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What are the benefits of enrolling my child in an immersion school? |
Most researchers agree that bilingual learners develop more skills in cognitive areas. This might explain why these students usually achieve better scores in verbal intelligence, conceptualization, global thinking, and more easily discover original approaches to problem solving. The bilingual learner is also able to approach language learning with an advantageous distance from language mechanics. In this way, the teaching makes sense for the learner, and the child can see the immediate benefit to gaining this knowledge.
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Does my child need to speak French or Chinese before entering the school? |
If your child is entering into our Early Year’s Program (nursery, pre-kindergarten or kindergarten), it is not necessary to speak the second language beforehand. In fact, approximately half of our students come from monolingual families, and the children have gone on to excel in their second language and English. However, we do require language proficiency appropriate to the grade level for entry into 1st through 8th grades.
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How many students do you have at ISTP? |
For the 2007-2008 school year, we have enrolled approximately 570 students. Enrollment is about 308 in the French/English Program, 160 in the Chinese/English Program, and 100 in our International Middle School. Our student body is extremely diverse, with over thirty nationalities represented around the world.
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Why do you only offer a full day, five days a week program? |
Due to our goal of cultivating bilingual children, we want to maximize the amount of time they are exposed to the target language. It is also healthier for the children to interact as the same class during the day (and more beneficial academically) instead of having a rotation of half-day students that changes every day. In preschool, in order for our students to be in an 80/20 immersion environment, the child needs to attend school for the full day, since leaving early will negatively impact the immersion experience.
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How many ISTP campuses are there? |
We have two campuses located in Palo Alto California. The Cowper Campus is for our Early Year’s program (nursery, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten). The Cowper campus was recently renovated, and provides a spacious and safe environment for the children. The Cohn Campus is our Elementary and Middle School. The Cohn campus was constructed in 2000. It has all the amenities of a new facility including indoor and outdoor basketball courts, state-of-the-art computer lab, science lab, art room, multiple libraries, a gated outdoor playground, and a private path with access to a large grassy field.
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How big are your classes? |
In nursery and pre-kindergarten, we exceed the State of California’s licensing standards and have 8 students per teacher, with a maximum of 23 students per class. In kindergarten, we take a maximum of 25 students per class with three teachers in each classroom as well. From grades 1st through 8th, we generally keep to a maximum of 20 students per class. While we keep to a maximum number of students per class, in many cases the actual student-teacher ratio is much smaller. For example, in Middle School, students spend approximately 30% of their time in the second language. During these break-out classes, the class size is very small, which gives each student a great deal of personal attention in the classroom.
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What is the background of your teachers? |
Our teachers are all bicultural or native speakers from the country of their language's origin. For the most part, the French teachers come from France and the Chinese teachers come from Taiwan or mainland China. The French Ministry of Education has accredited all of our French teachers, and all of our Chinese teachers have received their education in Taiwan, China, or the United States, and hold teaching certification from their native countries and/or the United States. Our teachers continuously receive high praise from parents of alumni who find our teachers excellent.
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Are your students at the same level of English proficiency as Bay Area public schools? |
Starting in the 3rd grade, our students take the ERB (Educational Records Bureau) test which is used nation-wide to test private school students and high achieving, academically oriented public school students. Our latest results showed stellar performance in which our students systematically outperform the national average of the best public schools that chose to use the ERB test as a gauge of excellence. A special note must be made that ISTP students have benefited from a bilingual education, yet are able to excel at a monolingual test when compared to students who received a monolingual English education. This is a testament to our incredible pedagogical achievements.
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What percentage of ISTP families speaks the second language (Chinese or French) at home? |
In the French/English Program, we have a fairly even split between three parties:
In the Chinese/English Program, most of the families are second or third generation Chinese. We also have a substantial number of first generation Chinese, Caucasian Americans, and families from other Asian countries.
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Where do your students go after they graduate from ISTP? |
Our graduates have gone on to attend top public and private high schools in the area, including:
Graduates from ISTP attend some of the best Universities in the country. We have had alumni continue their education at the following institutions:
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