International School Manila

International School Manila
File:ISMANILA Logo.gif
Type	Private
Established	1920
Superintendent	David Toze
Enrollment	approx. 1,600
Religious Affiliation	None
Campus	Semi-urban
Location	University Parkway Fort Bonifacio Taguig City 1634 Philippines
Mascot	Bearcat
Motto	"Veritas et democratia"
Website	www.ismanila.org

International School Manila (ISM) is a private, non-sectarian, co-educational day school from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), it primarily serves Manila's multinational community. It is located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

History

International School Manila opened in 1920 during the American occupation after American and British parents sought the establishment of another international school with a similar curriculum to US private schools. There was only one school funded by the American government at the time, and it could hardly accommodate the number of enrollees.

Thus, the American School, Inc. opened as a non-profit, non-stock entity with a program that bridged the cultural gap among foreign children living abroad. At the time, most Americans and British were on extended assignment to the Philippines. Their interest was to establish an educational institution that would provide for the long-term educational needs of their children and the children of future expatriates.

In 1970, with its recent move to Makati to accommodate more students, the American School changed its name to the International School to reflect the school's changing enrollment patterns. The school was located in Bel-Air Village, Makati City from 1960 to 2002.

In September 2000 both the International School Manila's sustaining members and the parent community cast the deciding vote to begin the construction of a new campus and in 2002, ISM moved to its new campus of 70,000 square metres located in the University Park Area of Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

It has been said that the Bel-Air campus was given to the government for their own needs. The government planned to auction the old campus off, however due to zoning difficulties it has yet to be auctioned.

ISM maintains a large international alumni network through its alumni website (http://alumni.ismanila.com) with over 3,000 alumni registered. It is a member of the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS), along with Jakarta International School, International School Bangkok, International School of Kuala Lumpur, Singapore American School and Taipei American School.

In June 2000, a 5-year legal struggle between the school and its locally hired teachers was resolved by the Philippine Supreme Court when it ruled that ISM could no longer use "point-of-hire" as a basis to determine salary levels (see http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2000/june2000/128845.htm). In effect, the Philippine Supreme Court said that ISM must pay the same salary to locally hired teachers belonging to the International School Alliance of Educators (ISAE) as was paid to expat teachers hired abroad. The School complied with the ruling in 2000 and has since reached a settlement with the teachers union on the related issue of back wages.

Admission

The admissions process includes the submission of records from previous schools, recommendation letters, and test results, as well as an interview with a guidance counselor. ISM also awards need-based scholarships each year to two students from local schools entering the eighth grade. Applications for the highly competitive scholarships must be made by mid-April for the school year beginning in August.

Curriculum

ISM Campus

The curriculum is generally based on the American college-preparatory model and includes AP courses and courses leading to the IB diploma. The School provide an ESL program for students whose first language is other than English and whose English language competency falls below grade level. The Optimal Learning Center (OLC) provides an integrated model of support services for students with special needs, including high academic talent. The foreign languages program includes Mandarin Chinese, Filipino, French, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. The large majority of graduating students proceed to colleges and universities in the United States.

ISM recently opened its pre-school to accept both three- and four year-old children. The school's Early Primary Program is an integrated approach to learning based on the principles of a child's physical, social, personal and mental development. The learning environment fosters a developmentally appropriate approach in the promotion of creative and cognitive learning, independence in and the love of learning, the awareness of responsibility, together with dealing with risk, taking, trust learning and the development of self-esteem in expanding social dimensions.

ISM's four-year high school provides an American-based college preparatory curriculum broadened to included curricula from other systems, including the International Baccalaureate Diploma. It also offers Advanced Placement courses.

The School is recognized by the Philippine Department of Education. It has also been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges California US since the 1980s, and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Massachusetts and the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools (EARCOS). It has been a participating member of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program Switzerland for 25 years.

Organization

The School is governed by a ten-member Board of Trustees elected for three-year terms by parents.

Faculty

In the 2004-2005 school year, there were 175 faculty members, 70% of whom were expatriates; the remaining professional staff were Filipino citizens.

Facilities

ISM operates on a brand new seven-hectare campus in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City capable of providing education for 2000 students, K-12. Facilities include: 3 air-conditioned gymnasiums, 1 covered gymnasium, 8 tennis courts, 3 swimming pools, 3 playing fields, a canteen, a multi-level media center containing a total of 80,000 print and non-print resources, a 350-seat capacity Little Theater and an 880-seat fully-equipped fine and performing arts theatre. All rooms, including the 200 classrooms, are air-conditioned.

Finances

For the 2006-2007 school year, annual tuition rates range from US$5,120 (for Pre-School 3) to US$14,400 (for Grades 11-12). The School charges an annual capital projects fee of US$1,790 (US$510 for pre-school students), an IT fee of US$410 and a one-time matriculation fee of US$2,770. A special project deposit of $5,000 is levied upon enrollment. This sum is fully refundable when the student withdraws from the school.

Notable alumni

Famous and distinguished graduates and non-graduating former students of ISM include:

• Nick Carbo (1984), poet
• Maria Kristina "KC" Concepcion (2003), professional model and MTV VJ
• Tim Cone (1978), PBA coach
• Sharon Cuneta (1984), singer and movie actress
• Cielito "Pops" Fernandez (1985), singer
• Audie Gemora (1977), stage actor
• Lou Gopal (1962), documentary filmmaker
• Bea Lucero (1991), Olympic medal awardee in taekwondo
• Martin "Borgy" Manotoc (2001), professional model
• Imee Marcos (1973), congresswoman and daughter of former president Ferdinand Marcos
• Sarah Meier (1998), former MTV VJ
• Gene Nisperos (1986), doctor and health care advocate
• David Webb Peoples (1952), scriptwriter
• Elizabeth V. Reyes (1965), journalist and author
• Scott "Gutsy" Tuason (1986), photographer
• Wilfred Uytengsu (1979), entrepreneur
• Cristina Villonco (2002), singer
• Dean Yang (1991), professor of economics and public policy
• Enrique Zobel (1946), businessman

External links

• International School Manila official website
• International School Manila official student website
• Official Alumni Website
• Bamboo Telegraph (official high school newspaper) website
• American International School Alumni Association of Manila
• Jeepney Gang
• IS Manila listing and Alumni Database on Schools.ac