Scaling Innovation Abroad

How online learning is empowering American international schools.

GUEST COLUMN | by Michael Ehrhardt

ARCADIA WIRYAWAN

There are about 1,700 American international schools operating around the world, delivering a U.S.-based curriculum to students in other countries. These schools, by their nature, face a unique set of challenges in catering to their students’ needs—but a supplemental online learning program that meets high standards of quality is well positioned to solve these challenges.

American international schools educate a broad spectrum of student populations. Some are the children of American citizens working overseas, who want to prepare their children to enter or reenter the American school system when they return to the United States. Some are children from the host country where the school is based, and others are children from other countries whose families are living abroad. These foreign-born students often plan to enroll in an American college or university, and so they want some exposure to a U.S. curriculum.

‘At the American International School in Cyprus, we had only 265 students in the entire school, from kindergarten through the 12th grade—and there were 40 nationalities represented.’

Although the content is taught in English, students in an American international school often have varying levels of proficiency with the English language. International schools also tend to be small, and so they might not be able to offer a variety of elective courses to meet a wide range of student needs and interests. For context, when I taught at the American International School in Cyprus, we had only 265 students in the entire school, from kindergarten through the 12th grade—and there were 40 nationalities represented. At Graded, the American School of Sao Paulo in Brazil, we served 1,200 students in grades K-12. But with only about 100 students per grade level, it was still quite challenging to offer a broad range of electives for students—and again, there were about 40 total nationalities in attendance.

A supplemental online learning program helps solve the unique challenges faced by international schools. Here are three ways that high-quality online instruction can fill the needs of these schools effectively.

Curricular flexibility

A supplemental online learning program expands the range of courses that schools can provide, enabling students in even small international schools to study topics they’re curious about from knowledgeable and qualified instructors—from computer programming and forensic science to animal behavior, short story writing, and fashion design. Supplemental online learning allows students to explore subjects and career pathways in a safe and low-risk way before they go on to college, helping to personalize each student’s education and strengthening their engagement in school.

Support for students with emergent English skills

Some students attending international schools might still be learning English, and for many, English is at least their second language. In a live, face-to-face learning environment, it can be challenging for these students to keep up with the instruction because it comes at them so quickly. In contrast, online instruction allows students to go back and watch portions of a recorded lesson over again, and there is some degree of self-pacing involved—so there are more chances to ensure that students fully grasp the content.

Exposure to a global community within the context of a U.S. curriculum A high-quality online learning program from an organization such as VHS Learning typically mirrors the educational experience that students receive in an international school, with exposure to a U.S. curriculum within the context of an international community. Students are learning content that meets U.S. standards, but they are doing so in collaboration with peers from many different nationalities. In this way, there is seamless alignment between the mission and goals of an international school and those of the online learning provider: to foster global awareness and competency among students while helping them achieve high standards of learning.

Choosing an online provider

There are many providers of supplemental online learning courses, and it can be hard to assess the quality of various offerings. In choosing a provider, look for qualities such as small class sizes and support from an on-site coordinator, so there is someone available locally who is working closely with the online education provider and helping ensure students are successful. Look for a provider who will become a full partner in students’ success, and not just a vendor looking to sell a service.

A high-quality provider of supplemental online learning can help international schools solve key challenges—while enabling students to personalize their learning experience.

—

Michael Ehrhardt, Ed.D., worked as a journalist in New Jersey before beginning his education career as a teacher at the American International School in Cyprus. He later worked at two large American international schools in Brazil and the U.K., holding positions as a teacher, director of technology, assistant high school principal, middle school principal, and assistant head of school. He is currently Head of School at Cary Academy in Cary, North Carolina. He is also a board member for VHS Learning, a nonprofit provider of full-time and supplemental online instruction for high school students for nearly 30 years. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading…

Related