When parents make a choice to enroll their child in a private school, how many of them give any thought to the role that the school district plays in private school education?  It’s a question that rarely comes up during admissions.  Usually parents see very little connection between the two entities.  When parents ask what support strategies and interventions the school can utilize, should their child ever need them, the help of the school district often comes as a surprise.

Over the last few years, Austin International School has developed strong links with Round Rock ISD, the district which AIS falls within because of it’s geographical location.  Over this time period, the district has helped several students at AIS in different ways.

So when does AIS enlist the help of RRISD? Firstly, every school district has a process in place to identify and support children with difficulties and provide services to allow those students to help them successfully access the curriculum.

Prior to contacting the school district, there are many steps that take place to help students in the classroom.  When we can see that a student might be in need of help and support in a particular area, the class teachers, in conjunction with one of the pedagogical coordinators, will meet to discuss interventions such as tutoring, strategies to increase a child’s concentration, adjusting reading materials to the student’s ability level, making certain that the student is practicing whichever skills he or she needs to on a regular basis – whatever the possible interventions may be.  The teachers at AIS do this, not only for students who are struggling but for all students in the school.  Team meetings to discuss each child’s progress as well as the instructional strategies used to bring out the best in each student are a key component of the work of the teachers at AIS.  The teachers always use a range of accommodations and strategies where necessary with any student.  They also regularly look at each child’s assessment results and meet frequently to discuss the effectiveness of what they are doing in the classroom.

Every so often, there are students who are still struggling despite having tried numerous interventions and accommodations.  If teachers are satisfied that the student has received adequate and appropriate instruction but is still experiencing difficulties in the classroom, they may at this stage feel the need to enlist the help of the school district.  This decision is always taken in conjunction with both teachers and parents.  Parental support is always crucial to student success so it is essential to communicate openly about this with parents.

Over the years, the district has been able to help in many different areas including speech/language testing, achievement level testing, behavior support, psychological testing and evaluations of a more medical nature.   Not only does the district work with our students directly in these cases, they have also provided support materials for our teachers to use in the classroom.  AIS and RRISD meet periodically and we remain in regular contact with them throughout the school year in order to discuss the needs of any students who we feel may benefit from their services.

With students who do qualify for special educational needs, the district can determine what those needs might be. At AIS, regardless of whether students meet the criteria for special education as determined by the district, the teachers and pedagogical team will design an individual plan in conjunction with the parents for any child who has undergone an evaluation from the district in order to help them move forward successfully.  It is not just children who have undergone an evaluation from the district that receive an individual educational plan. This is also done for any child who is struggling at AIS or who is in need of constant challenges to keep them advancing.  The school really focuses on the individualization of every student and where appropriate, the teachers will individualize the instruction for each student accordingly so that they can meet or make progress towards the curriculum standards at each grade level.

AIS is very appreciative of the help and support we have received from RRISD.  This relationship is very important to the students and families and has helped a variety of children in recent years.  It has enabled some of the students to move forward in school more successfully and we thank RRISD for everything they have done with AIS.

However, what about the rest of your child’s life from elementary school to the senior years later on in life?  What happens in between and how do the benefits of bilingualism developed in a child’s early years help them to be successful as they develop into young adults?

Children who are bilingual have what we call more metacognition which means that they are more flexible in their thinking skills.   As your child grows and becomes an adult who will enter the workplace, this will help with their ability to problem solve which is a crucial skill in many professions.  Think how much more successful your child could be in life if he or she is equipped with these types of skills.  Bilingual children have also continued to show advantages in other areas such as semantic development, creativity and analytical skills as summarized in the article by Rafael M. Diaz, “The Power of Bilingualism”, all of which are great strengths to possess in today’s job market.

In an article from the New York Times with Dr. Ellen Bialystok, a professor at York University in Toronto, she explains how the brain works in a bilingual mind. Bailystok talks about how the brain is able to focus on one thing while dismissing distractions, especially where language is concerned. This is the way that the brain allows people to think of two things at once. The cognitive functioning in bilinguals is enhanced and allows them to identify what is relevant when a particular language is being used.  This also increases one’s ability to multi-task.   Think how useful this will be in your child’s adult life, not only in the workplace but also in life itself, in general day-to-day tasks that require us to do more than one thing at once.

We can see rapid language development in our students as young as 3 years old.  Just this week a child who joined the school at 3 years old last August without any previous exposure to French had the following conversation with his teacher:

Student: Miss Mathilde, coupé les etiquettes

Teacher: (cuts one of the labels from back of the child’s pants)

Student: non, les deux (no, both)

Teacher (cuts the next label that was bothering him inside the pants)

Student: attention! – pas couper mon pantalon! (watch out – don’t cut my pants!).

As you can see from this short but humorous conversation, this student is already developing plenty of vocabulary and has a basic grasp of syntax in French. This means he is on his way to developing a bilingual mind and as he continues his multilingual education through Kindergarten and beyond, this will enable him to develop the many cognitive benefits we have talked about.  Imagine in a few years when your child has graduated from college and is entering the workplace.  It sounds a long way off but it will be here sooner than you think!  What better way to prepare them to be successful in life than to expose them to the many benefits of multilingualism.

That is what is unique about the instruction at Austin International School.  3 languages are used to deliver 1 curriculum so the students are able to develop the cognitive advantages from language learning but the languages are a means in which to learn a full academic curriculum, including instruction in math and science.  More than ever, we are seeing research from articles such as “Why Bilinguals Are Smarter” that supports the reasons why it is so crucial to use a multilingual approach to teaching a complete academic curriculum.  The benefits to be gained from doing this will ensure that children are well on the road to success, not only as students but also as adults as they live the rest of their lives.

Thursday, January 19, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

4001 Adelphi Lane, Austin, TX 78727

Childcare provided on site

You are invited to our annual State of the School meeting led by Head of School Christophe Bonnet and members of our Board of Directors. It’s a time to reflect on where we’ve been, where we are and what’s in store for the future. Please join us in the main foyer of the new campus for this important meeting. On-site childcare is provided for your convenience.

Austin International School Family Volunteering Opportunity

Location: Beverly S. Sheffield Northwest District Park, 7000 Ardath Street

We are partnering with Little Helping Hands to organize a family volunteering event for AIS families. Little Helping Hands is a 501c3 Austin-based nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and organizing volunteer opportunities for young children.

Join us for part of your morning helping to maintain the beauty of Northwest Park, a popular destination spot for many families and children in northwest Austin. You and your child/children will join other AIS families to help clean up and beautify the park. Tasks may include picking-up trash/litter around the grounds and picnic areas, wiping down the playscape, and planting flowers in front of the pool entrance. All supplies/materials provided. This is not only a fun volunteer activity for children of all, but also an opportunity to learn about how keeping our parks clean and beautiful is important for our community and environment.

Registration is limited and required.

Please view the full details and easy sign up on our website.

Nicolas Poupon is a French author and illustrator who already worked with the previous CE1 class last year on another project involving children’s book Fleur de Géant.

This year, the two CE1 classes are going to create a comic book in the three langages. They have started to read one of Nicolas Poupon’s book called Kirouek, a comic which has just been re-published in a new version. The project is to create the follow up of Kirouek, and they are going to meet Nicolas first on Skype so he can help imagine the story. In the last week of November he will come to their classes and help them to work on the drawings and pages of the book. He will sign his books for the book fair.

You can preorder the book ($20) at the front desk and Nicolas will do a personalized drawing for your child.

Nicolas Poupon is also part of the author panel during our International Book Fair.

(Read about last year’s project with the author.)

Registration for AIS students opens tomorrow, November 1, and registration for non-AIS students opens Thursday, December 1. All registration closes on Wednesday, December 21.

On your mark...get set...go!

Saturday’s first-ever Halloween Fund Run had a huge turnout and the fundraising runners impressed us all! Our top runners, Callie and David in CM2, ran 7 miles! Next on the agenda is to turn in the pledges you guys raised for the playground, so let’s get those turned in by next Wednesday, November 9. Make sure to collect your funds so that we can give the smoothie party to the class which raised the most funds! And don’t forget, students get raffle tickets based on the funds they collect – the three raffle prizes are gift certificates to Toys-R-Us! It’s easy to turn in your money, just drop off cash or check (with student’s name and donor information) to the drop box in reception, or fulfill your pledge online! Thank you.

Please plan to attend our first curriculum night of this year this Thursday, November 3, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The evening will start with a half hour presentation by the head of school, followed by presentations and discussions on the school’s curriculum across three topics: math, led by Christophe Bonnet; reading, led by Christine Christy; and language, led by Teresa Gisbert-Pomata. Presentations in the topic area occur concurrently, so you will attend one of your choice. Childcare provided.

We are encouraging you to help us reach 50 percent participation and $30,000 by Friday. We have 47 percent now.

Everyone who donates makes an incredible difference in the life of the school. If you have not yet donated or pledged, please do so now. The earlier we receive our support from you as parents and families the sooner we will receive support from outside organizations and corporations who, once they see how committed the AIS community is, will want to join in to make AIS an even more amazing place for our students.

Please show your support today and encourage your friends and family to visit our website or sign up for the weekly newsletter.

PS to GS will be on Wednesday, September 7, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

CP to CM2 will be on Thursday, September 8, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

We will start in the multipurpose room at 6:30 p.m. with a short introduction from Christophe and some information from the pedagogical coordinators. At 6:50 p.m., parents and teachers will proceed to their child’s classroom so that the teachers may present an outline of the curriculum and organization of their class.

We look forward to seeing you there!