Please think twice about working at New Learning Academy. This school is a not what they claim to be. First off, let’s start with the fact that how they “employ” their teachers is illegal based on Costa Rican law. In Costa Rica, if a foreigner wants to establish employment, they must find a company willing to sponsor their work visa as soon as they start working. New Learning Academy sends teachers “contracts” which state they will help sponsor the work visa, but the reality is that this is a lie. Upon arriving at the school, they will train you and then expect you to start working on your tourist visa. This is illegal. Foreigners cannot legally work in Costa Rica on a tourist visa. The school will not tell you this. If you get caught working on a tourist visa you risk deportation. They’ll also make you sign a document which states you are working for them as a “volunteer.” This is also a lie and the document is written in Spanish with no translation provided.
So, as you begin illegally working on your tourist visa, you’ll soon realize that your 90-day time limit is about to expire. At this point, the school will require you to do a “border run” at your own expense. This means booking a flight or bus ticket and crossing the border of a nearby country and then returning to Costa Rica to obtain another 90-day tourist visa to gain access to the country and continue working for the school, illegally.
The school also requires that you obtain a tax ID number through the Ministerio de Hacienda. You are supposed to do this BEFORE you start working, but the school won’t give you time to do this. Instead, you’ll have already worked a few weeks before going to the Ministerio. The school will tell you to lie and say that you have not been working but are actively looking for work. You’re basically told to lie to a government agency.
If this hasn’t scared you yet, there’s more.
The “training program” is lackluster to say the least. My training group was trained by a staff member who had never even taught an English class before. I should have known to run for the hills at this point. I was in training for about 30 hours total (training, observations, demos) and was paid only $50USD for this time. Also, in training, we were told we would be emailed important documents such as the pay scale for classes and the teacher Google drive, but this never happened. Luckily other teachers were nice enough to help us newbies and supply this information otherwise we would have never gotten it from management. Totally not worth the effort or headache.
Then there’s housing. They will tell you that they will help you find housing, but this is not completely true. They will help you find a host family to live with, but if you want to find your own independent accommodation you’ll be on your own. I was lucky enough to find something, but it was not easy.
Once I started teaching, I began to realize how much of a mess the school was in. There are no copy machines. The receptionists are unprofessional and are usually on Facebook or texting on their phones when you are trying to ask for help. There is no communication between management and teachers. They think that they “own” your time. You’ll be expected to pick up classes with less than a days’ notice so if you have personal plans you can kiss them goodbye. Also, be expected to work 14-hour days. You may have to teach from 9am-12pm then go between schools which takes about an hour and then teach again from 2-5pm and 6-9pm. There’s not much time to breathe, let alone eat.
In sum, the school will rush you to help them in every way possible which includes starting your contract early, going to the Hacienda, opening your bank account, but when the tables are turned and you need help, you’ll wait for weeks, if not months. All the websites they use (Hacienda, Factura Professional, the bank) are in Spanish, so it can be annoying and frustrating just to figure out how to get paid. And after all the work you are expected to do, the school should at least make the payment process a piece of cake.
You’ve been warned. Do your homework before you come. There are so many amazing schools in Costa Rica and around the globe. Don’t choose this one.
