International Community School
2825 International Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94601 (Map & Directions)
510-532-5400
Eduardo Munoz-Munoz, Principal
eduardo.munoz@ousd.k12.ca.us
http://ics.ousd.k12.ca.us
Students at International Community School
ICS in the news! Check out OaklandNorth's coverage of ICS's participation in Read Across America Day.
International Community School is a member of the OSF Family Engagement and Leadership Initiative.
Mission and History
International Community School is guided by its mission to improve opportunities for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade, through academically challenging and culturally responsive learning. The school was designed to support students and families in an embracing community where relationships are strong and personalized. Every child and every family is known and has a voice that is heard; every child's talents are nurtured and celebrated; the community feels ownership of the school; and parents are partners in both the education of their children and in the governance of the school.
Serving the San Antonio and Fruitvale neighborhoods, International Community School (ICS) provides a Spanish bilingual language maintenance program as well as a sheltered English program. The staff is committed to providing students with opportunities for creativity, change, and growth. Students at ICS are educated through project-based learning, rigorous academics, and a community commitment to social justice.
Opened in 2001, ICS was designed by parents, teachers, and community members to address the social inequities in the educational landscape of Oakland, and to create a school where students potential would be realized through rigorous and personalized academics. The school was one of the first six new small autonomous elementary schools opened in the Oakland school district.
Current Programs and Services
ICS serves 240 students in Kindergarten through 5th grade, and offers many services and programs for students, including a comprehensive after-school program aligned with daytime curriculum and objectives, giving students access to activities not available during the day. Students are offered daily targeted academic interventions, soccer, enrichment classes in art, cooking, gardening, drama, chess, dance and digital computer media. Sports 4 Kids provides students with daytime recreation. The school also provides instrumental music, and vocal music classes for all students. Extended learning opportunities for families include parenting workshops and adult education classes in English and literacy through the Family Literacy Program and Family Resource Center.
Direction and Goals
For six years, ICS has worked to provide students with the skills needed to excel academically, focusing on bilingual education for Spanish-speaking families. ICS's biggest success has been the academic growth that students achieved in the school's first three years and again during the last academic year in 2006-07. After a period of transition, and most recently, a change in leadership, ICS is gearing up to develop a new comprehensive strategic plan that will help guide the small school community, in support of changing school needs. ICS is working with the school community to focus on strengthening parent and family engagement and deepening the home-to-school connection.
Past Year's Results: In the past year, ICS has shown great promise while facing considerable challenges:
• In 2007, the school's Academic Performance Index (API) rose 23 points, more than three times the rate of district-wide growth that year.
• ICS's 98 percent student attendance rate continues to top the charts: the school is the 9th highest in the district.
• This year, ICS has met one of the school's most important goals: four new teachers were recruited to join the school this fall, meaning a cohesive teaching staff for the first time in three years.
International Community School students are 86 percent Latino, 8 percent African American, and 3 percent Asian American 3 percent Yemen. More than 85 percent of the school's students live at or below the poverty level, and more than 80 percent of students designated as English Learners.
ICS draws strength from its many collaborations with local community partners, including Oakland Community Organizations, Lao Family Community Development, Oakland Youth Chorus, Sports for Kids, the Unity Council, the Native American Health Center and La Clinica, and the Oakland Small Schools Foundation, which supports ICS in fundraising, program monitoring, and financial management.
ICS is a member of the Oakland Schools Foundation (OSF) network. OSF is not only the school's fiscal sponsor, but also provides multiple supports including comprehensive fundraising, vendor contracts and invoicing, assessment and data coaching, program monitoring, human resources and hiring, workshops for school collaborations, and program provider resources. OSF was founded in 2003 to help participating small schools identify, secure, and manage resources for needs that would otherwise be under-funded by traditional public sources. Its mission is to increase the resources in Oakland public schools so that all of our students have the opportunity to achieve excellence.