Support Services

International Gateway Academy offers a variety of services to students in order to fulfill our mission statement of helping students to develop their full potential in all aspects of their character.

Guidance Counseling

The Guidance Office consists of one full time high school Guidance Counselor who is available to assist high school students (grades 9-12) with scheduling and course selection, as well as work through their current academic concerns. Parents are welcome to inquire about their child’s academic progress. They may also arrange meetings with teachers, with the assistance of a Guidance Counselor.

The Guidance Counselor is also available to help students in making their college and post-secondary plans. University planning events are held each semester to assist parents and students as they navigate the college application and planning process. A bi-annual Career Day is held for high school students. Students are given the opportunity to meet with a variety of speakers to research post-secondary options.

Learning Support Programme

IGA has an inclusive philosophy of Education. We believe that every student should have access to all mainstream classes irrespective of ability and need. However, at this time, the Special Education programme is only able to serve students with mild to moderate learning disabilities. The purpose of the Special Education is to provide direct instruction and accommodations for students who are identified as having special requirements for learning.

The school provides professional advice to parents about the needs of their children using a variety of specialists. These specialists provide advice and strategies to enable our classroom teachers to develop differentiated work programs for the children in their care.

Classroom support is offered by a team of Teaching Assistants who work closely with the classroom teacher to apply the individual intervention plans.

Regular meetings are held with parents to discuss their children’s needs and to suggest strategies they might use at home to support their children.

English Language Learner Programme

An English Language Learner (ELL) is someone who is learning the English language in addition to their own first or other language(s) The purpose of the IGA ELL programme is to support ELL students as they acquire linguistic skills that will help them participate fully at school, both academically and socially.

This programme also supports core subject teachers of ELL students as they differentiate teaching methods and assignments for ELL students. The High School also offers a Transitional English class for ELL students to ensure a smooth transition into the upper level English classes in grades 11 and 12.

To assist the ELL team every ELL student is assessed on entry to the school to measure the level of English Language competency using the CEFR criteria. From this assessment the ELL team will then determine the level of support that each individual student needs in order for them to access the curriculum.

The school has adopted the Cambridge Global English programme for ELL students in elementary and middle school and supports students in some core classes, where necessary.

Counseling

The IGA Counseling Department aims to work with students, teachers, parents and administrators to facilitate positive growth and change in the personal, social, developmental, emotional, and academic functioning of students. The goal is to help each student develop his/her girts in service in the world community by addressing their entire range of needs.

The Counseling Department works closely with the Learning Support Team, and school Principals to implement and coordinate interventions that will help students reach their potential. In addition, the Counselors serve as consultants for teachers and administrators who are working with students who may be struggling with academic, social or emotional problems.

In addition to providing individual care for students, the counseling department is active in other areas that affect the school community, including Child Safety and Protection.

Child Safety & Protection

IGA believes that the safety of the children in our community is a priority. As a result, we have memberships with two different child protection networks:

  • Child Safety & Protection Network – an international body that aids schools and organizations in developing procedures that follow best practices.
  • IGA works to train both staff members, parents and students on our child safety policies and ways in which we can help keep our students safe. Additionally, we have a policy that guides the counseling department and administration in managing situations that might arise.