Almaty International School (AIS) is a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

located in

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. Founded by QSI (

Quality Schools International Quality Schools International (QSI) is a group of non-profit international schools offering education in the English language, in a number of countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South and North America. The first school was founde ...

) in 1993, it is the third largest school out of all the QSI schools. The school offers an American-based Pre-K and K-12 programs. School facilities include: an elementary building, secondary building, annex (music building), small gym, big gym, library, cafeteria, birch room, birch tree area, field with an Olympic size track, 3 playgrounds, and the teachers apartments. The school hosts international events and participates in many sports events such as the CAXC (Central Asian Cross Country Classic), CASC (Central Asian Soccer Classic), CABC (Central Asian Basketball Classic), and CAVC (Central Asian Volleyball Classic). The school is also used as a site for

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

, PSAT and AP testing. The school is operated with the authorization of the Kazakhstani Government.

Study and Programs

Elementary students learn Literacy, Math, Cultural Studies, Science, World Languages, Music, Technology, Art, and PE (physical education). Middle and Secondary Students get to choose electives which include PE/Wellness, Technology, Music (Band/Orchestra/Choir/Guitar), Drama or Art. Students that can not go yet into the appropriate age program go to IE (Intensive English) classes for Literacy and World Languages. They move up when they can go to the appropriate program of their age. The school has 7 Success Orientations to follow: * Responsibility * Kindness & Politeness * Trustworthiness * Aesthetic Appreciation * Concern for Others * Group Interaction * Independent Endeavor The school is funded partially by the U.S. Department of State. The school is accredited by CEESA and MSA.

History

Founded by QSI (

) in 1993, it is the third largest school out of all the QSI schools. The school offers an American-based Pre-K and K-12 programs. The school is fully accredited through Middle States Association (MSA) and affiliated with the U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas Schools (AOS).

Curriculum

The QSI education system differs from the traditional American system in several aspects. The naming of the key stages in the QSI curricular system diverges from typical naming. Additionally, the different stages cover different age groups. The table below represents all the changes: A variety of AP Courses is offered, ranging from

AP World History Advanced Placement (AP) World History: Modern (also known as AP World History, AP World, APWH, or WHAP) is a college-level course and examination offered to high school students in the United States through the College Board's Advanced Placemen ...

AP Chemistry Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry (also known as AP Chem) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program to give American and Canadian high school students the opportunity to demonstrate thei ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, French,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and Kazakh languages are offered in QSI Almaty. The school, being located in Kazakhstan, is obligated to abide by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Education's regulations. To meet the regulations, QSI Astana, QSI

Aktau Aktau (; ) is a city in south-west Kazakhstan, on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Aktau is on the Mangyshlak Peninsula in the Mangystau Region. Known for its strategic location on the Caspian Sea, Aktau is a port, playing a key role in th ...

, QSI

Atyrau Atyrau (, ; , ; ), known until 1991 as Guryev (), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Caspian Sea, between Europe and Asia, west of Almaty and east o ...

, and Almaty International School (QSI Almaty) made Kazakh History, Kazakh Language, and Military Preparation classes mandatory for all Kazakh nationals. Intensive English class is compulsory for ESL (English as a Second Language) students who have struggles effectively communicating in English. A university counselor is also offered to the senior class. An AP Lab/

Study Hall Study hall, known as private study, SAS, structured study or free periods in the United Kingdom, is a term for a place to have a study time during the school day where students are assigned to study when they are not scheduled for an academic cl ...

is offered to high school students with tight schedules and/or numerous AP subjects. The QSI grading system also differs from that of traditional American schools: TSW ("The Student Will") are a set of guiding points that illustrate what the student should learn in the unit/subject. A TSW sheet is created by a group of teachers with expertise in that particular subject. Every unit in every subject has a TSW sheet. All QSI schools are based on the

course credit A course credit is a measure of the size of an educational course, often used to determine whether the requirements for an award have been met, to facilitate transfer between institutions, or to enhance intercomparability of qualifications. Credit ...

system. Each whole-year subject contains 10 units. Each semester-long subject contains 5 units. A single completed unit with a grade of B or above will earn a student 1 credit. A pupil must earn 220 credits throughout his secondary (high school) years and complete all mandatory subjects such as

Algebra I Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of expressions within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic operati ...

and

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

to earn a Standard Diploma. If a student wishes to receive an Academic Diploma, they must earn 240 credits and embark on additional English and

Social Science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

classes. With a student wishes to receive an Academic Diploma with Honors, he/she must complete 2 AP subjects between Secondary 1 and Secondary 4 as well as meeting the requirements of both the Standard and Academic Diploma. The student must complete the subject's AP exam with a score of 3 or above. The mandatory courses for the 3 diplomas are as listed:

AP Courses

The school offers 18 AP Courses which include: * AP Art * AP Calculus AB * AP Statistics * AP Biology * AP Chemistry * AP Environmental Science * AP Physics 1 * AP Capstone/Research * AP Music Theory * AP Seminar * AP Language/AP Literature * AP Human Geography * AP World History * AP Micro/Macro Economics * AP Spanish Language * AP French Language * AP Computer Science Principles

References

External links