THE INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL: CHANGING LIVES AND TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES ONE STUDENT AT A TIME
OUR MISSION:
The International Leadership Charter High School implements an academically rigorous curriculum to elevate students’ intellectual capacity, and a college prep education toward the completion of a Post-Secondary Degree. Our student performance outcomes will meet and exceed city and statewide Graduation rates and the New York State Regents exams and develop leadership skills with a commitment to community service that inspires them to change lives and transform their communities.
BRONZE MEDAL RECOGNITION: US NEWS & WORLD REPORT: BEST HIGH SCHOOLS 2013 THROUGH 2018
Our charter high school has been consistently recognized by US NEWS & World Report: Best High Schools from 2013 through 2018 for the student achievement outcomes for graduation rates and performance on NYS Regents exams.
Amongst our achievements, 95% of our scholars continuously enrolled, have graduated within 4 years and 100% of our graduates have received numerous acceptance letters to the College of their choice. Our charter school has sustained an average 95% graduation rate with a Regents Diploma since 2012 through 2018.
In addition, The International Leadership Charter High School Ranked among America’s Top High Schools 2014: Beating the Odds for
Low Income Students. http://www. newsweek.com/high-schools/beatingodds-2014
Rigorous College Prep Sequence
All of our students are required to take a college prep sequence and excel in the same requirements for graduation that requires the teaching of advanced sciences and mathematics. As such, every student enrolled in our school, to include our special needs and ELL student, is provided with an equal opportunity to excel in these advanced science and mathematics courses such as Chemistry, Trigonometry, Physics and Pre-Calculus. Students who meet the criteria are selected to participate in the Lehman College NOW program where students are enrolled in introductory college level courses for credit.
Enriched High School Curriculum:
In order to broaden and enrich school curriculum, we have implemented various internationally themed enrichment activities in the arts to include Tae Kwon Do, Renaissance Music Scholars program and a Folkloric Dance program in the Afro-Puerto
Rican art form of Bomba. In addition, our scholars have an opportunity to participate in two Annual Conferences as part of the Model United Nations
Program for selected students. We teach two world languages Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. Our scholars are immersed in in multiple celebrations to recognize Chinese, Korean, AfricanAmerican, African and Latino and American traditions and cultures. Our charter school celebrates our International community with flags, food and student and faculty presentations to teach global tolerance and respect for all.
Extended Day: Increased Instructional Time
As a charter high school we have an extended day that totals an 8.5 hour day as compared with the 6.5 hour day that is reflected in most public high schools, thus increasing instruction seat time for an average of 1400 minutes for each major content area course. Our curriculum is delivered in 60-90 minute instructional blocks. In addition, we maintain a Saturday Academy Schedule and offer students an opportunity for 3 hours every Saturday to prepare for the NYS Regents exams. We also offer tutoring twice per week for the major content area courses and Regents exams.
Equal Learning by Opportunities: Zero Tracking and Ability Groups:
We have an inclusive learning environment which promotes heterogeneous grouping and high academic expectations for all. Our philosophy of teaching is acceleration and instead of remediation we provide instructional interventions and support. All students are provided with equal access to resources and materials, an academically rigorous curriculum, well trained and dedicated faculty and maximum instructional seat time. Our goal to end disparities in learning opportunities is accomplished by encouraging and preparing students to meet their academic potential and a pathway to academic excellence. This is true for our Special Needs as well as our ELL students, are all held to the same high academic and behavioral expectations most of whom graduated with a Regents Diploma.
TARGETED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT FOR ELL STUDENTS:
Our students are provided with a preassessment in Achieve 3000 a program that is designed to close the gaps in English Language Arts and to increase levels of proficiency in reading and comprehension. Our ELL students take the NYSESLATT exams annually. We provide our ELL students with tutoring and materials to assist them with their studies to include bilingual dictionaries, peer and instructional support where they can practice speaking and listening skills as well as reading and writing skills. Our mathematics teachers are bilingual and are encouraged to use the students’ native language to differentiate instruction for content area mastery. For Regents practice they are provided with exams in the Spanish language and during the Regent administration period accommodations are made for students to have the exam provided to them in both languages as needed. We provide resources that target Bilingual and ESL student populations. In addition, for students who are Level I Beginning level of proficiency we provide native language novels and textbooks for school and home use.
Safe School Environment:
In 13 years our charter school has never experienced a major school safety incident that would threaten the wellbeing and safety of students and staff. Our charter school invests in numerous private security guards, an efficient camera and safety alarm system to prevent intruders and acts of aggression among the student body. We also have 15:1 student to teacher ratio which increases the level of student supervision and safety. In addition we have invested resources into maintaining safety and there is a Director of Curriculum and Instruction, a Director of Operations who oversees facilities and student safety, discipline and counseling team as well as a Director of Parent Engagement available to communicate with parents if there are safety concerns. We have a new state of the art school facility that has an updated intercom system.
ADOLESCENT HEALTH & WELLNESS CENTER:
Our new school facility was designed with a functional space for an Adolescent Health Clinic in our new school facility accommodates three exam rooms, a Social Worker and a Nurse and Physician Assistant. There are numerous social/emotional and medical issues that require treatment such as diabetes, asthma and depression. As such, our vision for a successful academically rigorous college prep high school has evolved to improve health and to address the holistic needs of our students. We will be partnering with a comprehensive community based health clinic in the South Bronx.