WIS Viewbook 2021-2022

Why WIS? Washington International School provides an exceptional educational environment unlike other schools, offering the best qualities of an independent school combined with the unique attributes of an international school. Our founders were visionaries who recognized the imperative of fostering global citizenship.

Whether our graduates aspire to be entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, lawyers, educators, politicians, inventors, activists or wish to pursue some other yet-to-be-imagined career, their ability to appreciate the diversity of the world’s people and their beliefs will set them apart from their peers.

“WIS is the only school in Washington, and one of only a handful in the U.S., where students leave primary school fluent in two languages, and leave secondary school having mastered the most rigorous and relevant curriculum—the International Baccalaureate—in the world.”

Sophia Pink ‘15 is attending Stanford University. A 2015 Presidential Scholar, Sophia was also a National Merit Finalist.

DAN PINK AND JESSICA LERNER , PARENTS OF THREE WIS ALUMNI

The WIS mission statement and values speak to our commitment to educate young people who will grow up prepared to face the challenges our world presents. We accomplish this by: Teaching students how to think, not simply what to think. The

inquiry process is the heart of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, the curricular framework used by our Preschool through Grade 5 teachers. Teaching at all levels is also informed by research from world-class educational organizations such as Project Zero, which is based in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.

Challenging students with a rigorous curriculum leading to the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. The multidisciplinary

Grades 6–10 curriculum emphasizes the critical thinking and problem solving skills that are crucial for success in the globally-recognized IB Diploma Program, the course of study for all Grade 11 and 12 students.

Ensuring students leave WIS with the ability to communicate in at least two languages. Language learning

is fundamental to our program, beginning with our language immersion and dual language classes in Primary School. Well over half of WIS graduates earn the Bilingual IB Diploma, demonstrating fluency in two languages.

Providing a wide-ranging, multidisciplinary curriculum with a truly international focus.

With community members representing more than 100 nationalities, students are exposed to a broad spectrum of experiences and ideas. They graduate with an open-minded perspective on the world that gives them the confidence to approach and adapt to new situations.

Primary School

PRESCHOOL TO GRADE 5

PRIMARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM Our Primary School students learn in the language, about the language, and through the language.

Our Early Years (Preschool, PreKindergarten, and Kindergarten) students are enrolled in either a French or Spanish language immersion program. Our dual language program (French/English or Spanish/English) for Grades 1–5 students is structured so a student’s academic schedule is evenly divided between two languages.

As an international school, WIS strives to be as flexible as possible in admitting children with varied language profiles. Children entering the three Early Years grades may come from any language background. In the later Primary School grades, three programs— English as an Additional Language, French as an Additional Language, and Spanish as an

Additional Language—help students “catch up” when their language skills are not yet at grade level.

The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP) is the framework for all learning in the Primary School. The curriculum is inquiry-based and driven by concept acquisition; students learn how to ask questions and find answers while building skills in reading, reasoning, researching, and communication. The interdisciplinary approach ensures students explore topics in science and technology; mathematics; languages; social studies; arts; and personal, social, and physical education.

“WIS is the most extraordinary gift parents can give their children: a truly interdisciplinary and international first-rate education in a welcoming community of learners and teachers open to the world and embodying the world’s diversity. The WIS experience is unique, from both the academic and social points of view.”

NICOLETTA PIREDDU LUNA, PARENT OF TWO WIS ALUMNAE

Primary School

PRESCHOOL TO GR ADE 5

PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENT LIFE Primary School students participate in a variety of extracurricular activities.

A rich array of after school classes is offered through the Co-Curricular Programs office.

Options typically include dance, art, music, cooking, languages, science, robotics, chess, judo, and several team sports. Parents may enroll their children in one or several classes and often combine classes with the extended day program, which provides structured activities for students until early evening.

An interest in vocal or instrumental music often encourages older Primary School students to join an after school music program. Band and choir concerts, as well as special art exhibits and celebrations of learning, enable students to share what they learn with their parents and other members of the WIS community.

Students may begin to develop their leadership skills by participating in the student government, which organizes fundraisers and community-building activities such as Spirit Week. Activities often incorporate service learning, encouraging Primary School students to help those in need and focus on common concerns (environmental sustainability, poverty relief, disaster recovery, hunger) locally and around the world.

Middle and Upper Schools GRADES 6 TO 8

GRADES 9 TO 12

CURRICULUM, GRADES 6–10 Our Middle and Upper School students are challenged to think deeply, to question assumptions, to innovate, and to collaborate—to develop the qualities necessary for continued academic success.

The Middle School curriculum includes seven core subjects: English, a second language (French or Spanish), mathematics, science, humanities (history and geography), physical education/health, and the arts. Students with advanced language skills in French and Spanish take their humanities courses in one of these two languages. Technology is appropriately integrated into all subjects and into many electives. A number of Middle School students use their elective block to study Chinese, which they may continue through Grade 12.

mathematics, science, social science, physical education/life skills) and two elective blocks.

The elective options allow for exploration of an additional science, geography, a third language, journalism, visual art, music, drama, and a variety of technology options, depending on the grade. The Grade 10 Project is an independent exploration of a topic of personal interest; students begin their preparation at the end of the Grade 9 year and present the results of their efforts at a Project Fair in December of the Grade 10 year.

When students enter the Upper School in Grade 9, they begin to specialize in preparation for the IB Diploma Program.

There are six core courses in Grades 9 and 10 (English, a second language,

All students in Grade 6 to 10 participate in the 1:1 device program. This provides classes with opportunities to collaborate and integrate online resources into their daily work.

MIDDLE AND UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT LIFE The Middle and Upper Schools share the Tregaron campus, a former residential estate nestled on a hilltop in the Cleveland Park neighborhood (two miles northeast of our Primary School campus in Georgetown).

Athletics

Athletic Offerings FALL

Girls Varsity Tennis Girls Middle School Volleyball Girls JV/Varsity Volleyball Boys Middle School Soccer Girls Middle School Soccer Boys JV/Varsity Soccer Girls JV/Varsity Soccer Boys and Girls Cross Country

WINTER

Girls Middle School Basketball Boys Middle School Basketball Boys JV/Varsity Basketball Girls JV/Varsity Basketball Swim Club

Classes are still held in the Mansion, as well as in other buildings that have been renovated and constructed since WIS first moved on to the property in the 1970s. Facilities include the Academic, Arts, and Athletics Complex with classrooms, a library classroom, IT project studio, The Alan Reese Design Lab, and the gym; science labs in the renovated Carriage House; administrative offices; and an outdoor basketball court and regulation-size soccer field.

SPRING

Boys Varsity Tennis Boys and Girls Track and Field Girls Middle School Softball Girls Varsity Softball Varsity Golf Boys Varsity Baseball Boys Varsity Volleyball Ultimate Frisbee

WIS is a member of the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference. More than 60% of Middle and Upper School students join one or more athletic teams. Options offered each year may vary depending on the number of students interested in a particular sport.

The Arts

In addition to classroom instruction in the arts, many students choose to express themselves through artistic endeavors. There are typically two major musical productions and two dramas staged each year, as well

Middle and Upper Schools GR ADES 6 TO 8

GR ADES 9 TO 12

as a special presentation conceptualized and performed by Grade 12 students enrolled in IB Theatre. Instrumentalists and vocalists are featured in the winter and spring Middle and Upper School concerts, as well as at impromptu lunchtime concerts and during student assemblies. An annual Spring exhibition allows seniors enrolled in the Diploma Program Visual Arts course to share the work in their portfolios; other student artwork is on display throughout the year.

Clubs

With the support of adult sponsors, students are encouraged to demonstrate their leadership skills—and just to enjoy themselves—in clubs. Some clubs are longstanding WIS traditions, while others may exist for only a year or two, depending on the composition of the student body. Club fairs at the beginning of each school year provide a venue for examining options; the groups meet either during lunch or after school.

Service Learning

Service learning is an integral component of the WIS educational experience in Grades 6–12. In the Middle School, community service is linked to the curriculum with many activities focusing on big-picture issues such as environmental conservation and hunger. Upper School students are required to volunteer a specified number of hours and are encouraged to identify service interests about which they are engaged and passionate. WIS students typically exceed the minimum number of service hours.

IB Diploma Program

GRADES 11 AND 12

In Grades 11 and 12, all students are enrolled in International Baccalaureate Diploma Program courses.

Akinfolarin Ogunmodede ‘21 joined WIS in his freshman year and wowed the community with his considerable musical talent as well as his academic prowess. He is majoring in engineering at Columbia University.

Recognized for its rigorous academic standards, the curriculum combines six core courses with Theory of Knowledge (TOK), an interdisciplinary critical thinking seminar; an Extended Essay on a topic selected and researched by each student; and completion of Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) requirements.

Since the curriculum is recognized by many countries, strong performances on the IB Diploma exams have allowed WIS graduates to earn advanced standing at their universities. Many Grade 11 and 12 students also choose to take Advanced Placement exams (typically in French and Spanish) to earn college credit.

Diploma Program students typically take a combination of three higher-level and three standard-level courses and sit for the IB Diploma exams in May of their senior year.

With a pass rate well above the worldwide standard, 96% to 100% of WIS Diploma Program candidates earn IB Diplomas in addition to their WIS diplomas. WIS students also consistently demonstrate their mastery of an additional language, with exceptionally high attainment of the IB Bilingual Diploma (71% of WIS IB Diplomas in 2021 compared to a worldwide average of 27%).

The primary goal of the WIS university counseling program is for students to identify and be accepted at a college or university that is the best fit—academically and socially—for each individual WIS graduate. While many have elected to attend universities in the United States, the IB Diploma credential means WIS graduates are attractive candidates for admission to highly competitive and respected universities around the world.

Sally Otto ‘85 is an evolutionary biologist who earned her B.Sc. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.

She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2011 and was elected into the National Academy of Sciences in 2013.

“[Because of the IB Diploma Program] I developed great study habits, so when I got to university there was no shock about how hard you had to study.... [I am grateful] for the scholarship I had at WIS. It changed my life. It really did.”

SALLY OTTO, CLASS OF 1985

Sophia Nehme ‘21 served on the WIS student government and was the recipient of two WIS senior awards. She attends the University of Pennsylvania, where she is pursuing her interests in both psychology and political science.

The WIS Community

“What I love most about WIS is how it helps students from all backgrounds develop an open-minded appreciation of all cultures. Global thinking is not just a part of the curriculum, it is a way of life. Whether it is in class, with friends after school, in discussions with friendly strangers...this global perspective stays with you for life.”

DIVYA DETHIER, CLASS OF 2008

There is no typical WIS family—in some households there are multiple citizenships and in others all family members are U.S. citizens.

Our faculty members hail from more than 30 countries and we have teachers and administrators who have worked at international schools around the world. The interaction of individuals from such diverse backgrounds results in a community that is truly multicultural and multilingual. In recent years the number of “lifers” (students who have been enrolled in the school continuously

since Grade 1) among our Grade 12 graduates has ranged from 28% to 50%, creating close-knit classes of students who are also very welcoming to newcomers.

An active group of parent volunteers enables the school to host special events and activities throughout the year. These hard-working and much-appreciated

individuals create costumes for school plays, staff games and booths at the annual Spring Bazaar, plan our annual Auction for Financial Aid, read or shelve books in our libraries, recruit chaperones for field trips, and preserve the wonderful tradition of Friday grill lunch on the Tregaron Campus, among many other activities.

OUR MISSION The mission of Washington International School is to be an exemplary learning community—enriched by differences, informed through inquiry, global in reach.

CORE VALUES INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING WIS students investigate the arts, humanities, sciences, and technology through a rigorous, visionary, research-based curriculum inspired by academic innovators worldwide.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE WIS students learn two or more languages, embrace diverse cultures and viewpoints, and have the ability and confidence to navigate a complex world.

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY WIS students pursue community engagement and demonstrate empathy, honesty, and civility.

The School admits qualified students without regard to race, color, national and ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, mental or physical disability, age, or any other status protected by applicable law, including the DC Human Rights Act, to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School likewise complies with all applicable laws in the selection of its Board of Trustees and in the administration of its educational, admissions, scholarship and loan, athletic, and other School-administered policies and programs.

ACCREDITATION: The school is accredited

by the Council of International Schools and by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. WIS is also affiliated with the International Baccalaureate, the European Council of International Schools, the National Association of Independent Schools, The Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington, the College Board, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

MIDDLE AND UPPER SCHOOLS TREGARON CAMPUS 3100 MACOMB STREET NW WASHINGTON, DC 20008 PRIMARY SCHOOL GEORGETOWN CAMPUS 1690 36TH STREET NW WASHINGTON, DC 20007 ADMISSIONS TEL: 202.243.1815 FAX: 202.330.5613 ADMISSIONS@WIS.EDU WWW.WIS.EDU