TIS Fact Sheet

MS Word version of this information

Media Contact
Linda Bonder, Marketing & Communications Director, LBonder@intlschool.org, 503-226-2496 x104

girl-&-teacher-reading

Founded
1990, by Douglas and Frey Stearns

Mission
The International School inspires children to become global citizens by providing a rigorous and comprehensive education within a nurturing, student-centered environment of full immersion in multiple languages and cultures.

Languages and curriculum
An American curriculum, with all subjects taught in Spanish, Chinese, or Japanese except art, music, and physical education, which are taught in English. In addition, children in grades 1 through 5 study English language arts daily.

Grades
3-year-old preschool through 5th grade.

Teaching staff
International faculty from China, Taiwan, Japan, Spain, and all over Latin America, plus specialists in music, art, English, and physical education.

Class size
Average class size is 13, maximum is 19. School-wide student/teacher ratio is 7 to 1.

Student body
400 culturally diverse students from all over greater metro Portland.

Financial aid
20 to 25% of students receive financial aid. (National average for independent elementary schools is 13.7% )

Accreditations

  • Candidate school for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme.
  • Accredited as an International Spanish Academy (ISA) by the Ministry of Education and Science in Spain.
  • Accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools and Oregon Green Schools Association.
  • Member of the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools.

Application process
3 year olds through kindergarten are admitted on a space-available basis. Children in grades 1-5 must demonstrate appropriate language fluency.

Fundraising
Nearly 100% of families make financial contributions to the school through various fundraising activities – over and above the cost of tuition. Fundraising contributes ten to fifteen percent of school operating expenses.

Location
Downtown South Waterfront, 025 SW Sherman Street, Portland, Oregon.

Status
501(c)3 organization as determined by the IRS.