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The International School of the Americas (ISA), a small magnet Texas Recognized High School located in San Antonio, has produced exceptional success over the last 12 years preparing an ethnically and socio-economically diverse group of students for post-secondary education and 21st century careers. ISA’s success stems from a collectively held set of beliefs about teaching and learning and the school’s implementation of programs that allow the theoretical to be put into practice.
The mission of the ISA is to challenge all members of the school community to consistently reflect on and question what it means to be acting at one’s fullest potential as a learner, leader, and global citizen. ISA believes that all students can be held to high expectations with exceptional support structures and intentionally developed systems, allocating the necessary human and financial resources, to put its espoused theory and belief system into practice. |
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Essential Elements
Career-Inspiring Internships. Since all students are required to complete an internship experience of 120 hours, every year ISA partners with over 100 local organizations, agencies, and businesses that serve as placement sites for seniors and over 100 community members who serve as internship mentors.
International Touch. Internationally, ISA has partner schools in Puebla, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Zacatecas, Mexico as well as Takayama, Japan and is pursuing relationships with schools in China, New Zealand, and South Africa. Students are able to hone their language and communication skills while learning how to adopt and evaluate differing perspectives on world issues through school-sponsored travels abroad and through literary experiences.
Simulations. The chance for students to engage in learning that mirrors authentic, real-world situations through substantive, globally-focused simulations such as Model United Nations provides an opportunity for students to develop complex analytic and problem-solving skills directly applicable to their life-long education and careers.
Mini-Courses. In Teaching by Passion; Learning by Choice - Honor Moorman, ISA teacher describes the school’s annual tradition of English mini-courses—mixed-grade-level classes that take the place of regular English classes for two weeks in the last half of the spring semester. Teachers and/or students are given an opportunity to teach a specific topic they feel passionate about, while students can choose the mini-course that sounds the most intriguing to them.
Partners. ISA boasts a valuable partnership with Trinity University. ISA serves as a Professional Development School (PDS) for Trinity who places its undergraduates participating in school-based practicum experiences and also its graduate students as part of a year-long internship experience on campus. ISA is a member of three national educational networks including the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES), Asia Society’s International Study Schools Network (ISSN), and the Successful Practices Network. |
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Honors and Recognition
ISA was named among the TBEC Honor Roll Schools. ISA has been featured in various publications and at national presentations about globalization and the implications for high school education (see related links to the right). Faculty have presented at Asia Society’s International Studies Schools Network (ISSN) and the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) summer institutes on transdisciplinary curriculum, personalization structures, small learning communities, and innovative models of staff development, including ISA’s work with Critical Friends Groups (CFGs). Another article about one of ISA’s most successful student personalization structures, English mini-courses, was recently published in the National Council of Teachers of English. |
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In 2007, ISA was honored to receive an Exemplar Grant from the Communities Foundation of Texas and THSP. ISA utilizes this award to encourage visitors from small high schools and larger comprehensive high schools looking to transition to small learning communities. A visit to ISA will provide a vision of what functional grade-level teaming, transdisciplinary curriculum, advisory, internship experiences, and teacher-designed site-based professional development looks like a diverse, urban environment. |
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Related Links |
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» Meet other Exemplar Programs
How ISA opens minds by leaving the country.
Edutopia
Award-winning science teacher Chad Helgeson devises hands-on demonstrations to make physics concepts come alive in the classroom. Video presentation
Edutopia
Students foster connections with the community through small classes, travel opportunities, and plenty of time for formal and informal exchanges.
Edutopia
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