Our Mission
American Embassy School provides a balanced education defined by a joyful pursuit of excellence in academics, athletics, arts and service. We enable each student to be an inspired, lifelong learner and a responsible, compassionate global citizen.
Many international schools have a mission that focuses on excellence, life-long learning, and developing responsible world citizens. However, not many schools emphasize doing all of that with joy.
In this viewbook, we present the distinguishing differences of an AES education - A joyful pursuit of excellence!
We understand that choosing a school is one of the most important decisions in a parent’s life, and we want you to have all the information you need to consider whether the American Embassy School is right for you and your child.
We warmly invite you to attend a virtual event or take an in-person tour on campus. Please contact us at admissions@aes.ac.in.
Once again, thanks for your genuine interest in the American Embassy School - an international community!
Namaste!
Welcome to the American Embassy School, an international community.
Step into the vibrant world of AES, and you will see competent, inquisitive students, eagerly engaged in learning. Everyday we explore, engage in purposeful play, inquiry, collaboration, and creatively express our ideas.
And we celebrate the strength of our diversity!
Sharing meaningful learning experiences, we appreciate the value of our unique perspectives. We intentionally nurture a culture of belonging where every student can realize their unlimited potential.
And we take ownership of our learning!
Through intentional reflection, we consider what we have learned, how it has changed us, and where we are headed on our journey of self-discovery. Every student in our community discovers personal pathways to pursue their dreams and passions.
Regardless of when students join our community, the impact of the AES experience will endure.
As they walk across the stage to accept their diploma, our learners are confident in their thinking, knowledge and skills, and are prepared for a future of possibilities.
Our TIGERS have earned their stripes, and are ready to serve as change makers.
Join us at AES where we: Enter to Learn. Leave to Serve.
Academic achievement and anguish don’t have to go hand in hand. Our parents love their children’s learning results at AES and the love of India that shines through our school culture. They also appreciate that kids love coming to school.
Our approach might not look like it did for some or like it does at other schools; however, this is the way we do it with a vision for each child’s joyful pursuit of excellence.
With a commitment to many kinds of learners, chasing their potential with respect and dignity. With Tiger Pride and Delhi pride brimming throughout. With worthy academic achievements won at the highest levels, but with a down-to-earth and understated bearing. With Kindness. Simplicity. Support. Substance. And all with a deliberate pursuit of Indian culture, travel, understanding, and respect as we embrace a host culture that is fully alive.
1
Joy
Pre-Kindergarten
Children entering our Pre-Kindergarten engage in explorations that are collaboratively designed to investigate their wonderings about the world around them. Through exploring nature, art, gardening and their own identity, our youngest learners drive inquiry and develop their natural curiosity right from the start.
Our vision of a child
Children are capable. They are capable of making decisions and using infinite ways to communicate their thinking. They are naturally curious and learn from their environment and in the company of their friends. Each child is unique and flourishes in their own time. As adults in their lives, our task is to observe, model and honor their right to learn. We value their process, provide time and room for them to grow, and offer learning opportunities based on their interests.
PK Team
**called the hundred languages in Reggio Emilia
Elementary
Our Elementary program aims to foster curious, responsible and caring global citizens. Cultivating students with strong social and emotional skills is an important focus of our work. We promote a socially collaborative environment where students are encouraged to explore, make choices, and make mistakes as part of the learning process.
Throughout the day, learners self-select books at their own reading level, explore their interests through passion projects, and their choice of writing topics.
Learners participate in morning meetings, exploring topics related to well-being and building their classroom community. They work in partnerships and small groups, offering and receiving feedback on their work.
Middle School
Our Middle School program fills our students’ days with challenges, action, relationships, high expectations, and high support. We want students to discover what it is like to be alive at school. Alive with questions. Alive with chatter. It is their time to fall into the story and discover what learning has to offer, and how they do it best.
While the future holds decisions of university and career seeking paths, we value adolescence as a time for students to explore and dive into their passions. No stone is left unturned as students are encouraged to pursue their budding interests. Students are empowered to grow and develop their identity in a supportive environment with teachers who love being with this energetic age group. It is the time for students to strengthen their critical thinking skills and become more independent learners.
High School
Our High School program is designed to ensure that students are well-prepared for post-secondary education. The majority of our high school students graduate with the highly respected IB Diploma, and all students find pathways to graduation that fit their strengths, goals, and interests. The High School has a supportive yet rigorous environment where each student is encouraged to explore the multiple pathways to excel in academics.
Students encounter classroom discussions that incorporate many ways to participate and express their ideas: written, choosing to share perspectives, sharing personal connections in a small group.
Our teachers facilitate discussions which draw out each student’s opinion, encouraging thoughtful listening, reflection, and contribution of new ideas. Respect for the diversity of our community and the world around us are keystones to our interactions.
A wide spectrum of understanding and background come together to create an attitude for supportive learning--connecting basic concepts and real world applications that are quite advanced. Students reflect on their reasoning together and are encouraged to offer additional solutions.
Service is a part of our identity in high school. Students enter the high school experiencing service through the twelve student-led service organizations and explore service through a robust curriculum which ties learning to sustainable development goals.
AES has a commitment to presenting its students with as many opportunities to find and follow their interests and passions. Student agency is celebrated and encouraged in all disciplines.
2 Belonging
The thing that sets a school apart is the heart and soul - The butterflies in your stomach that tell you, “I belong here.” Be seen. Be heard. Belong.
Culture of belonging statement:
“The American Embassy School is a community of diverse learners. We celebrate the strength of our diversity and are committed to nurturing a culture of belonging. All members of our school community actively support every learner’s academic, social and emotional growth.”
Wellbeing and belonging are lifelong skills of learning how to better understand ourselves, connect with others, and work together to achieve goals and support our community.
Research supports, and AES agrees: Social competencies can be taught, modeled, practiced, and will lead to positive student outcomes that are essential for success in school and in life.
3 Learners
At AES, learning is multidimensional. It involves developing deep conceptual understanding, high levels of interdisciplinary competency, and embarking on a reflective journey towards self-discovery in the context of contributing to the good of a larger community, “I belong here.”
PURPOSE:
Learning is guided by a clear, intentional sense of purpose. Through authentic experiences, we create connections with the past, make meaning in the present, and extend our learning into the future.
WONDER:
Learning is driven by the joy of our natural curiosity through a lifelong process of play, wondering, questioning, exploring, and investigation.
COMMUNITY:
Learning is a personal, social, and emotional experience. Our community is strengthened as we actively develop the capacity to learn.
OWNERSHIP:
Learning is meaningful when we take ownership of it. Through voice, choice, and self-efficacy, we create paths toward sustained, independent growth.
DIVERSITY:
Learning is enhanced through diversity. Our varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds, life experiences, identities, and individual perspectives empower our unique voices and contribute to our culture of belonging.
4 Move
Athletics/Activities/Physical Education
AES provides an extensive activities program which complements and supports our academic program by teaching students to persevere, work with others, and to challenge themselves through the spirit of fair play and cooperation.
We offer a wide and diverse range of co-curricular program opportunities to challenge each student to learn, grow and develop. AES Athletics and Activities tie directly to the school’s mission that propels students toward the joyful pursuit of excellence in academics, athletics, arts and service. Built upon the goal of developing lifelong skills and supporting important youth development goals, AES provides each student with the chance to participate and contribute to activity and athletic opportunities in elementary, middle and high school. The broad range of programs includes team and individual sports, after school clubs and activities, arts and service.
Character and leadership development are the cornerstones of AES Activities and Athletics. Whether it’s performing with other students on stage, addressing real community issues through one of our many service learning programs, or contributing as a valuable member of an AES Tiger athletic team, the energy and spirit of positive youth development are evident everyday on campus or out in our broader community of New Delhi or other parts of the world.
5 Create
We approach the arts like every other discipline at AES, with a growth mindset that allows students to try, risk, revise, improvise, and excel.
It begins with artistic exploration for our youngest learners, and the opportunities only expand until we launch graduates whose artistry and performance skill find expression for a lifetime in all they do. So, bring your curiosity and fumbling fingers, your creativity, your carpentry, your drama, your love of theatre, music and art, your hours of practice, your harmonies and your imagination to the studio and the stage at AES. Our program and your passion deserve each other.
6 Serve
At AES service learning is a way for students to develop deep empathy and learn to take action to solve real world problems, while developing the academic skills necessary for future success. With simple and intentional changes to existing curriculum, AES uses academic and after-school programs to help meet the needs of people in the local community and beyond. AES is intentional about developing active global citizens.
Service learning is an approach to teaching and learning guided by the principles of equity and justice. In service learning, students address authentic needs, develop knowledge, skills, and dispositions, and take informed action to continue to grow as compassionate global citizens.
Service learning is embedded in the curriculum through school. In grade 5 students learn about nutrition, questions of equity and access to “quality food for all” arise. Students take action, based on research, need, and a heart of empathy. In the Middle School there are opportunities to engage in service learning at local schools for children with special needs. In High School service learning is a part of students’ core experiences.
7 Global
Diversity (languages, cultures)
Whether in the classroom or outside of school, our learners experience a holistic education. Our Week Without Walls (WOW) Program in the Middle School and the Minicourses in the High School give students a real taste of Indian culture and an appreciation of its people.
At AES world languages are part of the core curriculum, and we offer daily Spanish and French lessons in Elementary School. In Middle and High School students are building proficiency in French, Spanish and Chinese. Frequency affects most elements of language acquisition as the student progresses through the grades. In High School our students will have extended opportunities to deepen their proficiency through immersion trips to foreign countries.
Innovate
Technologies are transforming the world of work and what tomorrow’s workforce will need in order to continually adapt as new occupations emerge. Research has looked at the kind of jobs that will be lost, as well as those that will be created as automation, AI, and robotics take hold--the type of high-level skills that will become increasingly important as a result. The need for manual and physical skills, as well as basic cognitive ones, will decline, but demand for technological, social and emotional, and higher cognitive skills will grow.
Makerspace labs exist in all divisions to engage students’ natural curiosity while working through the design cycle to create solutions to real world issues.
8
9 Beyond
The AES High School counseling department takes a holistic stance on providing support and services to students, parents, and the AES community in the following areas: individual and small-group guidance, responsive services, and a systematic guidance program for the university and college application process that culminates in Grade 12.
In addition to a comprehensive academic and social-emotional counseling program in all grades, our career and university guidance is introduced in grade 8 and continues throughout all the high school years. The High School counseling program addresses individual passions, values, personality strengths and learning styles.
Our Director of University and College Counseling supports the counseling department and the AES community with a larger lens focus. This position offers students and parents targeted presentations about exploring and making decisions about post-secondary choices. As part of the university application process, students start researching universities of interest and are offered guidance about factors for “best fit” colleges based on their learning styles, personality, program interest, and other factors that they and their families consider important.
Transition toward graduation and beyond is a high priority at AES.
10 Community
In the expat world, where motion is constant, the warm, fun-loving community at AES pours life and humanity back into the journey. When asked what makes AES unique, our families and faculty lift up ‘community’ as a hallmark of their AES experience. After all, it's a fundamental human need to belong. The AES community welcomes newcomers, values those who stay and offers cherished lifetime memories and traditions to those who must move on. In a world where differences can divide, the acceptance and support in our community is worth exploring as a positive difference-maker. Many families report that the hardest part of leaving was finding another school to match the family feeling of AES.
Beyond parents, an inspiring and experienced teacher can be the single most influential person in a child’s life. This is well-documented, and yet many schools skimp on their recruitment and retention of quality teachers to cut costs and tuition. As a destination school for global, experienced faculty, AES conducts worldwide searches and invests unapologetically in this most critical piece of a child’s formation. AES is blessed with teachers from more than 12 countries, most with advanced degrees and significant years of teaching experience.
Professional Learning is a cornerstone for personal growth and development at AES. We know that the strength and core of a great school are the people who work there - teachers, administrators, teaching assistants and support staff - and that each of us needs and appreciates the encouragement to continuously broaden and refine our skills in the art and science of teaching. Just like our students, the adults at AES are always learning and growing.
Each year, we host a variety of professional learning opportunities with leading consultants. Beyond the walls of AES, teachers and administrators attend a range of world-class conferences and workshops.
• are ADAPTIVE
• are able to set priorities in a changing and dynamic school community.
• are comfortable with ambiguity and participate in the change processes.
• are flexible and open to new ideas.
• embrace DIVERSITY
• are passionate about their work, the school’s mission, values, and culture of belongings.
• understand that our community of learners is diverse and that learning is a personal, social and emotional experience.
• respect their own cultural and linguistic backgrounds, life experiences, identities, and individual perspectives.
• actively support efforts to recruit, hire, mentor, and engage with others to build
• embrace WONDER
• embrace a growth mindset by constantly seeking new personal and professional learning opportunities.
• support their colleagues by contributing to others’ learning and growth.
• develop and implement new ideas and educational approches in the interest of the AES mission, values and culture of belonging.
• cultivate a sense of wonder and excitement in the classrooms.
AES Educators
• are COMMUNITY builders and members
• communicate courteously, with grace and humility towards all members of our diverse school community.
• build trust with others by being reliable, honest, open, and benevolent.
• are collaborative and serve as both leaders and team members where appropriate.
• are generous with their time and talents with others, while also demonstrating humility and grace.
AES Educators
• have OWNERSHIP of their craft
• are experts in their field, who deliver high quality and accurate results.
• seek to understand and reflect on the results of their work.
• embrace the motto of “Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve”.
• have a personal investment in the success of their students, their team, and the school.
AES Educators
• are bravely PURPOSEFUL
• are willing and able to honestly and kindly tell the hard truths and ethical and dificult decisions.
• embrace risk, and understand that failure is a step toward success.
• undestand that a service-learning approach is a pathway to demonstrating and teaching the principles of equity and justice.
Valued
AES
Attributes
Incredible India
Incredible India
Incredible India
Enter to Learn. Leave to Serve.
“ My favorite thing is how comfortable everyone made me feel throughout my whole time at AES. Just like moving to any other school it inevitably took a while to settle in and find friends, but what's different about AES is once you find your place everyone makes life there so comfortable which really ended up impacting my last 3 years of high school. Throughout my time here, I have had teachers that have completely changed my mindset about learning and life in general, as teachers here serve as a lot more than just academic guidance. Most teachers I had have been super understanding and have supported me in order to help me achieve my best, they have helped me through stressful decisions about my future and also have been a way to have a laugh and pass time which really differentiates AES from all other schools I have attended. ”
Noor Sayegh Student Grade 12“ One of the things I appreciate most about being a teacher at AES is how we always strive to put students at the center of everything we do. Whether it's planning curriculum or preparing for a field trip, our work is grounded in the belief that what matters most, at the end of the day, is the well-being and success of our students. I’m constantly inspired by my AES colleagues, who demonstrate an abiding commitment to this belief every day. ”
Michael Kim AES Grade 6 - EAL Teacher“ Our daughter has been at AES since 2014 when she was 5 years old, joining as a student in Pre-K. She is fortunate to have grown up in a safe, nurturing environment alongside a diverse community led by caring and dynamic teachers.
AES fosters kindness and empathy in each of their students. In addition to academic skills our daughter has cultivated confidence in her own creativity and individuality which has only blossomed further now that she is 13 and in Middle School.
Class sizes at AES are small enough for each child to be looked after as an individual, yet there is plenty of opportunity to work in groups and learn to be part of a team. The teachers are very supportive and flexible in their approach in regards to teaching. They encourage creativity and out of the box thinking. The teachers and administrators are always easily accessible to parents for questions, concerns or feedback.
While transitioning to online learning during COVID protocols was hard for all, the teachers showed a lot of patience with students and parents. Also, administration was extremely receptive to parent feedback to improve and tweak the home learning programs. Now that students are back on campus the way AES has handled Covid protocol is top notch. As parents we are comfortable and feel secure sending our daughter to school knowing that the protocol is taken seriously and that student and staff safety is a top priority at AES.
There is a strong sense of community at AES. The physical campus with its playgrounds, large athletic fields, separate division cafeterias, beautiful libraries, to name just a few facilities, is an oasis in the middle of Delhi. As a parent I value the diversity and the school’s strong ethos to ensure the children graduate as global citizens of the world with respect and a sense of responsibility. ”
Moneesha and Amit Ramani AES Parents