Secondary consists of students from 7th to 12th grade. The school schedule for the Secondary School is organized by semesters. The school year begins in early August and ends by the end of May with a 3-week break from mid-December to mid-January.
Secondary students attend school for a full-day, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and are required to participate in at least one of the school’s extracurricular activities which take place from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. one or two days per week.
2) Secondary Students Benefit from:
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International Baccalaureate (IB): Secondary students have the opportunity to pursue the IB. The IB is achieved after two years of intense study designed to raise the academic achievement of high school students and to bring their abilities to an international level. The IB is highly respected at colleges and universities around the world.
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The U.S. Diploma and Bolivian Diploma: Secondary students work to completing the requirements for these two diplomas, which are mandatory for graduation.
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English Immersion: All instruction in secondary classrooms is given in English with the exception of those classes required for the Bolivian Diploma which are taught in Spanish.
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Third Language: All secondary students choose a third language to study intensively from seventh through twelfth grade choosing French or Mandarin.
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Human Rights and Community Service: AIS/B implements a two-year course for secondary students focusing on the history of human rights and centering on the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Along with the course, students are given the opportunity to make a real difference in their community and the world through community service to their choice of five organizations including an orphanage, a neighborhood center, a shelter for women and children, an elderly home, and Amnesty International.
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Computer, Art, Music, and Physical Education: All secondary students take computer, art, music and physical education classes, which include swimming.
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Classes: Class sizes generally range between 20 and 30.
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Commitment of Faculty to Students: AIS/B Faculty members are committed to every individual student and work hard to ensure that every student is at grade level in every subject and is make sufficient progress in learning English and Spanish. AIS/B will accept non-English and non-Spanish speaking students and those who enter below grade level. The school will help them to catch up to the level of their class!
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Supplemental Materials and Programs: Monterey Reading, Spelling and Math enrichment program; Supplemental SMILE Mathematics program for secondary students; Intensive English as a Second Language (ESL) program and Spanish as a Second Language (SSL) program.
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Access to Professional Guidance Counseling and Counseling: The AIS/B counseling staff is highly qualified.
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Tutoring Programs: Peer Tutoring Program for needs in specific subjects, Individual Tutoring Sessions for Secondary Students with Teachers, Preparatory classes for college entrance exams (SAT and PSAT), Makeup courses for secondary students.
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Academic Honors: Honor roll, National Honor Society (U.S.), President’s Award for Educational Excellence (U.S.)
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Extracurricular Activities: Music Club, Boy’s Volleyball Team, Girl’s Volleyball Team, Boy’s Basketball Team, Girl’s Basketball Team, Boy’s Soccer Team, Girl’s Soccer Team, Yearbook Group, Community Service.
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Events and Projects: Annual Walkathon, International Student Fair, Traditional Flea Market, Talent Show,Science Fairs, Art Contests, Holiday Parties, Student Day, Field and Camping Trips, Bake Sales, and Spirit Week.
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Travel: National sports competitions, field trips, camping trips, exchange programs.
3) Secondary School Life
AIS/B is committed to helping their students develop into well-rounded individuals. From the arts to sports to opportunities for social interaction, AIS/B seeks to ensure that secondary students grow into confident young men and women with varied interests and the academic and personal skills that will serve as their base in university and future lives. AIS/B, therefore, offers a variety of extracurricular activities, experiences and social events for secondary students.
4) Secondary Extracurricular Activities include:
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Instrumental Music Club
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Boy’s Volleyball Team
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Girl’s Volleyball Team
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Boy’s Basketball Team
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Girl’s Basketball Team
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Boy’s Soccer Team
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Girl’s Soccer Team
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Yearbook Group
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Community Service
5) Major events for AIS/B secondary school
During the school year several major events are developed by the secondary students including:
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The Annual Walkathon for Humanity is held at the Cochabamba Country Club. All students in the school participate in the Walkathon, which benefits the organizations with which AIS/B collaborates in its community service program.
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Science fairs are held at AIS/B where students develop projects and explain them to visitors to the fair.
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The Annual Talent Show invites all AIS/B students to participate. Acts generally include skits and musical and dance performances.
Other events of the school year include:
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Interschool and national sports competitions
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Field and camping trips
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Student’s Day party
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Art contests
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Bake sales
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Spirit Week
6) University Acceptance
AIS/B has a standard procedure in place to help each member of its senior class attend the University of their choice and fulfill their dreams beyond high school. The procedure combines support for standardized college entrance exams, giving the exams, individualized guidance counseling for every student and family, and assistance in preparation of college applications. Specific steps in the process follow:
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Preparatory classes for college entrance exams, including the SAT, ACT and TOEFL.
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Sitting for the SAT, AP, or ACT.
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Sitting for the TOEFL for those students applying to U.S. and other universities in the exterior.
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Filling out and submitting standard questionnaires to the Counseling office which help to guide students and their families as to key choices (country of study, course of study, cost of study, etc.).
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Individualized counseling sessions for students and their parents with school counselor to help plan next steps for student.
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Assistance with college entrance applications, including writing admission essays, as well as recommendation letters and providing advice and review of final applications.
7) Agreements with Universities and Colleges
AIS/B has agreements with universities and colleges in the U.S. and in other countries abroad. Following are some of theuniversities and colleges that have established scholarships and agreements with AIS/B:
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Berea Collage, Kentucky
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Franklin and Marshall College of Pennsylvania
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IthacaCollege of New York: Provides partial tuition scholarships for AIS / B students
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Lafayette College of Pennsylvania
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LynnUniversity: Provides partial tuition scholarships for AIS/B students
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MountHolyoke College of Massachusetts
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Northeastern University of Massachusetts
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Suffolk University of Massachusetts
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Arkansas University
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University of North Florida
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Worcester Polytechnic Institute of Massachusetts
Other institutions attended by AIS/B students include:
Amherst College, Art Academy of Cincinnati, Bradford College, Butler University, Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham College, Clarkson University, College of Visual Art, College of Wooster, Denison University, Drake University, Drew University, Drexel University, Elizabethtown College, Gettysburg College, Hampshire College, Knox College, Linfield College, New England College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Otis College of Art and Design, Penn State, Rollins College, St. John’s University, Saint Anselm College, University of Bridgeport, Webster University, Wittenberg University, and many others.
It is important to mention that AIS/B students manage to stand out when applying for Bolivian and foreign universities because of their performance in entrance examinations.
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