Values and Philosophy

Five Core Values

International Community School is built on five core values.
Faith
ICS is distinctively Christian, building our educational, civic, and moral training on the person, work, and world of Jesus Christ.
1
Family
ICS believes that families are the primary source of training for children, developing educational choices with the goal of supporting, encouraging, and engaging the family in the learning process.
2
Scholarship
ICS combines the best in educational practice with a global and moral perspective, offering rigorous academics that equip both mind and heart. ICS trains not just learners, but leaders-citizens who are ready to challenge and change our world with ideas and actions.
3
Partnership
ICS's philosophy is built on the idea that the best education emerges by fostering complementary relationships in the learning process. To accomplish this, we engage with families to support and equip them in their educational goals, encourage families to partner with teachers, and we offer opportunities for students to connect with resources and locations outside the school to broaden their world view.
4
Community
ICS has community at the center of our name, our structure, and our heart. By bringing diverse perspectives, traditions, and cultures together around the common goals of building the church, strengthening the family, developing well-trained minds through rigorous academics, fostering responsible citizenship and meeting the practical needs of the community both locally and globally, our faith becomes action, and we are challenged to become more like Christ. This is the very heart of ICS.
5

Educational Philosophy

All programs, methods, and curriculum choices of International Community School flow out of an educational philosophy founded on these primary assumptions:

A Sound Education is a Christian Education

There is ultimately no knowledge that is incompatible with the truths of the Christian faith, and a comprehensive education is based on a biblical worldview.

Family Engagement is Foundational to Learning Success

Parental involvement makes a critical difference in the life of the young learner.

A Moral Foundation is Necessary for Exemplary Scholarship

The partnership between parent and teacher to provide moral training develops an ethical core that gives learning its purpose.

The Best Education is Built on a Global Perspective

The Learning Environment Should Encourage Questions, Critical Thinking and the Pursuit of Truth

A Solid Academic Framework is Based on Developmental Stages of Learning

Our increasingly connected world requires learning environments that are international in scope and design.

International Community School values inquiry-based learning that develops thinking skills and respect for diverse points of view.

Students at International Community School progress from concrete knowledge of skills and facts to logic and integration of information and ideas, finally mastering abstract thinking, communication and defense of knowledge.

Students Follow Diverse Pathways to Learning

The best schools address multiple intelligence levels and learning styles within the educational environment.

Experience and Service are Critical Extensions of Academics

Putting learning into practice is a key balance to classroom study, and must be taught with a theology and ethic of work.

All Christian Students Should be Trained for a Life of Ministry

Encouraging a life of service to God and others is essential to faith-based education, regardless of the vocation pursued at its conclusion.