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revised August 2007
Mission Statement
The International School of the Americas (ISA) will challenge all members of the school community to act at their fullest potential as learners, leaders, and global citizens. Students and teachers will use their education to improve themselves, their school, and the local and global communities.
Teachers will work across disciplines and grade levels to design authentic experiences and performance-based learning to help students grapple with complex questions, look at perspectives, and make judicious decisions, and seek solutions not only for ISA but also for the world community.
International School of the Americas
Graduate Profile
ISA graduates will demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and values:
Academic Preparation
- Meet all requirements for the recommended diploma set by the State of Texas, the North East Board of Trustees, and the International School of the Americas
- Cultivate rigorous habits of mind such as intellectual curiosity, a desire for life-long learning, critical thinking, and effective organization of their efforts to learn
- Prepare to engage successfully in college coursework or other post-secondary pursuits
Technological Proficiency
- Use appropriate technological tools to facilitate critical research, analytical thinking, problem solving, effective communication, and professional presentations
- Communicate and work across national and regional boundaries
Problem Solving Proficiency
- Understand the complexity of the “big picture” and component parts of an issue
- Collect, analyze and synthesize information from a range of sources
- Evaluate media and sources of information for bias, validity, and scholarly integrity
- Demonstrate mathematical analysis, scientific processing, and logical reasoning
- Challenge assumptions and tolerate ambiguity
- Reason morally and make decisions ethically
- Think creatively to generate new ideas, outcomes, products and ways of viewing the world
- Transfer knowledge and problem-solving skills across domains and articulate connections between disciplines
Effective Communication
- Demonstrate mastery of reading, writing, listening, and speaking for a variety of modes and purposes
- Present information and express opinions in a literate, persuasive, and appropriate manner: orally, visually, in writing, and through electronic communication tools
- Use the arts to express ideas and emotions
- Develop proficiency in an additional language
- Understand the importance of math and science in expressing ideas and transferring information across cultures and throughout history
Personal Wellness
- Practice habits of personal wellness including mental, emotional and physical health
- Prioritize and manage multiple demands and tasks
- Cultivate productive relationships in school, community, and personal lives
- Develop senses of identity, self-esteem, personal value, individuality, and life direction
- Demonstrate self-control and responsibility
Collaboration and Leadership
Understand that individuals can make a difference - Appreciate and foster diversity in groups and communities
- Show sensitivity and empathy to the lives, needs and feelings of others to promote humanity and preserve human rights
- Complete at least 120 hours of documented service to the community
- Complete at least 120 hours of career exploration through the internship program
Global Awareness
- Understand multiple perspectives of global dynamics—how economic, political, technological, environmental, and social systems work within and across nations and regions
- Possess the knowledge and skills to understand global issues, concerns, and events on an in-depth level
- Understand the historical development of major world cultures and their contemporary characteristics, beliefs, and values
- Recognize the role of language within a culture
- Travel in order to promote knowledge and tolerance of multiple regions and cultures, and to recognize patterns that are common among all cultures
- Understand the contributions of different cultures to ways of life in the United States
- Recognize that resources are limited, consider environmental and economic theories of resource use and conservation, and articulate points of view on resource usage.
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