What does it mean for ISTP to offer "a multi-cultural environment"

We offer two different dual language programs: French/English and Chinese/English. The French/English Program interests many families who want their children to benefit from the beauty of its language, the richness of its culture, and the romance of its artistic roots. Knowledge of the French language is also a gateway to Europe and to Africa, in which French is often considered the native language.

The Chinese/English Program interests many families because Chinese is spoken by the greatest number of people in the world. The ability to speak Chinese fluently provides a gateway to the largest international markets of trade, labor, and manufacturing, including access to China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. These bilingual children will be uniquely equipped if they choose to become future business leaders or social policy makers.

Clearly, the nature of both Programs attracts great interest from a wide range of people from many countries. In fact, our student body represents more than 30 different nationalities. The result is a student body that is far more diverse than most schools in the area. This enhances the experience of every student because each is exposed to a multitude of ideas that the student would not get elsewhere.

While students learn a great deal from one another, their primary source of learning is naturally their teacher. At ISTP, every one of our teachers is a native speaker who comes from the country of the language’s origin. So our teachers educate not only through the content of their classes, but also by who they are. They apply their culturally relevant experiences to classroom activities. We currently have teachers from France, Taiwan, China, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, and America. Every one of them is a "cultural role model" because she models for students what it means to be from her country. The children are able to internalize this subtle information and quickly adopt many of the unique aspects of their teacher’s culture. This kind of experiential learning cannot be duplicated from a textbook.