International School of Brussels
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The International School of Brussels with it's motto "Everyone included, everyone challenged, everyone successful"(ISB), founded in 1951, is an English-language day school providing an international education to students from over 60 countries, within the age range of 3 to 18. It is situated on a 40 acre (162,000 m²) wooded campus about 9 kilometres from the centre of Brussels, Belgium, in the commune of Watermael Boitsfort. The school is known to offer an education for the children of international diplomats and business people who have moved to Brussels. The total enrollment at ISB in 2005 was about 1,400. The current director is Kevin Bartlett. The school is run by a board of trustees that include a number of parents and is non-profit.
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[edit] Structure
ISB is divided into four schools:
- Early Childhood Center (ECC): grades pre-kindergarten through 2* Elementary School (ES): grades 3 through 6
- Middle School (MS): grades 7 through 9
- High School (HS): grades 10 through 12
Each school is housed in a separate building. The ECC and ES are situated next to each other and the MS and HS are, in fact, connected through a shared library. In addition to the four schools is the International Community Center (ICC), housing various community-related facilities and groups such as the International Protestant Church of Brussels, the Family Association and the Special Education program, among others.
The building that is now the ICC was, until 2000, the Middle School. The MS moved to a newly-constructed building next to the HS that year. The ICC is still occasionally referred to by students as the "old Middle School", although the last class to have regular classes in that building was the class of 2005, which has already graduated.
Each school has a Head who is responsible for day-to-day operation of the school. All Heads report to the director of ISB. School-wide decisions are generally made by the Board of Trustees and implemented by the Heads in their individual schools. Decisions about curricula tend to be made mostly within the individual schools, although the school-wide administration has the ultimate authority.
[edit] Facilities
The ISB offers a range of Athletic and other facilities.
[edit] Athletic Facilities
- Two outdoor artificial-turf playing fields (one for baseball and soccer, the other for American football, rugby and track and field)
- One grass playing field (not a regulation field, but often used for practices, intramural games and physical education classes)
- Two indoor tennis courts (carpet)
- Two indoor gymnasiums and a weight room
ISB also offers computer facilities. There are computer labs in each school, and considerable emphasis is placed on integrating the computer facilities into classes. It is the school's policy to ensure that students leave ISB fully computer-literate: in order to graduate from Middle School to High School, students must either pass a keyboarding test or take a keyboarding class.
[edit] Activities
Students can also participate in a large variety of non-athletic activities. The school features an orchestra, lower and upper level band, jazz band, and choir. The drama department holds multiple shows every year. Each school also has a separate yearbook, with students working the entire year to compile a 200-page annual.
[edit] Academics
ISB offers its High School students the opportunity to study and be examined for the International Baccalaureate diploma and the American Advanced Placement.
