Admissions Procedure

Upon inquiring about admission to the International School of Dakar, families are given an appointment with our Admissions Coordinator, and given the School brochure to provide them a quick overview of the programs, philosophy, mission and application materials. An application is not complete and space cannot be reserved until the entire application process is complete, including the application fee.

Age Policy

An age policy is essential in order to ensure that students who enter each grade are physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally prepared. The age policy is effective from the beginning of the school year for new students.

Class

Age

Preschool 3

3-years prior to September 15 of that school year

Preschool 4

4-years prior to September 15 of that school year

Kindergarten

5-years prior to September 15 of that school year

Grade One

6-years prior to September 15 of that school year

An applicant must present the following:

  1. Completed registration application
  2. Completed Confidential Recommendation (to be completed by current school)
  3. Copy of passport or birth certificate
  4. One passport-size picture
  5. Official school records from the past two years
  6. Complete immunization or health record
  7. Application fee of $100
Admissions Committee

An Admissions Committee composed of the Director, Principal, ELL Teacher, Special Needs Teacher, and a designated classroom teacher at the appropriate grade level (as needed) will review applications for admittance. Final grade placement will be determined by the Director. Students are not fully enrolled until they have successfully completed the academic screening.

Class Size

Every effort is made to keep class sizes reasonable. Maximum size for Pre-K 3 is 16, Pre-K 4 is 18 and classes K-12 will not exceed 20 students. There is a teaching assistant per class Pre-K 3 – Gr.1, and one per grade in Grades 2-5.

Priority Consideration for Student Admissions

Provided the students have the academic ability succeed in the ISD academic program and have demonstrated previous academic success in a similar U.S., American, or International School, priority for admission will be given to applicants in the categories below in the following order:

  1. Children of Faculty and Staff of ISD
  2. Children of U.S. citizens engaged in carrying out U.S. Government activities
  3. Siblings of currently enrolled students
  4. Children of diplomatic and international organizations and businesses
  5. New applicants transferring from an English Speaking International School overseas.
  6. Students currently enrolled in a local school

All completed applications will be collected and dated by date of receipt.

Wait List

When a grade level is filled, a wait list is established. As vacancies occur, students are placed in classes according to the priority considerations listed above. When space limitations indicate that there are more candidates in any one category mentioned above than spaces, then admissions will be based on a first come, first served basis. The date of receipt of the completed application to the admissions coordinator will be used. This includes the payment of the application fee. In instances where the wait list reaches 6 students at a particular grade level, consideration will be given to creating an additional class. Being on a wait list is not a guarantee of space.

Students Enrolling in Their Senior Year

Students will not be accepted into grade 12 after the first four weeks of school during his/her senior year. In order to be accepted at ISD in the twelfth grade, the student must be enrolled as a full time student, with all of his/her credits taken on our campus, and not through correspondence or through on-line study.

Placement Test

Academic Screening:

Students in grades 1-8 coming from accredited U.S. schools or other American Curriculum schools, will be admitted based upon official records from the previous school which shows the student has been succeeding at or above the average of their classmates. ISD will generally honor the grade-placement of these schools. All applicants will be required to take a placement test.

The placement test includes assessment in mathematics, reading and written expression. In some cases, a reading comprehension achievement battery may be required. Students are expected to score at or above grade level in all of the above areas in order to be granted regular admission. In some instances a child may be admitted on a provisional status. As part of the admissions process, an oral interview with the student and his/her parent(s) will be conducted and records from previous school(s) will be reviewed. A child will be denied admission if he or she has specific learning or behavioral disabilities that cannot be adequately addressed by the school. Once a student is admitted, they may begin the day after the placement test.

A placement exam in mathematics and written expression is required for all high school applicants.

English Language Learner:

All prospective students with non-English language background will be tested.

Student Support

Special Education:

U.S. Government employees are required to receive a clearance from MED/STATE to attend ISD if their children have special needs, have received special education services in the past, or have academic delays. The email addresses of the Department of State employees who conduct clearances of MED/STATE may be obtained from the school. It is also appropriate to make contact with our Regional Education Officer in the Office of Overseas Schools.

Because of the limitations of the local support network, ISD is not able to serve the educational needs of children with moderate to severe mental, physical, emotional or learning disabilities. Admission is open to those students who are able to participate successfully in a mainstream class with some specialist support. Due to the limited resources in this area, ISD reserves the right to deny admission to students who have demonstrable special learning, behavioral and/or emotional needs.

We require children who are admitted to ISD with special needs / academic delays to have a recent psycho-educational assessment on file, conducted by a licensed school psychologist within the last two years. Once we have received the assessment results we can better determine whether we are able to serve the child(ren) in our program.

English Language Learners (ELL):

  • Grades Preschool through Grade 1: Students enrolling in grades Preschool through Grade 1 will be admitted with no prior knowledge of English, as long as there are no significant learning or behavioral difficulties.
  • Grades 2 – 9: Language proficiency testing in reading, writing and oral language will be required of ELL students in grades 2 - 9 applying for admission to ISD.
  • Grades 10 – 12: Speakers of other languages must have a near native-like fluency in English to be admitted to our high school program from another school. Therefore, assessments in reading, writing, and language will be required of entering students whose first language is not English.
  • All ELL students Grades 1-12: An oral interview with the student and his/her parent(s) will be conducted to determine the student's strengths and to detect previous learning problems, if any. Records from previous school(s) will be reviewed to ascertain patterns in academic development.

ISD reserves the right to deny admission to an English Language Learner whose parents refuse to have him or her served after being recommended for placement in the program.

Provisional ELL Admission: The administration reserves the right to allow for provisional admission of students with limited English proficiency and outstanding previous school records of achievement.

Admission From Differing School Calendars

The School recognizes that there may be differences in opinion of parents or students regarding grade placement as a result of a transfer from a different educational system, different program of studies, or a system based on a different calendar year. In most cases, students coming from schools with a different calendar (i.e. Australia, South Africa) will continue in the same grade when they enter ISD. If in a January/December calendar, they will continue in the grade just completed if enrolling in January. If entering in August and already mid-year in a different system, we will base our placement decision on the academic screen.

Reversal of Admission Decision

The Administration of ISD reserve the right to reverse an admission decision if information is witheld regarding academic ability, learning disabilities, behavioral concerns, and/or disciplinary history of the student.

Provisional Admission

The School has discretion to grant provisional admission to applicants whom it is uncertain as to whether the school can serve their needs. The provisional admission will be for a specific period of time, no longer than a year, which will allow for a full assessment of a student’s learning background. Continuation at ISD is contingent upon the child achieving success in mainstream classes.

Discharge of Students

It may become apparent that the school does not have an appropriate educational program for an enrolled student. This may be so in the case of a learning disability, or behavioral issues, the seriousness of which was not fully apparent to the school at the time of admission. If the professional staff determines that ISD’s resources are insufficient to meet an individual student’s needs, that student may be denied continued enrolment. In such a case, the child may be permitted to finish the school year.