Policies & Placement:
Admission
to ISPS is based on the following considerations:
·
The potential of the applicant to benefit from the educational
program.
·
The capability of the school to meet the educational needs of the
applicant.
·
The ability of the applicant to meet attendance and behavioral
requirements.
·
Fulfillment of the school’s financial and medical requirements.
Initial Grade Placement:
The International School of Port of Spain reserves the right,
through its administrative and professional staff, to determine the
proper placement of new students. Testing, interviews and review of
all pertinent records are used to ensure that students are placed
properly. Students enter ISPS from many different countries with
widely differing educational systems.
From US Based System: Students who enter from
schools with a primarily U.S. based curriculum are placed with their
age group, provided they have successfully completed the appropriate
number of years in school and have not repeated a grade. The U.S. system of education usually
calls for one year of Kindergarten and a total of 13 years of
school. ISPS offers a Pre Kindergarten year (K1) for students
who are 4 years old on September 1st of the year they wish to enter. Students who
enter from U.S. curriculum schools or from other international
schools with the same calendar will be placed on the basis of age, past
school records, number of years in school, and other factors
deemed relevant by the administration and the professional staff.
From British Based System:
Students who have attended reception and are about to begin Year 1
in a British system, and are 5 years old by September 1st
of current year will be placed in Kindergarten at ISPS. Year 2
students who are 6 years old by September 1st of current
year will be placed in Grade 1 at ISPS. The following years will be
placed according to age and number of years the records show the
student has been in school.
English as a Second Language:
All subjects apart from foreign language subjects are taught in
English. As a consequence, students wishing to attend the School in
Grades 3 to 12 must have attained a high level of proficiency in
English in order to be admitted. There are limited places available
for ESL learners and ESL classes may be offered as a support for those
students who, although able to participate in mainstream lessons, do
need some extra assistance with English to ensure rapid integration
into the School Community and hasten academic achievement in all
subjects. In certain circumstances students are given provisional
acceptance on the condition that additional support is provided at
an additional cost to the family. Students in Pre Kindergarten to Grade
2 are not required
to have a good knowledge of English as it is thought that sufficient
time remains for these students to become proficient in English
before subjects become less context based and more academically
demanding.
Special Needs Students:
ISPS has limited services for students with Special Needs. Support
services are available through the Student Support Services
Department. Applicants with Special Needs will be reviewed to
determine the appropriateness of admission based on their ability to
succeed in the standard curriculum in a normal classroom setting.
In certain circumstances students are given provisional acceptance
on the condition that additional support is provided at an
additional cost to the family. Parents are required to provide all
relevant information at the initial contact with the school.
From Schools with Different Calendars:
In most cases, students coming from schools with vastly different
calendars (i.e. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Argentina, Ecuador)
will continue in the same grade level.
High School Students:
High school grade classification will be based on number of years
completed, number of credits earned, and time of year of arrival. |