In 2019, Asia Pacific School was acquired by the International Schools Partnership (ISP), a network of 50 schools in 15 different countries including the USA, Canada, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Malaysia.
Being part of an international education network provides our school with the opportunity to tap into a rich resource of knowledge. Building on our own heritage of education excellence, we can apply the best ideas from ISP’s global network of passionate educators and child education experts for the benefit of our students – whether in the International or Malaysian National curricula.
Here are 5 key advantages that ISP brings to our school and our students.
1. An “Always Getting Better” Mindset
ISP and APS share this core value. ISP’s Amazing Learning philosophy seeks to help children learn to levels that amaze even themselves. For that to happen, the school itself has to be in continuous learning mode. Everyone under the ISP umbrella, regardless of their role, is expected to put the success of students at the heart of everything. With that, students will have the best learning experience and outcomes.
2. Access To Global Expertise
As part of ISP, APS has access to ideas from education experts across the world. The knowledge they share covers the complete range of school life, including methods to enhance students’ learning, health & safety aspects, human resources, finance, IT, property, marketing, admissions, and communications efforts. As schools go through well-rounded improvements and enhancements, students gain an improved learning environment and also a better learning experience.
3. Local And International Best Practices
ISP works with local schools such as APS on the principles of mutual respect, openness, and teamwork. The 80/20 rule applies here, where 80% of the ideas for improvements come from the school, while 20% come from ISP. The school’s faculty and staff are able to give the best solutions based on our deep understanding of the local culture. Meanwhile, ISP supports with the extra effort that takes ideas even further or by providing new insights and perspectives that make a great difference to the overall school curriculum.
4. International Cultural Learning Opportunities
ISP provides several international cultural learning opportunities that provide students the opportunity to gain valuable experiences with students from other countries. This is an invaluable part of our students’ learning experience.
There are three flagship ISP programmes: the ISP Model United Nations, the ISP Buddy Exchange Programme, and the ISP International Summer Camp. These international programmes are unique to ISP, in addition to other international exchanges offered by the school. More programmes will be introduced for students in the future.
5. Evidence-Based Approach
ISP works closely with teachers and school leaders to ensure lessons remain firmly focused on helping children consistently improve. ISP’s regional teams help local schools develop better learning methodologies and also to track outcomes. An independent team of experts regularly reviews the progress of schools in the ISP group. All this data is collected to create a rich bank of quantitative and qualitative evidence that all ISP schools can use to guide and develop their continual improvement programmes.
ISP’s Purpose and Principles end with a sentence that says, ‘Our students’ success is our success’. That is why APS is proud to be a part of ISP, as the group is putting in great efforts into ensuring our school, teachers, and students get better all the time.