Mission Statement
Xi’an International School cultivates excellence through actively engaging and caring for the well-being of our community.
Xi’an International School cultivates excellence through actively engaging and caring for the well-being of our community.
Engaging and Empowering Life-long Learners and Tomorrow’s Leaders
XIS insists on establishing an English-only environment for students. We combine English language learners and native speakers in each grade-level classroom. XIS teachers provide sheltered instructions adjusted to learners’ language levels. For students who need to improve their English language proficiency, we offer programs, such as English Language Program(ELP) and Academic English Program, to support them.
English Language Program(ELP)-The English Language Program is an interactive, small-group instruction model with a specific focus on the following areas: reading fluency, speaking fluency, writing fluency, vocabulary instruction, grammar, reading comprehension, content vocabulary study in math, science,& social studies.
Academic English Program-The classroom is broken up into grade groups (3-5 grades, 2021) in order to fast track students into the accelerated English classroom.
Xi’an International School intentionally recruits teachers with a passion for education, a love for young people, and a commitment to help students succeed. One of the ways Xi’an International School can support our teachers and help our students is by maintaining smaller class sizes.
Smaller class sizes allows our teachers to give students the time and attention they need to succeed. It also means our students are just a number or another face, but an integral part of the XIS community.
It also means there is more flexibility in classroom arrangements to better accommodate learning as the classroom situation demands.
Currently the average class size is fifteen students, and when you add the lead teachers, teaching assistants for our core subjects, Academic English classes, our support staff and elective teachers, our student to teacher ratio becomes 2.86:1!
We recognize that our students and their families are from various cultural backgrounds with unique world views. Therefore we provide books and materials that teach varied viewpoints to accommodate our unique families. We recognize that not all cultural sensitivities will be adequately addressed; therefore, dialogue with your child’s teacher or the school administration is welcomed.
XIS is an English-language school. We are not primarily a school for teaching English as a second language. English is the primary language of instruction for the various subjects in the curriculum. We welcome any foreign student whose English proficiency is at a level sufficient to allow the student to participate in the classes.
Xi’an International School is located on a campus with Xi’an Bodi School. The XIS facilities include 13 classrooms, a full wood shop and maintenance office, art room, cafeteria, multipurpose meeting room, two office suites with meeting rooms, teacher workrooms, designated student and teacher restrooms, and an enclosed gymnasium equipped with an athletic office, changing rooms, and men’s and women’s restrooms and large, open spaces for physical education classes, after school activities and sports, and other XIS events. In addition to these learning spaces, XIS has a library collection of Mandarin books for students of all ages and levels, a teacher and parent resource library, as well as the largest English library in Xi’an with over 10,000 volumes.
Xi’an International School operates under the approval of the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Education and is licensed by the State Ministry of Education in Beijing. The name Xi’an International School was approved by the State Ministry of Education and does not indicate relationship with any other school. Xi’an International School is a non-profit entity.
Xi’an International School was founded in March 1996 with the help of the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Education. Our first teacher and principal was Esther Kenyon, who taught eleven students spanning eight grades in a one-room school house.
The school was formally granted license to operate by the State Ministry of Education in Beijing in 1999 and celebrated its Grand Opening in the August of that year.