems your children may have experienced in this area.
Yes. My children did not encounter this, but there were issues while we were there.
Overall Impressions:
1. What letter grade (ranging from A, excellent, to F, fail) would you assign to this school based on your overall experience? Would you choose it again?
D. We would not choose Lincoln again. While there are strengths in the international experience and community, the lack of academic rigor, particularly for advanced students, was a fundamental problem. We also found the administration to be neither transparent nor trustworthy in its communication, which made it very difficult to have confidence in what we were being told. We ultimately left a year earlier than planned because we believed remaining at Lincoln would put our children at an academic disadvantage when returning to the U.S. school system.
2. Please describe some of your child's/children's highlights and challenges during their time at this school.
The highlights were the international experiences, including traveling to other countries to play sports, and the strong friendships my children made.
The biggest challenge was academic. Both children were insufficiently challenged and were not consistently expected to work hard, study, or develop strong learning habits. They also came to believe that effort and behavior had few meaningful consequences. While they enjoyed many aspects of the school socially, we ultimately felt the academic and behavioral environment was not preparing them for the expectations of a U.S. public school.
3. Please tell us anything else you think prospective parents and students should know about this school. Thanks for your contribution!
Prospective parents should understand that Lincoln is governed by a board, and the superintendent is accountable to the board rather than directly to the families attending the school. In our experience, this creates little accountability to parents when concerns are raised. The school has a large population of Argentine families, while roughly one-third of the student population is made up of U.S. Embassy families who rotate through. We repeatedly saw concerns raised by American and expat families, particularly around academic rigor and the math curriculum, without meaningful institutional response. Prospective families should carefully consider whether Lincoln’s priorities and governance structure align with what they want from their children’s education.
