Council of International Schools

The Council of International Schools is the premier organisation in International Education for the accreditation of schools and Best Practice development. CIS is a not-for-profit organisation of a truly worldwide international educational community comprising over 500 member schools and 400 colleges/universities. It has experience of K–12 education in more than 100 countries and many of the Council's Officers and Consultants are former heads of international schools.

The central purpose of CIS is to enable member organisations to achieve and deliver the highest standards in International Education and continually improve the outcome of student learning.

Visit the Council of International Schools Website

In becoming accredited with the Council of International Schools, Benowa State High School joined a growing network of other institutions world-wide which are dedicated to providing a high quality education in an international context.

Since the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) began the School Evaluation and Accreditation Program in 1970, more than 220 schools have achieved accredited status.

Responsibility for the program was transferred to the Council of International Schools (CIS) in July 2003, and the number of schools involved continues to grow. CIS accreditation is recognised by the National Association of Independent Schools (USA) through the NAIS Commission on Accreditation.

The award of accreditation shows that

• The school is devoted to its mission. It cares enough about what it does to seek validation by a recognised accreditation authority;
• The school knows itself. It has thought deeply about the services it offers to students, family and community;
• The school is student orientated. Its philosophy of education is suitable for the students on roll, and encompasses the development of the whole individual;
• The school keeps its promises. Its promises only what it can deliver;
• The school accepts objective assessment. It is prepared to open its doors periodically to regular evaluation by the school community and by outside experienced evaluators;
• The school is constantly seeking to improve its performance in curricular and other areas;
• The school plans for the future. As part of the on-going nature of the evaluation process, accredited schools are continually planning future developments.

Accreditation ensures that the school meets the demanding CIS Standards in all these areas:

• Philosophy and Objectives;
• Curriculum;
• Governance and Management;
• Staff;
• Student Support Services;
• Resources;
• Student and Community Life.
  
   

Accreditation has value for all members of the school community.

Concerned professionals as well as parents naturally seek a quality education for children. Expatriate parents in particular face a strange environment which offers few guidelines on how to best select the most appropriate school for their child’s needs. In some areas there may be only one international school available for the children of the expatriate community. The fact that a school is accredited provides members of the community with a range of assurances.

To achieve accredited status our school had to:

• Undergo a Preliminary visit to determine our readiness for the accreditation process;
• Carry out an in-depth Self-Study over a two year period
• Host a Visiting Team of professionals from other institutions who examined all aspects of our school’s operations;
• Demonstrate that we deliver that which we promise in our Philosophy and Objectives;
• Demonstrate that we meet the rigorous Standards for Accreditation laid down by CIS.

CIS 2008

Term One - Faculty Meetings

• Revisit and update the mapping of curriculum contributions to internationalisation in our school
• Revisit the Visiting Team recommendations yet to be actioned and plan necessary responses

Term Three – Faculty Meetings

• Evaluate planned responses and develop contingency plans for recommendations yet to be achieved.
• Training for staff to join visiting teams on outstanding PD opportunities within and beyond Australia is supported by our school throughout the year.
• Francoise Moir and Trish David invited to present at the IB World Languages Conference in Atlanta (USA) in April.

• Presentation of CIS Accreditation award will be held here on an assembly TBA in March and attended by UK based Richard Tangye, CEO of CIS
• In March 2009 an 18 month report will be due to CIS to detail the school’s responses to the recommendations in the 2006 Visiting Team report
• The “5 Year Visit” will be due in 2012
  
   
• CIS Staffing Committee is continuing to frame our staff appraisal system to support professional development

From our School’s Charter…

"The 21st century belongs to people who can live and work in more than one country and communicate effectively with other cultures. The world is our classroom through information and communication technologies, international language studies and cultural exchanges. Through a varied and engaging curriculum we draw students from across our city and around the world. We commit to our community as an outward looking school building local and international partnerships. Our curriculum planning profiles a range of intercultural and international perspectives within units of learning:

• Cultural Aceptance and Respect – Through knowledge and understanding developed in these learning units, students can empathise with cultures other than their own.
• Cultural Heritages – These learning units expose students to the values, customs and beliefs of others.
• Global Citizenship – These learning units develop a knowledge that includes media communication technologies, languages and cross cultural connections.
• Geopolitics – These learning units explore the links between geography, economics and politics across the world.
• International Research and Knowledge Production – These learning units profile the collaboration of international research communities.