Our Student Support Department has its foundation in the AISZ mission, which states:
We develop skills and character for futures rich with promise.
At the core of our culture at AISZ is a belief that ALL students can learn at high levels. We accept responsibility for each student reaching their full academic potential and that we support our students social emotional wellbeing. We recognize that this is no small task. To ensure that we deliver on this foundational belief AISZ teachers have implemented a proven, research based, approach to supporting students called Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). Our MTSS system uses reliable universal screeners to determine where each student is academically and social emotionally. Using these metrics to guide us, we have a system of increasingly intensive interventions to ensure that every student has the resources needed to close gaps in their academics and wellbeing. AISZ is an international school leader in the use of this system and have supported dozens of other schools in establishing this research and evidenced based program in their schools.
Our MTSS system is led by a dedicated team of educators in four departments:
AISZ has a strong team of dedicated upper and lower school learning support teachers. Our philosophical approach is based on research and structures established in the United States. At our core our guiding belief is that students should be educated in the least restrictive learning environment with the age appropriate peers.
Our strong learning support team allows us to serve a range of students; those with gaps in their learning to those with bona fide disabilities. We provide services to a managed number of students with mild, moderate and intensive needs. It is noted that while our services of student support are strong at AISZ, we do not provide services such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, educational psychologist testing or other intensive services. If a child’s needs reach a level beyond our service capabilities, the school may refer and recommend these services at extra cost to the family. Due to limited resources, we are unable to support all of the unique needs and neurodiversity found in our community. These include, but are not limited to, students with severe behavioral support needs or those requiring extensive therapeutic or extensive care. Please contact our admissions office with specific questions. We are happy to help.
In alignment with our Mission and Vision, the American International School of Zagreb recognizes the importance of languages in promoting cultural diversity as well as a person’s identity. At AISZ we believe it is essential to maintain and encourage the development of our students’ home languages/mother tongues while also helping them develop their fluency in English. We have English Acquisition teachers and Assistants in both the lower and upper school to support this effort.
We strive to design an English as an Additional Language (EAL) program tailored to individual student needs. Prior to acceptance as a full time student at AISZ, students may be required to take the Versant placement (an English proficiency assessment) test to determine if the prospective student's English level is sufficient for the coursework and entry to the school.
The expectation for the coursework is that students will do grade-level appropriate work with minimal alterations. Students who need more support will have a combination of in class and outside of class enrichment with a teacher. (Please note these adjustments may impact scheduling of classes).
As the student progresses with English, the support will decrease until that student is able to work independently with class material. This will be determined by conversations with the EAL specialist and teachers as well as by their English proficiency scores. If AISZ cannot provide adequate services for the student's level of English, the student may not be admitted to the school.
Supporting the social emotional wellbeing and safety of every student at AISZ is core to who we are as an organization. Our robust Counseling program ensures that we are proactively teaching social emotional skills and systematically seeking out and intervening to support students who may need assistance. Current research is indicating that children today are experiencing a significant increase in anxiety and decrease in wellbeing. The impacts of Covid-19, technology and social media seem to be having a profound impact on our children. To combat this trend, AISZ has a dedicated social emotional counselor in each division to ensure this preventive and supportive approach is provided. We know that a student who is healthy emotionally is able to do their best work academically as well.
At AISZ we seek to provide students and families with excellent support as they journey through their secondary academic experience towards life after high school. We are fortunate for a smaller school to have a dedicated Academic and College counselor to provide this support to students and families. We are committed to walking the four year college and post high school journey together with students and parents; ensuring our students have access to exceptional best fit colleges and programs for their future. Each year our students matriculate to excellent universities throughout Europe, the United States and internationally.
Caring for the academic, emotional, and physical learning needs of a group of children is complex. For this reason, we use collaborative and holistic team approach to problem identification and the design of interventions that will enhance student learning.