Sintra, Portugal Report of what it's like to live there - 10/23/11
Personal Experiences from Sintra, Portugal
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
parent
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
12th
3. During what years were you affiliated with this school?
2009-2012
4. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
State Department
Admissions & Welcome:
1. Are the admissions and placement procedures clearly stated to prospective families, either on the school website or through other means of communication?
B+
2. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
A
Administration & School Procedures:
1. Describe the general climate of the grade level that you teach or your child attends:
Good. Classes are small and the kids seem to generally all get along and work together. However, the social culture is very Portuguese as is a significant portion of the social language.
2. For the following attributes, down to the next blank box, grade your experience at the school on a scale of A (excellent) to F (unacceptable/terrible) and provide comments:<br><br>Overall fair and equitable treatment of all students and families:
B
3. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
B- :(there are frequent routine emails, etc, but yet there remains information that frequently falls through the cracks.)
4. Services for gifted students who need academic challenge and students with learning difficulties:
C:limited and on a case by case basis; A- for those who are accepted and receive assistance.
5. Availability and variety of after-school activities for various ages:
A
6. Maintenance of appropriately high standards for all students:
A
7. Homework assigned (quality, quantity):
B
8. Administration-parent communication:
B- :(there are frequent routine emails, etc, but yet there remains information that frequently falls through the cracks.)
9. Teacher-student communication:
B
10. Academics, answer the following questions "yes" or "no" with an explanation if appropriate:<br><br>Are there any classes or subjects where students are not appropriately challenged?
No
11. Does your child receive any special-needs assistance or instruction at this school? If yes, what types? Who provides services and where:
No
12. Do you believe the special-needs assistance is appropriate and fills your needs? Explain:
n/a
13. Does the gifted and talented program meet the needs of students? Please explain:
n/a
14. Does the school offer a wide variety of elective or non-core classes such as art, music, and drama?
No; in the secondary, these offerings are quite limited and currently, only art is offered to IB students.Below 11th grade, there are limited offerings.
15. Please describe any classes or programs that you believe are missing:
High School Band or Orchestra.Additional elective offerings for IB program.
16. Are there academic requirements such as trips or other activities that cost money in addition to school fees?
Yes: varsity sports travel team, class trips. Many after school activities are run by contracted instructors and require an additional fee.
17. What activities do you feel are missing?
Music for older high school students such as a band or orchestra as it does not fit into the IB schedule.
18. Have your children participated in the activities offered? If no, please indicate why:
Yes - mainly the sports program
19. Does the school provide appropriate assistance to new students?
Yes
20. Please describe any problem areas or challenges in social interaction at the school:
There seems to be, due to the name?, some expectation that this school has a more innate American culture than it actually does and most newcomers find this to be a surprise.The overall, predominant culture of both the administration and student body is Portuguese.This is not a problem so to speak, but an unexpected let-down for many.The school skews its demographics to appear to have more Americans in the school by counting students who have dual citizenship (a US Passport), but have not lived predominantly in the US nor are American in their cultural background or current social activities or family lifestyle.
Academics & Resources:
1. What personal or academic counseling resources are available at this school? Is there a dedicated college counselor at the school? Is he/she familiar with universities worldwide?
C: secondary (I have found the college application and career advising to be very weak and the secondary counselor is not American and the majority of students will not go to US universities, but European; A-: elementary
2. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
A
3. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
A
4. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
A
5. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
A
6. Are Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses available in upper grades? If this is an IB school, is the full diploma required of all students?
B:All IB; no AP. It's a small school with a full IB diploma, but limited course offerings.
7. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
Yes
8. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
C for the secondary, A- for elementary
9. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
Yes
10. What services are available for gifted/advanced students at the school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
No
11. What extra-curricular activities (including sports) are available at this school? Have your children participated in these activities? What activities do you feel are missing at the school?
Yes
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
Yes - the school is predominantly Portuguese. All nationalities seem well integrated as there are not enough of any other group not to be.
2. Are there are any problems with exclusionary behavior, cliques, or bullying at this school? Please describe any problems your children may have experienced in this area.
No - this is one area where this school seems to excel and I know of very, very little of this and it's handled immediately, seriously and successfully and has never seemed to be aimed at a certain group of students such of students or specifically expats.
Overall Impressions:
1. What is the greatest strength of this school?
It is the only school in Lisbon that offers a US accredited curriculum and a US basic diploma for students who choose not to pursue an IB Diploma.
2. Greatest challenge?
Lack of quality and detailed communication and integrating change and new ideas brought by new members of the school community.
3. Would you choose this school again? Why?
Because our student entered in 10th grade, he didn't have any other options at that time.
