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[quote=Anonymous][b][quote=Anonymous]Thank you for all the comments - we are seriously considering this school for DC (current 7th grader) for HS.  I will need to go to their website to check the curriculum requirements obviously but could anyone clarify a few things?

Are all students required to do the 'dual language IB' diploma?  Or is there an option to do IB only in English?  Our child is not a native speaker of either French or Spanish - she would do Spanish if she got in.

A previous poster wrote:  
It's worth noting as well that WIS maintains strong relationships with embassies and NGOs, the vast majority of whom either pay for or significantly subsidize the tuition for the kids of their employees. This is not a negative at all, but it's important to know that this constituency (and keeping them happy) is intrinsic to the business model.

[b]What does "keeping them happy" mean exactly?  We are currently at a well regarded (at least on DCUM anyway) K-8 and there are some students whose parents are wealthy/big donors/connected and these students (and their close friends) are given a wide berth in terms of academic performance (they are "allowed" to goof off, disrupt in class with minimal consequences) /school class requirements (some of them don't have to take certain classes for unknown reasons) / almost all their bad behavior is tolerated without repercussions.  By now, the other kids in the class have come to accept that these kids are "protected" and there is no point in saying anything because the HOS and administrators want to "keep them happy".  Perhaps this is what happens in all private schools around here (we have no idea as we are both products of public school).

Is this what happens at WIS also with the embassy/NGO families?
[/b]
Thanks for all the helpful advice.  [/quote]

No, this does NOT happen.  I'm the PP who had two kids at the school for 15 years.  AGAIN - OP talk to ACTUAL WIS parents.  I don't think any of these folks that blather on about the IMF/WB families have ever stepped foot on a WIS campus.  When we toured the school over 15 years ago, the AD told us that their goal was maintaing the following breakdown: one third both parents are international, one third one American-born parent and one international parent, and one third both American-born parents.  And during our 15 years at WIS, I think that balance has been pretty much maintained.  And as another PP said, the WB hasn't provided a tuition benefit now for many years.  We are an American/international family but we have no ties to any embassy or international organizaiton.  Both DH and I are entrepreneurs.  We know many many other WIS families who also have no ties to international organizations.  Nobody gets special treatment in admissions, behavior, or tuition discounts.  This is just false.  I was very involved with the school for many years; I don't believe the naysayers have any first-hand knowledge of WIS.

And to answer the question about the bilingual diploma, no your DC does not have to complete a bililingual diploma.  It's mostly kids who were lifers or who have their Language A as their home language.  My DCs were lifers and that's why they did the bilingual diploma.  We don't speak the target langauge at home (we speak other languages) and our DCs have a very high level of fluency in the target language they learned at WIS since PreK.  We've traveled to countries where their target language is spoken and people think they are native speakers.

Best of luck to you and your DC in your search for the right school for your DC and your family.

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