Excerpt from KNOWAtlanta Winter 2016--
Curriculums and Programs to Better Serve Atlanta Students
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At the high school level, Atlanta International School offers a high level of language learning to both students who speak a second language and those who are bi and multi-lingual via the school's IB Middle Years and IB Diploma programs. Rachel Hovington, AIS' head of curriculum and professional development, says it's important for the school to offer such programs because they want students who develop skills that can lead to the design of innovative products and services. "Why?" Hovington asks. "Not just because they will have better college outcomes and employability in the future, but because of the very real need for humans to develop ways to solve environmental and societal problems that make the world a better place. Languages have always been a wonderful place for students to explore interdisciplinary themes and also provide the communication skills to collaborate and analyze real world problems."
Alumni say that such preparation and offerings have better prepared them than their peers when they enter both further education and the workplace Hovington says. "Humanities are contextualizing problems for us and allowing us to analyze solutions through the lens of individuals and societies," she says. "Arts are providing a safe space for students to develop risk-taking, creativity, confidence and practice collaboration that allows STEM skills to develop into real-world solutions." Parent survey data also shows that these programs have positive outcomes on their students, families and the communities.
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