This community learning system addresses many of the concerns and issues surrounding the educational environment of today and tomorrow. The community learning system model looks beyond the high school to a birth through death learning system that sees each person as a learner. In order to improve high schools we must think about a broader systemic and continual approach to educational redesign.
Our core beliefs about our students and our school are:
Each child is capable of reaching his/her full potential
Honoring each child’s uniqueness in a learner-centered environment
Every teacher is a learner; every learner is a teacher
Creating a culture of reflective practice for all members of our learning community
Ongoing multiple assessments drive instruction
We prepare our students with 21st century skills and habits
Lifelong learning is essential to success in the 21st century
Hope: it takes a community to educate a child
The concept for the International School of Columbus was first explored in 2005, by a group of Columbus parents and grandparents, who wanted another educational choice for middle and high school students in our community. We traveled around the state, benchmarking award winning schools, attended seminars and conferences to learn more about educational opportunities for students, and conducted community surveys and interest meetings to gain feedback from community members. What we learned solidified our mission to create a small school that would offer a rigorous curriculum to all students who attended. We also wanted our school to be tuition-free, so that no student would be discouraged from attending due to financial concerns.