School History
St. Augustine Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory school founded in 2001 by three Catholic lay professionals in Managua, Nicaragua. The founders were inspired by the life of St. Augustine of Hippo who represents the coming together of faith and reason in the search for true happiness.
The mission of the founders was to create an educational community where its members would seek together, through faith and reason, knowledge of themselves, of the world and of God. In order to engage students in this mission, the school provides them with a challenging and well-integrated educational program that fosters their physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual development as they prepare for further academic pursuits and their future lives. The ideal St. Augustine graduate would be a young person who thinks with clarity, acts with integrity, and loves with generosity.
In August of 2001, St. Augustine opened its doors to 75 students in Pre-Kinder 4 to Fourth Grade in rented facilities in the heart of Managua. Enrollment quickly grew past 300 students, and the community saw the need to build its own campus. In January of 2007, the school relocated to brand new facilities on a ten-acre property in Managua.
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The purpose-built campus includes the Maria Auxiliadora Chapel, an Administrative Office building, a multipurpose auditorium that houses a basketball/volleyball court, a performance stage and a full kitchen with seating area for use as a cafeteria. The 11 classroom buildings on campus house art rooms, music rooms, two teacher planning rooms, a secondary school office, the student services office, an all-purpose media room, a Stem Lab, a Makerspace, and a library. The outdoor facilities include two playgrounds, two basketball courts, a soccer field and two snack bars and lounge areas.
In the spring of 2010, the school celebrated its first commencement ceremony with 8 seniors. The college placement of this first graduating class was a sign of the wonderful work being done at the school in such a short time: we had an acceptance into an Ivy League school by the class Valedictorian who enrolled at Georgetown University, the Salutatorian and his twin sister were accepted into the University of Virginia, another student enrolled at the University of Michigan and 100% of the class successfully graduated from university. We are proud to say that two members of this first graduating class are currently school parents.
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Twenty-four years after its founding, the school has 450 graduates from 16 graduating classes, all of whom have continued to pursue a college education. Each and every graduating class has achieved outstanding college admissions and offers of scholarships and financial aid. The school prides itself on helping each student have several college admission offers and getting enough scholarship and or financial aid to be able to attend.
Some of the colleges and universities which have accepted our students are:​
American University, Boston College, Brandeis University, Brown University, College of the Holy Cross, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Eckerd College, Elon University, Harvard University, Florida State University, Georgetown University, Lafayette College, Manhattanville College, Northeastern University, Nova Southeastern University, Parsons, the New School of Design, Princeton University, Purdue University, University of Florida, University of Notre Dame, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, University of Texas at Austin, University of Waterloo, Vassar College, Villanova University, Yale University.
The founders currently serve as the Headmaster (Jose Oyanguren), Elementary School Principal (Claudia Lacayo) and the Director of Finance and Operations (Maria Isabel Rivas). The founders are also on the Board of Directors and with the help of a volunteer Advisory Board, form the governing body of the corporation Colegio Preparatorio San Agustin, Sociedad Anónima.