The three As of international schools

Broadly speaking, an accreditation is a seal of all-round quality with regard to the education the students receive, an authorization gives approval for the ... Schools Camps&Courses Articles Exams&Curriculum Travel Magazines Advertise InternationalSchoolParent>Articles>Education>ThethreeAsofinternationalschools Subscribetoournewsletter andbethefirsttogetthenewestupdates EmailAddress (Examples,References:PrivacyPolicy,Disclaimer,Analytics) Amongstthecriteriaparentsshouldconsiderwhenlookingtoenroltheirchildreninaninternationalschoolareitsaccreditation(s),authorization(s)andaffiliation(s). Broadlyspeaking,anaccreditationisasealofall-roundqualitywithregardtotheeducationthestudentsreceive,anauthorizationgivesapprovalforthedeliveryofaparticularacademicprogramme,andanaffiliationcanbeequatedtothemembershipofagroupwithlike-mindedestablishments. Butofcourse,thereismoretoitthanthat! Inessence,bothaccreditingandauthorizingbodiesarelookingtoascertainthataschoolisinapositionnotonlytodeliveranexcellenteducationbutthatithasthecapacityandthemeanstoensurethatthestudents’learningexperienceismaximized. Theyeachhaveslightlydifferentrequirements,butthesefallundersimilarheadings. Forexample,aschoolmusthaveaclearmissionwhichexpressesitseducationalvaluesendencouragespositive,supportiverelationshipsbetweenstudents,staffandparents.Inaddition,theschoolmanagementandleadershipmustbesuitablyqualifiedandexperienced,setcleartargetsforschoolimprovementandstaffdevelopment,andprofessionallymanagetheschool’sfinances. Thesuitabilityoftheschoolpremises,satisfactoryspecialistfacilitiesandtheavailabilityofup-to-dateresourcesarealsoareasinwhichstandardsmustbesatisfied. Aschoolmusthaveapprovaltooperateaccordingtothelocalguidelinesandlegalrequirementsandhaveinplaceappropriateoperationallicences,fundamentalhealthandsafetychecksandprocedures,aswellaschildsafeguardingmeasures.Thesefactorstogetherprovidethefoundationuponandframeworkwithinwhichteachingandlearningtakeplace. Theschoolcurriculummustbeclearlymappedoutandcommunicated,takingintoaccountthedifferentneedsofthestudents;outcomesmonitoredandevaluatedthroughqualityandfairassessmentproceduresthatgiveconsiderationtotheindividuallearningprocesses;andacultureofcontinuousprofessionaldevelopmentandinstitutionaladvancementestablished. ThemostcommonaccreditationstobefoundamonginternationalschoolsinSwitzerlandarethosedeliveredbytheCouncilofInternationalSchools(www.cois.org),theNewEnglandAssociationofSchoolsandColleges(www.neasc.org)andtheCouncilofBritishInternationalSchools(www.cobis.org). Theaccreditationcycleineachcasecoversfiveyears,andplaceshighdemandsontheschoolsandtheirstaff. Suchexternalvalidationisnotsimplyamatterofcompliancewithanumberofqualitativestandards,butratheranencouragementforobjectiveself-reflection,continuousself-improvementandjudiciousstrategicplanning.Studentlearningandwell-beingisattheheartoftheprocess,asisthedevelopmentofinterculturalawarenessandglobalcitizenship. Theprocessisvalidatedbyavisitinggroupofpeersfromotherschools,whospendseveraldaysconfirmingobservationsusingtheschool’sself-studyandmakingrecommendations,aswellascommendations,todriveprogress. Itisimportanttorealizethatschoolsundergoaccreditationvoluntarily,andareevaluatedwithintheirowncontext,notmeasuredagainstagenericdefinitionofwhatconstitutesagoodschool. Notallaccreditedschoolswilllookorfeelthesame,buttheywillhaveanumberofcommoncharacteristics,whichembodytheircommitmenttothestudentsintheircare. Authorizationsalsoentailrigorouspreparationandvisitsbyindependentevaluators. Aschoolwishingtodeliveroneormorecomponentsofthehigh-qualityandchallengingInternationalBaccalaureateProgramme,forexample,mustapplytotheInternationalBaccalaureateOrganization(www.ibo.org),requestingtoofferthePrimaryYearsProgramme(PYP),theMiddleYearsProgramme(MYP),theDiplomaProgramme(DP)and/orthemostrecentlydevelopedCareer-relatedProgramme(CP).SchoolsseekingtobecomeIBWorldSchoolsmusthavebeeninexistenceforanumberofyearsandagreetocomplywiththeprogrammespecificrequirements. TheIBOdeterminesassessmentcriteria,moderatesprojectsandassignments,andsetsexternallymarkedexaminations. ThisallowsaconsistentlevelofcomparabilitybetweenstudentsattendingIBschoolsindifferentcountries,andprovidesuniversitieswithareliableyardstickforevaluatingcompatibilitywiththeirentryrequirements.   Inasimilarvein,schoolswishingtoofferanyoftheotherinternationallyrecognizedprogrammes,mustmeettheexpectationsoftheorganizationwhichoverseestheirdelivery(e.g.theCambridgeInternationalProgrammeswww.cambridgeinternational.org,oroneofFieldworkEducation’sInternationalCurriculumswww.fieldworkeducation.com). Providedtheyfulfilthemembershipcriteria,opportunitiesexistinSwitzerlandforinternationalschoolstojoinorganizationssuchastheAssociationVaudoise/GénévoisedesEcolesPrivées(AVDEPwww.avdep.chorAGEPwww.agep.ch)atthecantonallevel,andtheSwissFederationofPrivateSchools(FSEPwww.swiss-schools.ch)atthenationallevel. Thesebodiesareopentoprivateschoolsofallkinds,andprovideaplatformfortheirrepresentation,workingtooptimizetheirpositioningvisàvisthepublicdomainwithinthelocalandfederalpolitical,economicandlegalframework. TheSwissGroupofInternationalSchools(SGISwww.sgischools.com)hasitsoriginsinthe1960sandexistsspecificallytopromotecooperationbetweeninternationalschoolsthroughinter-schoolactivitiesforstudents,aswellasprovidingprofessionaldevelopmentthroughjob-alikegroupsandanannualtwo-dayconferenceinthespring.Onaninternationallevel,manyschools,orindividualeducators,arealsomembersoftheEducationalCollaborativeforInternationalSchools(ECIS,originallytheEuropeanCouncilofInternationalSchoolswww.ecis.org),whichhelpsthemtoremaincurrentwithlatesteducationaltrends,receiveprofessionaltrainingandnetworkwithcolleaguesfromaroundtheworldonvariousoccasionsthroughouttheyear. SubmittedbyChristineKnight,HeadofAdministrationatHaut-LacInternationalBilingualSchool Sharenow Subscribetoournewsletter andbethefirsttogetthenewestupdates EmailAddress (Examples,References:PrivacyPolicy,Disclaimer,Analytics) Schools SISSwissInternationalSchoolWinterthurWinterthur,Switzerland GenevaEnglishSchoolGenthodandVersoix,Switzerland ACSInternationalSchoolSingaporeSingapore,Singapore AcademiaInternationalSchoolBaselBasel,Switzerland TASISTheAmericanSchoolinSwitzerlandMontagnola,Switzerland SearchSchools Camps&Courses VillageCampsUK–InternationalSummerCampsYork,Portugal SATRevisionCourseGeneva–SATRevisionandPrepwithTutorsPlusGenève,Switzerland TutorsPlusIBMathsEasterRevisionCourseSwitzerlandGeneva,Switzerland,Switzerland HIFInternationalSummerAdventureCamp IBSummerProgrammeswithOxfordStudyCoursesBoston,MA,America SearchCamps&Courses London:thebestcityintheworldtobeauniversitystudent? 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