International High School at Lafayette

The International High School at Lafayette (IHSL) is a safe, orderly school that serves English language learners (ELLs) that have been in the United States for fewer than four years. Students work in small groups, teachers collaborate regularly, and the school is engaged in a number of partnerships all aimed at fostering academic, linguistic, and socio-emotional development.

Located in Gravesend, Brooklyn, the school is part of the Internationals Network for Public Schools, which includes 27 schools nationwide that are committed to educating recently arrived immigrants and preparing them for college and careers.

Students come from 39 different countries. The largest groups of students are from Uzbekistan, China, Guatemala, Pakistan and El Salvador.

All classes are taught in English. Depending on their English proficiency, students receive different amounts of English as a New Language (ENL) programming per week. In the classroom, students work mostly in cooperative learning groups, which consist of students of different language abilities, academic levels, genders, and ethnicities. Students complete Performance-Based Assessment Tasks (PBATs) as a replacement for some Regents exams.

Teachers work in teams of about five, comprised of one teacher from each discipline (science, math, English, social studies and arts), to support a group of about 80 students. These teams meet at least once a week to discuss best practices for supporting their students academically and emotionally.

IHSL has a number of partnerships to support its mission. The school is paired with a handful of mentoring and college-geared development programs, including iMentor and Girls Write Now. The school also works with iLearn, a program that allows students to continue their learning online. Socio-emotional support is provided by a full-time social worker, a guidance counselor, and a team of four mental health professionals through Clinic Plus.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: Because many new immigrants are not formally evaluated for special needs before entering the education system, IHSL does not have a large population of students with recognized special needs. However, it does provide students with disabilities the supports and services indicated on their IEPs where applicable.

ADMISSIONS: Open only to New York City residents living in the United States four years or fewer who are English language learners per New York City Department of Education guidelines scoring at the Entering, Emerging or Transitioning levels on the NYSESLAT, NYSITELL, or LAB-R. (Katharine Safter, web reports, June 2018)