Welcome to the Pan American School of Porto Alegre,

My name is Jeffrey Michael Jurkovac and I have been the Director (Superintendent) at The Pan American School of Porto Alegre (PAS) located in Porto Alegre, Brazil since July of 2008. Before moving to Brazil, I had lived and worked in Colombia for almost two decades; all at SACS sister schools of ours. Before accepting the directorship at PAS, I served as the Director of Colegio Panamericano in Bucaramanga for six years. My tenure in Colombia also allowed me to experience a wide variety of educational positions throughout Colombia. I served as the Elementary Principal at Colegio Bolivar in Calí for a two year period. Prior to Calí, I spent many years of my life in Medellín working at The Columbus School in a variety of positions including Elementary Principal, English Language Arts Coordinator (K-8), IT coordinator and instructor, and elementary classroom teacher. I also had the fortune to work as an elementary classroom teacher at Colegio Albania in La Guajira. I have lived and traveled extensively throughout Colombia and Latin America. I am proud to consider this region my home. I hold a Bachelors of Science from The Ohio State University (cum laude), a Masters of Education in Reading Difficulties, and an Educational Specialists degree in Educational Administration both from Bowling Green State University.

PAS has been the largest educational undertaking thus far in my life. During my short tenure in Porto Alegre, I have witnessed first handedly many excellent changes because of the teamwork and dedication of our entire community including the teachers, parents, Board and the Administrative Team. Our school is fully accredited in the United States by SACS CASI and was recently authorized to offer the Primary Years Program (PYP) through the International Bachelorette Organization. These quality assurances led us to focuses on improving all academic areas in our school.

The Pan American School is located in the Southern city of Porto Alegre. The city was founded over 200 years ago, a large portion of its population emigrating from Europe in the late 19th and 20th centuries. This modern and vibrant city of 1.3 million people is home to several multi nationals and large Brazilian companies with international operations.

The Pan American School celebrated its 40th anniversary in June 2007. Throughout the last decade PAS has maintained steady growth and has moved from a fledgling education provider to a successful and respected international institution.

PAS is a non profit organization catering for Early Childhood Education through Grade 12. It has spent its last few years clearly defining its teaching beliefs and the philosophy that aligns its total operation. Its current enrollment is 270 of which 70% are Brazilian. PAS is accredited by SACS CASI in the United States and the Ministry of Education of Brazil. PAS offers curriculum that draws on best International School practices and those that meet the needs of its accreditation agencies. IB - PYP and AP are established curricular programs in the school.

The professional staff of fulltime and part time members are highly trained, experienced and committed to quality education. Teachers are currently recruited from six different nationalities.

In July 2007 the school shifted to a beautiful new campus. T he purpose of this was to allow for expansion, but in particular to develop the Arts, sporting programs, and Science facilities while always improving on our very successful language programs. This significant move was made possible with funds donated from the parent community and corporate sponsors. This will be ongoing for continued improvement of the school. The future for our school, the only international English speaking school in Porto Alegre, is extremely positive and exciting.

Much has been accomplished at PAS during the past years. Much yet remains to be done. Future campus plans include adding additional preschool classrooms and playground areas, building a visual arts center, updating the gymnasium floors, and making a large investment in instructional technology.

Projecting our growth day by day, year by year; PAS is proud to present our newly remodeled campus which we are certain will help us to reach our mission of providing a multi-cultural learning environment of excellence. Our revamped site coupled with our excellent academic programs allows us to be Porto Alegre’s leading education provider. Our smaller size allows us to offer personalized yet challenging educational experiences for all of our students. Come and join us in our efforts to construct a truly unique educational community.

I invite you to explore our website in order to learn more about this exciting international school located in Porto Alegre, Brazil. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. As you can tell from this note, I love talking about our school and educational community.

More than 40 years educating the future leaders of Porto Alegre, Brazil, and the world.

Jeffrey Michael Jurkovac
Director

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