KRALENDIJK – The Minister of Education, Culture and Science has officially granted approval to the foundation Leren is Leuk (Learning is Fun) to launch a second primary school on Bonaire: De Passaat. This decision marks a significant milestone for the educational landscape of the island. De Passaat will be a bilingual school with Dutch and English as the languages of instruction, a unique feature for Bonaire. According to the school, Papiamentu will also play an important role within this educational concept.
The upcoming school year (2026–2027) will be dedicated entirely to preparations, allowing the school to officially open its doors in the 2027–2028 school year.
With the Minister’s approval, Bonaire gains an educational facility that closely aligns with the needs of the local community and the island’s international context. De Passaat will operate using a modern, bilingual curriculum. The goal is for children to learn to communicate fluently in both Dutch and English from an early age, while remaining firmly rooted in local culture.
Strategic preparatory year
Now that formal approval has been secured, an intensive preparatory year is getting underway immediately. The upcoming school year will be used to arrange facilities, recruit qualified bilingual staff, and finalize the curriculum. The enrollment process for the first cohort of students will also be initiated during this period.
The foundation’s board describes this as a historic step. Thanks to the Ministry’s positive assessment, concrete work can now begin on building a strong foundation for high-quality bilingual primary education on Bonaire.
The foundation expressed its gratitude to everyone who supported the organization during the initiation phase of the past year to bring this proposal to fruition.
