How long have you been working in secondary education?
Since 1983, when I started my teaching career in Colorado, USA. I was a sports coach for about 6 years and then moved to Austria, where I was already a teacher and administrator in Salzburg and Innsbruck (since 1989). In total, it has been for 38 years!
What makes Austrian schools special for parents and children from all over the world?
Austria has a lot to offer international students: we are visited by those who are simultaneously interested in obtaining a quality education of the world level and cultural experience. Austria is a small country, but widely known for its history and contribution to art, culture, music, literature. It is traditionally a desirable country for winter sports - skiing and snowboarding. Since 1945, Austria has been a neutral country, the headquarters of the UN and OPEC are located in Vienna, it serves as a place for peace negotiations, diplomatic meetings, and the signing of disarmament agreements. Socially and politically it is a very stable country with a strong and reliable system of social democratic support. Austria is hospitable and diverse, becoming home to people from all over the world: cities are small, you quickly settle in them, nature is incredibly beautiful, and the level of security is amazing.
By the way, Austrian schools also offer excellent environmental education for their students! It is a stimulating, supportive experience every day.
If we talk about the rankings of Austrian boarding schools, by what criteria are they compiled? How much can they be trusted today?
There are few international boarding schools in the country, so if they participate in the rankings, then in international ones, on a par with boarding schools in Europe, Great Britain and North America (mainly with English-speaking schools). Criteria may differ depending on the program offered: college preparation, athlete course, etc. Most parents turn to international schools to provide their children with a global learning experience and prepare them for university entrance in any desired country in the world. Let me start with the general criteria that are used when ranking programs, and then move on to more specific features.
The most popular criteria that almost all parents pay attention to are:
- University admission statistics
- Student scores
- Alumni profile:
- How many advanced / Hons exams they take (AP, IB, A-level)
- How many languages ​​are studied and at what level
- What is the average score received
- Is the level of social and organizational involvement of students high
- What are the opportunities for extracurricular development.
- Proportion of students and teachers
- Opportunities for Cultural Experiences
- Curriculum offered, subject coverage
- Variety of extracurricular offerings, their depth and scope
- Safety level of babysitting and security.
And now the specific criteria that are specially important for some parents (and some may not be taken into account at all):
- Feeling comfortable and accepted by the school community - regardless of nation, origin, language and culture, level of success and age
- The comfort of the environment, how much it feels like home
- Number of foreign students in relation to locals (%)
- The experience of school teachers and administrators
- Clarity and transparency of values, ethics, moral code, main principles
- The subjective experience of enrolled students: do they feel respect and care, attention to themselves, do they correctly assess their capabilities and abilities, do they experience learning problems, do they feel they are part of the community.
You have to be careful when making comparisons. For example, there are a lot of boarding schools in Europe, Great Britain and North America, so it is easy to get confused when comparing them, some elements need to be considered especially carefully. For example, American schools will find almost everything free for your child, while European schools are almost always smaller in size and campus, and accordingly, there are fewer places in them. But this does not mean that they are worse than American ones!
If you want a truly international experience, take a close look at the nationality of the students. There are boarding schools where the number of locals is 80-90% - this is clearly not enough to say: "Yes, this school has a rich combination of nationalities and cultural traditions."
For almost 40 years of my practice, I can say that I have identified several important questions that I recommend asking all parents:
- What is the average working experience for teachers?
- What is the average working experience for administrators and key managers?
- Can I get a copy of the school's child protection and welfare plan? A copy of the school's policy statement on data protection, cyberbullying, bullying?
- Can I get the latest accreditation report?
- Can I get a copy of mission statement and beliefs?
- How is staff recruited?
These questions are especially important today, because the level of modern marketing, the presence on the Internet allows each school to emphasize exactly what it wants. However, this can be slightly (or not slightly) embellished, especially if the school has been operating for less than 10 years. I believe it will take years, if not decades, for a school to start working with a confident group of experienced administrators and educators who will work together to deliver outstanding results in all areas - on actual, not pseudo-declared, excellence.
What are the most important questions parents ask when looking for a suitable school in Austria?
It must be remembered that in Austria there are public and private schools (the latter are most often international). I have little experience with public schools and the national education system, so I am talking about private schools.
The most important questions to ask are:
- Security level
- Stability (starting from the national level, social and political organizations)
- Strong social norms that allow children to live and learn in peace.
Austria is geographically optimally located in the center of Western Europe, approximately equidistant from most European countries and capitals, so there will be plenty of travel opportunities. The Social Democratic government has long supported both families and the education system, which has made it possible to more eradicate poverty and illiteracy.
When is the best time to apply to Austrian schools? What should you prepare for upon admission?
Allow enough time to get to know your chosen school. The relationship between parents, school and student should develop neatly, slowly and reliably - you should have time to get to know the campus, with teachers, and get answers to all important questions.
Many people think that international boarding schools are, if not the same, then similar, but this is not the case. There can be strong differences in the curriculum, the value and qualifications of the diploma, the experience of the teachers, and finally by location. We recommend that parents start looking for a suitable school after they have clearly defined their position on 4 main questions:
- What do you want to give your children with the help of the school?
- What are your expectations regarding the child's care and attention, guidance, social and academic needs?
- What expenses are you willing to pay?
- Which environment do you prefer: city or country, cultural environment, district or region?
Having clearly answered these questions, you can start choosing and make it really right.
We suggest sticking to the following schedule:
- November-February: collection of facts and information, communication with representatives
- February-March: visits to schools, discussion of important issues with representatives and administration
- March-May: sending a package of documents and receiving a decision
- May: Final Application Review, Course Fee and Final Enrollment.
If you need a visa, you will devote June, July and August to visa issues and preparation for departure.
What subjects are most commonly chosen in recent years?
If an international boarding school has a British educational system, there you will be offered IGCSE, A-level or IB. AIS Salzburg offers an American program with Advanced Placement subjects. The main thing is to understand what the requirements of which course are for the student in order to get a quality diploma.
In middle school programs, the main focus is on the basic sciences:
- English
- Mathematics
- Natural Sciences
- Social Sciences
- Foreign languages
- Physical education
- Art.
But boarding schools can distribute these disciplines in a high school course in different ways. Some schools focus on preparing for exams that will ensure you get an IB and A-Level diploma, some ask children to complete subject courses year after year so that they receive academic credits (this is already an American format).
In recent years, students have been paying a lot of attention to foreign languages ​​(English in particular), economics and business. Our consultants noticed that students began to stay more often to study at European universities, rather than leaving for the USA or Canada. The UK is still popular, but some are worried about Brexit and changing visa regulations.
Does every school strive to be ranked among the best?
Every boarding school that accepts foreign students strives to fulfill its tasks as best as possible and achieve maximum results - both in studies and in caring for students. At the same time, whether it will meet the official criteria for comparing world schools is a secondary question (of course, if we do not talk about institutions that are primarily interested in increasing their capital).
Families who understand that there are many important criteria - and not all of them make the official rankings, will not be aspirated in the top charts. Any school can be the best for their child.
How has COVID-19 affected student numbers? How do schools help their students during this period?
At the end of 2019-2020 Austrian boarding schools have faced with a decline in enrollment, as have schools around the world. But AIS Salzburg did not suffer much, operating as a full board school: 85% of our students live on campus permanently - and stayed here, so our academic programs were able to continue almost without interruption. Yes, we had to mention sporting events, excursions and many weekend events, but we tried to develop a replacement for them on the closed territory of our campus. In Austria in general, the situation remained not too dangerous (even the ski resorts were open all winter!), So we felt confident enough.
For 5 weeks last year we conducted distance education - for this a single educational network platform was prepared. For all courses, teamwork, consultations with teachers, there was only one main source, which made it possible not to drop the quality of teaching, our students were not at a loss.
Is it difficult for a talented student to get a scholarship? What are the approximate discounts?
Each school has its own financial aid programs and many factors affect them. But I believe that due to COVID-19, many scholarships will be cut.
Our opinion is that it is illogical to offer scholarships to applicants at the initial admission: to award a grant, you need to confirm academic, extracurricular and social achievements, and this must be objective. We offer such scholarships only to returning students whose achievements have already been recorded during their studies at AIS-Salzburg.
Students apply for scholarships every spring: on average, this is 24-50% of the annual tuition fees and fees.
At what age do foreign students usually enter schools in Austria?
We mainly accept children 13-15 years old (grades 8-9), but admission is open to other levels as well. Many parents are afraid that their children are still small and immature to enroll at the age of 12, so they prefer to complete the main course of high school - and only then apply. On average, students at AIS-Salzburg study for 3.75 years.
Does every school offer ESL language support to foreign students? How important is it?
AIS-Salzburg, like other international Austrian boarding schools, offers English language support - a mandatory element of the curriculum, despite the fact that over the past 20 years the level of English of applicants has increased significantly. 20 years ago, about 20% of our applicants entered ESL without fail, whereas now this number is about 5%. We teach this course individually and does not involve additional fees.
How much do parents need to spend per year besides living and studying fees?
Of course, the amount depends on the wishes, tastes and habits of the family. At AIS-Salzburg, we expect to spend € 30-40 per week for boarders. We try to include the maximum costs in the published, official tuition fees, but pocket money, additional activities, expenses such as entrance tickets for excursions, etc. remain. I think if you plan for additional costs of about 1,500 euros per year, this will be enough.
