蛇口国际学校为学生提供真正个性化教育

    How proud would you be if your child was an early admit to Ivy League’s Cornell University or studying chemical engineering at UC Berkeley? Or, better yet, how gratifying would it be if your child grew up to be a smart, creative, caring, well-rounded adult? That path to success starts with the support of a caring community of students and teachers.

    Shekou International School (SIS), like many top international schools, offers a rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma, extracurricular activities such as Model United Nations and Global Issues Network, and a variety of competitive athletic options. Yes, it was the only school in China to receive the Apple Distinguished School award in 2014 and was recognized as the School of the Year by the 21st Century Learning Institute.

    The SIS class of 2015, like the SIS seniors before them, has moved on to further their learning at universities all over the world, including Cornell, University of California, Berkeley, University of Southern California (USC), Bocconi University (Milan, Italy), Seoul National University (Republic of Korea), and 21 other universities that matched each student’s unique personality.

    Many of these bright young people had attended more than one international school as their parent’s jobs required mobility. What makes this class a little different is two of its students had been with SIS for 10 or more years.

    Deanna, 13 years at SIS and now at Cornell University, reflected on her time at SIS this way: “What I liked most about SIS was the approachability and kindness of the staff members. They were very accommodating over the years, and I had a lot of great opportunities to engage with different subject matter, and take on leadership roles…which I don’t think would have been as easy in any other school.”

    Ryan, 10 years at SIS and studying chemical engineering at UC Berkeley, had similar thoughts: “What I loved about SIS was the size. Very rarely is a student presented with an opportunity to meet with teachers on such a personal level. I feel that by attending SIS for all these years, I was able to form a strong bond with many of my teachers.”

    Over the years, SIS has had many young adults get accepted to top universities, and a “top ranked university” is great, if it’s the right fit. Michael Clancy, the high school counselor at SIS, said, “My advice to students and parents is to find a university that fits their needs academically, that specializes in the student’s field of interest and has a university culture that fits their personality.”

    While the IB curriculum is recognized by universities around the world as a rigorous program that helps mold young adults into critically thinking, global citizens, the IB organization can only set the curriculum and the standards for testing. In reality, the curriculum is only as good as the person teaching it.

    “We recognize the importance of attracting teachers that are highly qualified in their subject matter, that fit our school culture and that offer innovative ways of teaching. SIS’s reputation allows us to select the very best teachers and we invest heavily in the recruitment process because at the core of any good school is excellent teaching,” explained Mike Livingston, SIS’s Middle and Secondary School principal. SIS believes in continuing learning for its teachers and growing the infrastructure of the IB program.

    Mark Robertson-Jones, SIS’s IB coordinator, wants students to be able to grow within the SIS IB program, “We have students that work very, very hard, and, with the support of staff, they have made fantastic gains. That value added has been tremendous, and that doesn’t necessarily compute into a top aggregate IB score for the school. It’s a personal mission with our IB teachers that they give our students the very best chance to succeed.”

    Class size combined with the advisory program is also a key to success at SIS. Rachel, a freshman at Rowen University studying biology, concurred: “The thing I liked most about SIS was how small the class sizes were, which allowed the students to have deeper connections with the teachers. This especially helped me over the years because I felt comfortable going to all my teachers to ask whatever I needed.”

    Livingston believes that learning should be authentic and personal and that may mean different things to different students. “I think success looks different for every student and part of our job is to help identify what success looks like for them, and how to help them achieve that.”

    (SD News)