Admissions Procedure

Upon inquiring about admission to the International School of Dakar, families are given an appointment with our Admissions Coordinator, and given the admission packet 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, and the payment agreement has been signed and received.

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. Copy of passport or birth certificate
  3. Two passport-size pictures
  4. Official school records from the past two years
  5. Complete immunization or health record
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.

Class Size

Every effort is made to keep class sizes reasonable, with no more than 20 children per class if possible. When elementary class sizes reach over 15 students, the school will consider hiring an aide to assist the classroom teacher. Preschool classes will not exceed 20 students.

Priority Consideration for Student Admissions

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

Preschool student enrollment: All applications will be collected and dated by date of receipt. Preference will be given to 4-year old students, and if space is available toward the end of September, 3-year old students may be admitted.

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 serve basis. The date of the original application to the admissions secretary will be used. 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:

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. ISD will require entrance exams if the previous grade results are marginal. All other applicants will be required to complete a placement test.

The placement test includes assessment in mathematics 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.

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.

Students with Special Needs

Special Education:

Children of 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.

Only students who are identified as mild to moderately learning disabled, and/or children identified as having AD/HD and are on a successful behavior modification plan or on a physician prescribed dose of medication, are eligible for placement in our school. The school does not have the resources to successfully administer a program for children with other learning disabilities (i.e., severe to profound learning disability, speech therapy, autism, occupational therapy, developmental delays, etc.).

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 Kindergarten: Students enrolling in grades Preschool through Grade 1 will be admitted with no prior knowledge of English.

  • 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.