ORGANIZATION OF THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM

ACADEMIC CALENDAR

The school year consists of 180 teaching days from mid-August to mid-June with two semesters. There are two lengthened vacation breaks, one at Christmas to coincide with the Panamanian summer season and one in July to coincide with the temperate summer. There is a marking period at the end of each of the 4 bimesters. The school provides a demanding academic program with an international emphasis. Instruction begin for all students at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 11:30 a.m. for Junior Kindergarten, at 1:00 p.m. for Kindergarten, and at 2:35 p.m. for grades 1-12. Meeting both US and Panamanian requirements the program is taught in English except for Spanish language and Panamanian History classes. 

ACADEMIC PROGRAM 

ISP sets a high academic standard.  Small class size, a challenging curriculum, and highly qualified teachers (50% have graduate degrees, and about 15% are recruited overseas) have made ISP a leading school in the region.

ISP introduced the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB) for students in the final two years of high school.  The Swiss-headquartered IB organization establishes a common curriculum and university entry credential for geographically mobile students. A network of regional offices in New York, Geneva, Buenos Aires and Singapore provides services to member schools.

IB is now the overwhelming first choice of overseas American and International schools as the core of the academic curriculum in the 11th and 12th grades. Since international schools usually have higher faculty turnover than US-based schools, and usually are much less of a known quantity to college admissions officers, an independent annual evaluation of the academic results via a tough program like IB establishes a school's academic credentials.

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	webmaster@isp.edu.pa Last Updated:  10/08/04