Baton Rouge International School

Is the Baton Rouge International School a private, public or charter school?
Baton Rouge International School (BRIS) is an independent, non-profit American school. BRIS accepts students from various cultural and religious backgrounds and is proud of its open-minded and diverse international community. BRIS is also involved in many community outreach programs that support immediate local charitable needs.

Who attends the Baton Rouge International School?
BRIS draws students from a variety of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. Many of the BRIS families represent long-time Baton Rouge residents. Other families have relocated to Baton Rouge in recent years. The common thread among these families is a belief in international education and a realization of the tremendous advantages it provides to their children's future. BRIS does not have a testing protocol to select only top-tier children. We believe that all hard-working students with the desire to learn in this unique setting are capable of succeeding at BRIS.

What grade levels does BRIS teach?
We currently offer instruction for children six weeks of age through 10th grade. A High School program (grades 11-12) is scheduled to start in August 2011. Each year, an additional grade level is added until 12th grade is reached. This is scheduled to happen in 2013. BRIS graduates will receive an American High School Diploma with Advanced Placement (AP) and we are currently seeking authorization to provide the highly esteemed International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB).

How many students attend the school? Are in each class?
There are more than 350 students at BRIS with a maximum of 16 students in each class to ensure the quality of the program. Our student-teacher ratio is 7:1 which allows close individual attention and personalized learning.

Can my student enroll at any time during his/her education? Or do they have to attend the school beginning at pre-school or kindergarten?
It is recommended that students begin at BRIS in the early immersion program (ELIC) if they are not potty-trained, and in preschool/prekindergarten if they are potty trained. However, we recommend that students start no later than kindergarten. The only exception is if students are transferring from another international school or if they are already fluent in the target languages and can meet the BRIS academic requirements. This is to prevent frustration for the student and to create a positive learning environment. However, BRIS is currently offering another opportunity to new middle/high school candidates looking for a challenging educational program such as BRIS from 6th to 12th grades. For further details, please call the Admissions Office at 225.293.4338.

What curriculum does BRIS follow?
The Baton Rouge International School offers a rigorous academic curriculum in a multilingual learning environment, which includes English, French, Spanish and Chinese. The curriculum is based upon the best educational practices in Europe and in the United States. Students are taught intellectual discipline, respect, work habits and ethics, autonomy and responsibility in a safe and nurturing environment. (See curriculum information).

Baton Rouge International School is a World School. What does this mean?
The Baton Rouge International School is accredited by the International Baccalaureate (IB) to deliver the IB MYP Programme. BRIS is currently seeking authorization to become an IB DP School. BRIS is also approved by the BESE and the Louisiana Department of Education. In addition, BRIS is a full member of many professional/educational organizations in the United States and abroad. The IB is a nonprofit educational foundation developed to offer challenging programs to students aged 3 to 19 years. Founded in 1968, the foundation currently works with 2,728 schools in 138 countries.

Does the Baton Rouge International School offer any extra curricular activities? (Clubs, sports, etc.)
BRIS students have the opportunity to get involved in a variety of activities including soccer, chess, karate, tennis, golf, basketball, violin, piano, girl scouts/boy scouts and more. BRIS solidifies educational learning in the classroom through extracurricular activities and Cultural Exchange Programs. For example, in Spring 2008, a dozen BRIS students traveled to Cordoba, Mexico and lived with host families and played games with local children.

Does the Baton Rouge International School offer financial aid / assistance?
BRIS offers financial aid advice and is planning to establish a Scholarship Fund through the BRIS Foundation to help underprivileged children in the area attend this unique program. Individual and corporate sponsors are needed to implement this worthy initiative.