Welcome

Thank you for your interest in joining International School of Portland community! Below are resources that we hope that you’ll find useful.

Tour Packet

Learn more about how International School of Portland provides an education bigger than a neighborhood in this quick reference guide.

Virtual Tour

We’d love to show you around the school in person, but until we can reopen our doors, we invite you to “visit” us from home!

Our Program

We are a multi-cultural school for a multi-cultural world. Students study a challenging curriculum of math, science and social studies while learning to communicate in a second language and deriving a global perspective through daily exposure to different cultures.

International Baccalaureate

International School of Portland was the first authorized International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP) school in the Pacific Northwest. The IB PYP is centered around student inquiry and emphasizes independent learning, international-mindedness, and cycles of Inquiry, Action, and Reflection. The IB PYP also underscores the importance of students’ social and emotional development through the Learner Profile, which identifies traits conducive to a positive learning community.  Teachers participate in regular professional development around the IB program to ensure their expertise in inquiry-based learning and their familiarity with the latest research.

Explore Units of Inquiry by Grade and learn more about the IB PYP here.

English Instruction

English begins in First Grade with one hour of daily instruction and engaging activities. Our English specialists are highly experienced in their fields and have a passion for teaching students who spend the majority of their school time in a non-English immersion setting. Small class sizes ensure that each student has ample opportunities for feedback, questions, and any other support needed. Students also utilize the school library as a resource for further reading and literature exploration with assistance from our seasoned librarians.

Thanks to the strength of the English program, ISP students perform above the national average in English and Reading tests despite being immersed in Spanish, Japanese, or Mandarin.

Art, Music, & Physical Education

Art, music, and physical education are robust parts of the ISP curriculum. For our Early Childhood students, these classes provide a strong foundation in fine and gross motor skills, creative expression, and healthy movement. In the elementary years, students build on this groundwork and explore more advanced concepts, from studying art techniques around the world to creating their own songs and setting personal fitness goals.

These classes also offer the opportunity for interaction between students of different language tracks. Each grade level is split into art, music, and PE groups that mix students learning in Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin. This allows students to expand their social circles and establish friendships across tracks, which is integral to the connectedness of the ISP community as a whole.

Our Traditions

Students participate in a host of annual school events. Founders’ Day (left) marks the start of each school year. The International Festival (right) is a much-anticipated winter event where every student performs with their class.