The American International School of Budapest

Accredited by: The Middles States Association of Colleges and Schools
Council of International Schools
CEEB# 739000

Ray Holliday-Bersegeay, Director
Derek Luebbe, High School Principal
David Spencer, College Counselor
Ben O'Brien, High School Counselor
Karen Kish, IB Coordinator

School Profile 2008-2009

School Description

The American International School of Budapest (AISB) is a private and independent co-educational day school governed by a Board of Directors elected and appointed from the parent community. Established in 1973 by the United States Embassy to serve United States Government employees’ dependents, AISB currently serves the needs of a rapidly expanding international population, including children of the local and expatriate business and diplomatic communities.

AISB offers an international curriculum, based upon the best practices of American pedagogy from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 and offers the full International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program at the high school level.

Mission

The American International School of Budapest prepares its students to be responsible global citizens and inspires in each a passion for knowledge and life-long learning. We are a nurturing and diverse communitythat instills respect for self and others, develops the whole child, and strives for academic excellence.

Faculty

AISB employs 98 full-time and 16 part-time faculty members. Fifty-seven percent of the full-time faculty are U.S. citizens, 19% are Canadian, and 8% are British. The remaining 16% of the faculty are from 12 other countries. Sixty-five percent of faculty have advanced degrees, including three doctorates. Faculty generally remain more than four years.

Student Body

There are 802 students enrolled in PreK through grade 12, including 223 high school students.  The Class of 2008 has 49 seniors. Approximately 20% of the student body are United States citizens, 20% are host countries nationals and 60% are from 55 other countries. The average class size is 15, the student-teacher ratio is 1:6. The average tenure of a student is three years. In grades 7-12, prospective students should demonstrate increasing levels of language proficiency, as determined by an English language assessment administered at AISB.  There are no English competency level restrictions for grades pre-kindergarten through 6.

Curriculum

The high school offers a college preparatory curriculum. Instruction is in English, with English as a Second Language provided for students needing additional support. The academic program prepares all students for a United States high school diploma. Students must enroll in seven courses each semester which normally includes: English, World Languages, Social Studies, Mathematics, Laboratory Sciences and electives (the letter include: the Arts, Physical Education, and Information Technology). Community service (CAS) and computer literacy are graduation requirements. A full-time guidance counselor assists high school students with personal and academic advisement and the university admission process.

The International Baccalaureate diploma is successfully completed by a majority of our graduating seniors. Last year the success rate for the IB Diploma was 100% compared to the world average of 80%.

AISB follows an 85-minute block schedule with each class meeting a total of 210 minutes per week. The academic year is 179 days and the school day is from 8.30 to 3.30 five days a week.

Extra- and co-curricular activities are an essential part of AISB High School life. Varsity sports teams include: Soccer, Volleyball, Cross Country, Basketball, Swimming, Tennis, Softball, Golf and Track and Field. Other organizations include: Model United Nations, Speech and Debate, National Honor Society, Student Council, Habitat for Humanity, recreational sports and various academic and school spirit competitions. All High School students also participate in a four-day September trip in Hungary or to neighboring countries.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

TOTAL UNITS: 24 + Computer Literacy + CAS

AISB GRADING SCALE

Letter Grade       Percentage

Testing

The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) is administered to students in grades 10-11. Juniors and Seniors sit for the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT I and SAT II: Subject Tests), Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) and International Baccalaureate Exams (IB).

College Entrance

The following is a partial list of schools to which AISB graduates were accepted in 2008.

SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST (SAT)

Class of 2008

Of the 17 seniors taking the SAT’s, 5 were native English speakers.

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE SCORES

May 2008

IB score explanations are:

7 - excellent
6 - very good
5 - good
4 - satisfactory
3 - mediocre
2 - poor
1 - very poor

33 of the 56 seniors who graduated in May 2008 successfully completed the full IB diploma with an average of 33 total points. The average AISB IB exam score was 5.3.