We are excited to welcome you to a new school year. This will be your one-stop source of information for the 2019-2020 school year. Information will be updated often, so be sure to visit often.
CALENDAR – The general calendar for school days can be found HERE and on the main page under Calendar & Events
We would like to bring together our entire ICS community (since 2002!) to celebrate the school’s recent charter renewal. This is a very exciting time for ICS, so join us for great company, food, and celebration.
When: April 20, 2019
Where: Location changed- it will be at ICS!!!!
Time: 4:00pm-6:00pm
What to bring: Please bring one traditional dish to share, that can feed 10-15 people. Also, bring your picnic chairs and blankets.
Here is a celebration letter from the Board of Directors:
It is with great joy that we share that the state of Georgia has approved our petition and renewed our charter for another five years (2019-2025)! Our school has the opportunity to continue pursuing our mission to educate children from refugee, immigrant and local backgrounds with a rigorous and holistic education in an intentionally diverse community of learners!
As a public charter school, we must submit a charter renewal petition every five years, first to our authorizer, DeKalb County, and then to the state of Georgia’s department of education for approval. As a public charter school, both the county and the state are trusting us and giving us the flexibility to educate our students well and manage our organization effectively using taxpayer’s dollars. The charter renewal process holds us accountable. After more than a year of work, our petition was first approved by the DeKalb County Board of Education and has now been approved by the Georgia State Board of Education.
Thank you to each of you for making this happen. The charter petition includes hundreds of pages of documents; it’s a story of the past five years of hard work (and the story of the years that came before) and the vision and promises for the coming five years. This is your story—you are the teachers who did the home visits, the families who welcomed teachers into your homes, the children who grinned as their teacher sat on their couch. You are the devoted volunteers of the School Within a School program whose work with students fascinated and encouraged our charter renewal committees. You are the team that keeps our finances solid, builds relationships with community members to raise funds, prepares nutritious meals for our children, and ensures that our building is safe and our systems running smoothly. You are the educators who work hour after hour, day after day, to help children grow as language users (in many languages), readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, and global citizens and leaders who embody the IB learner profiles. You are the leaders who coach teachers, move strategic plans forward, and dream and plan for the future. You are the families who believe in our school and trust us with your children. You are the founders who had the courage to dream of and open the International Community School in the first place. You are the children who make all this work worth it! You come from a variety of backgrounds and share your differences in ways that make the whole community stronger.
Having this approval is a mandate to move forward and keep making improvements so that we can serve our children better every day. Let us continue this important mission with passion and purpose. It is so important that we are on the same team, that we speak highly of each other, and that we assume the best in one another. The governing board, the school leader, the staff, and the families are here for the same purpose, and we must believe in, trust, and encourage one another. Our students deserve a united team working together for their good. Look out for upcoming invitations to celebrate our charter renewal together! We are looking forward to lots of student learning and community building in the next five years. We will be sharing more about the details of the charter soon and the vision and goals it sets forth for the next five years.
With gratitude,
The ICS Board of Directors and Julie Allen, Principal
The school’s annual United Nations day continues to be the best and biggest celebration at ICS. We intentionally value diversity and on this day we showcase it.
In spite of the weather forcing us to hold the Parade of the Nations and the performances indoors, it was still a special occasion. Here are some articles and pictures that highlight the day.
Georgia Charter Schools Association: International Community School Holds U.N. Celebration. “International Community School intentionally values diversity. In that spirit, the school annually celebrates U.N. Day”, reads an article published in the Georgia Charter Schools Association’s Newsletter. They attended our U.N. Day on November 2nd. Click on the link to read the article was included in their newsletter.
DeKalb County School District: UN Day at International Community School. “What do the countries Afghanistan, Bhutan, Iraq, Ethiopia, Congo, Ireland, France, India, Malaysia, Jamaica, the Philippines, and Somalia have in common at DeKalb County School District? Along with enthusiastic representation—in the form of eager students and supportive teachers—each was represented at International Community School’s United Nations Day.” This is how an article on the DeKalb County School District’s website starts. Representatives from DCSD joined the festivities on November 2nd on our school’s campus. Click on the link to read the complete article.
“I can’t express how crazy it is to be back here with all of you guys. It’s crazy to see all of my old teachers and talking to you all”, said Lagos as part of the moving words he delivered to those who gathered in the red-black-gold-decorated school’s cafeteria.
As you know, the Atlanta United soccer team won the MLS Cup on December 8, 2019. It was a huge celebration for our city and state, but also for our school. One of their players, Lagos Kunga, is an ICS alum. We are extremely proud and excited that he came to see us. The school organized a welcome and celebration that started with a school-wide gathering in the cafeteria. Children and adults were wearing the Atlanta United apparel and colors and holding hand-made signs with excitement. After that, Lagos played soccer with students who participate in the school’s indoor soccer program.
Here are some of the media coverage from that day.
Fox 5 at 5PM: Atlanta United Player Lagos Kunga Celebrates MLS Cup Win with Students
11 Alive at 6PM: Lagos Kunga Visits Young Students and Fans
The Champion News: Atlanta United player returns to alma mater
Patch: Atlanta United’s Lagos Kunga Returns To His Decatur School
We are getting ready for the 2019-2010 school year. If you are interested in your children attending ICS, here are important dates and information.
The application for NEW STUDENTS/FAMILIES is now closed. The application will re-open again on April 1st be added to the waiting list.
*Note that the application requires a parent email. If you want to apply for your child, and do not have an email, contact our registrar, Ms. Inye.
The public lottery will take place on March 8 at 1:00 pm. Parents do not have to be present to be considered. Communication with the result for your child will be sent 24 hrs after the lottery to the email provided in the application.
School Tour dates January 29th & 31st at 9:15. No reservation required.
Our annual Open House will take place on Saturday, February 2nd, 2019 at 10:00 am.
FOR RETURNING STUDENTS AND NEW KINDERGARTEN SIBLINGS:
Please note that ICS will be implementing a weighted lottery for the 2019-2020 school year. The ICS mission states, “The International Community School is an International Baccalaureate World School that educates refugees, immigrants, and local children, and provides a rigorous and holistic education in an intentionally diverse community of mutual learners.” One of our goals is to maintain an equal balance between students who are refugees and immigrants and students who are born in the United States. Since a majority of our students who are refugees and immigrants are part of the ESOL program, we amended our charter contract, which was approved by DeKalb County and the Georgia Department of Education, to ensure that 50% of our students qualify for ESOL. Thus, students who speak another language at home, who are highly likely to qualify for ESOL services, will be given preference in our upcoming lottery in March.
