The International School (T.I.S.) is an independent elementary school

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

 in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 that educates children to be world citizens. TIS provides true immersion in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 with native-speaking teachers. Children age 3 through 5th grade become fluent in another language, at home in other cultures, and engaged in math, science, social studies and arts. The International School was founded in 1990 and today educates nearly 400 students.

The International School is an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) school, teaching children through the IB's inquiry-based Primary Years Programme

IB Primary Years Programme

The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate for students aged 3 to 11. While the programme prepares students for the IB Middle Years Programme, it is not a prerequisite for it...

.

The International School has been designated as an International Spanish Academy, one of only 28 American schools to earn this designation from the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain.

Mission

The International School inspires children to become global citizens by providing a rigorous and comprehensive education within a nurturing, student-centered environment of full immersion in multiple languages and cultures.

History

The school was founded in 1990 by Doug and Frey Stearns. The school started by offering full Spanish immersion in 1990, full Japanese immersion starting in 1995, and full Chinese immersion starting in 1996. It attracts an ethnically and sociologically diverse student body from across metro Portland. Each year the school provides financial assistance to approximately 20 percent of students. It is the region's only school to offer three languages, exposing children to a variety of cultures with native-speaking teachers.

The International School is independently governed by a board of trustees made up of parents and members of the community. It is a a 501(c)3 organization financed through tuition, contributions and grants.

In 2006, The International School expanded its campus to accommodate steadily increasing demand for its program. A capital campaign attracted donations from 100 percent of the school's parents as well as grants from Meyer Memorial Trust, The James & Marion Miller Foundation, and the Henry L. Hillman Jr. Foundation. The new building was named Stearns Hall, after the school founders.

In 2010, the school became the first elementary school in the state approved to teach the International Baccalaureate program.

External links

• The International School