WHY ITS KIGALI
The I.T.S Kigali Difference
- Academic Rigor, Redefined for the 21st Century. Our students are challenged to think, perform, and grow to a level that they were not at previously.
“An individual’s success in the 21st century will be entirely dependent on his or her ability to think critically and creatively about the challenges they face.”
Rigor at the ITS Kigali is much more spread-out as we provide our students with opportunities to explore real-world concepts and issues, challenge assumptions, think critically, and acquire skills that they will need to apply throughout their educational and future professional journeys.
- Accreditation: ITS Kigali went through the Rwanda accreditation process to ensure that our certification practices are acceptable, typically meaning that we are competent to test and certify third parties, behave ethically and employ suitable quality assurance.
We think this is pretty amazing. The accrediting body requires an in-depth self-study that involves most of the staff and took the school less than a year to complete.
The commendations and recommendations of the self-study, when validated by the accrediting agency, ensured that we remain focused on our mission and progressive in our continued commitment to providing an exceptional learning continuum for our students.
- Our student, always in the driver’s seat of their education. We’re happy to share the ingredients of our not-so-secret recipe for getting students into a lifelong learner but only on one condition.
First, we give students the freedom to explore and inquire into the world around them.
Secondly, we provide them with lots of opportunities for reflection as well as time for collaboration with their peers. Then, give them the tools to assess themselves as learners.
Next, we give them the opportunity to present their learning in Student-led Parent-Teacher Conferences.
Finally, we repeat these steps over-and-over for years. Because of this recipe we end up with students who take ownership of the learning process, have the vision to chart their own course and the strength to learn whatever, whenever needed. Remember, students are far more committed to the outcome when they have a voice and a choice.
- Diversity Shouldn’t Just be Another Checkbox
ITS Kigali’s population represents many countries, with a variety of languages spoken. This means that we don’t have to look very far to find students willing to come in to share stories of their heritage or life journeys.
“‘Diversity isn’t a requirement we struggle to meet. It is a part of our lifeblood.”
We live it every day and so our students end up being the beneficiaries of a school culture where differences in perspective are valued and contribute to the development of empathy and critical thinking skills.
- Differentiating learning through a low student-teacher ratio
Forget the “one-size fits all” approach to education where one teacher teaches a large group of students all at the same level. At ITS Kigali, our multi-teacher classrooms allow us to differentiate the instruction on a small group or even individual basis.
Teachers observe, mentor, challenge and assess while providing their students with the freedom needed to inquire, explore, and develop a deeper love of learning. Just for the record, when we say multi-teacher classroom, we don’t mean one teacher and one assistant.
We aspire to provide International Technical School students, a learning environment that helps foster understanding of different aspects in different contexts. An ideal classroom learning we believe in involves impacting a student’s academic progress. Also, at our International School in Kigali, teachers have a manageable workload, translating them having more time with the students.
Apart from that, our directors wanted International Technical School of Kigali to be accredited to ensure both academic quality and public accountability. An accredited school goes through rigorous checks by the designated authority, which ensures the school meets standards and is qualified to impart education for the courses offered.