International School of Indiana

For our final #InfoIsPower feature, the Herd wanted to showcase an institution that has expanded Indiana’s global involvement by educating future leaders. Providing multilingual, immersive learning opportunities for Pre-K through Grade 12 students, the International School of Indiana (ISI) is making a lasting worldwide impact.

ISI was founded in 1994 as the result of an Indiana Humanities Council task force report, entitled Indiana in a Changing World – A Strategy for Action. The report, published in 1991, discussed Indiana’s ability to interact with an ever-changing global sphere. Following one of the report’s recommendations, ISI was founded in hopes to help Indiana’s students become more internationally competitive. ISI’s mission statement reflects their global focus and dedication to excellence: “The mission of the International School of Indiana is to provide our students with a world-class education that prepares them to be responsible citizens and effective leaders in a rapidly globalizing and interdependent world.” The only school in Indiana to offer certified full-continuum International Baccalaureate (IB) programming to all students, ISI has since grown into a Pre-K through Grade 12 institution that teaches over 600 students.

Due to the proven personal and leadership benefits of being a bilingual speaker, ISI’s educational philosophy is strongly rooted in language and culture immersion. According to the ISI website, “ISI is the only Indiana school offering immersion and dual language programs in three languages; French, Mandarin and Spanish. The focus is on developing fluency in speaking, reading, writing and understanding, so students can actively participate in their target language.” Language teachers are native speakers, and each grade level is designed with opportunities for language immersion.

Most recently, ISI has fulfilled a two-decade dream of combining all grade levels on one campus. According to ISI, “a single campus will foster new synergy and consistency of experience, it will present new learning opportunities by creating an environment better suited to mentoring and other forms of meaningful and authentic engagement between our students across grade levels and our faculty members across disciplines.” As of this August, the 65-acre campus on Michigan road serves as a hub for all ISI learning and community events.

To learn more about the International School of Indiana, visit their website or follow them on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn.