Another Year of Progress

Our 2017 – 2018 Annual Report

The release of our 2017-2018 Annual Report offers an opportunity to look back on another successful year at International School Bangkok (ISB) and examine our progress in all aspects of education for our learners.

A Clear Vision

Within the school year we launched our new school Vision statement: “Enriching communities through the intellectual, humanitarian and creative thoughts and actions of our learners.” This focus on community involvement is central to ISB’s identity and the foundation for our work as a school, preparing our learners for an ever-changing world and guiding them to have positive impacts. We also saw the launch of our ISB Learner Attributes, developed alongside our vision, after years of thorough research. In order for our learners to thrive in their lives and the world, we believe they will need to be: Creative, Globally-minded, Adaptable, Value-driven, Socially-intelligent, and Self-managing.

Achieving Academic and Personal Potential

We aim to inspire students to fulfil their academic and personal potential with a consistent emphasis on academic progress at all levels and in the report, Debi Caskey, Deputy Head of School for Learning, highlights the school’s commitment to providing an environment of genuine challenge and enrichment for all of our students. We also saw some outstanding academic results, with 2 ISB Graduates scoring 45 points, the highest mark possible, on their IB Diploma and close to 20 graduates scoring 40 or more points.

New and Expanded Programs

The year also saw expansion in various programs, such as our high school summer internship program, which provided opportunities for students to intern at organizations such as Operation Smile and Vichaiyut Hospital, Seagate Technologies and other organizations.

Our Environmental Wilderness Campus continues to be an exceptional facility, offering our students a thrilling base for outdoor education. The new Wild Panthers Outdoor Education program in our middle school brought students closer to their natural surroundings, challenging them with a variety of team-based tasks as they learned practical skills for outdoor life. Middle School Principal Dennis Harter explained the value of this highly interactive approach to learning. The goal, he said, was to “further engage learners in ISB Attributes such as adaptability, creativity, self-management, and social-intelligence. We integrated special activities into units and courses, aiming to provide students with a truly open-ended, learner-directed experience.”

A great example of ISB’s focus on experiential-learning and commitment to giving students voice and choice was the ‘One Day’ project in Middle School, where we invited each student to spend one day learning about any topic that excited their curiosity. What we witnessed was a successful form of hands-on learning, which pushed students to adapt, be creative, and have courage in the pursuit of their education. The experience helped students develop socially, academically and on a personal level – all in ‘one day’.

Our Elementary School also incorporated continued partnerships with other organizations such as the Bangkok School for the Blind and Rainbow House. Kelly Armitage, Elementary School Principal, connected this program with some of our values as an educational institution: “Honoring each child as an individual, and supporting their social, emotional, and academic growth is what we are about,” she said.

Transparency

As a not for profit, it is important that we maintain transparency in our spending and report what we spend our money on. We looked at some of these numbers, to demonstrate how we continue to reinvest in the school to ensure the best quality and standard of education is delivered consistently over the year and years to come. Our income over the 2017-18 school year was an impressive 1,702 million baht and our reserves increased by 98 million baht, to a total of 1,507 million baht. Over 80% of tuition income is spent on salaries and benefits, allowing us to attract and retain exceptional teachers.

This past year has been an exceptional year of growth, full of achievements both inside and outside the classroom. We’d like to extend a big thank you to our entire ISB community – without you, none of these achievements would have been possible.

Download the full report here.