Message from our Executive Director

Many immigrant youth arrive to the United States with limited English language skills, and little to no prior education. Internationals Network believes these young people deserve educational supports that understand and value their native languages and culture while challenging them to achieve at high educational levels.

For the last 25 years, we have provided quality education for recently arrived immigrants by growing and sustaining a strong national network of innovative International High Schools, while sharing proven best practices and influencing policy for English language learners. In Fiscal Year 2009, Internationals Network made the decision to expand services so that more immigrant students will have the opportunity to succeed. In alignment with our vision, we defined four areas of strategic focus for our organization:

1. We plan to deepen support and services for existing schools
2. We plan to build new schools in regional networks across the United States as opportunities present, to act as best practice hubs and demonstrate sites for schools and districts with populations of ELLs
3. We are disseminating our model to create communities of best practices across the United States
4. We are collaborating with local and national partners to leverage our 25 years of practitioner expertise to affect ELL education policy and practices on a national scale

In order for us to be successful in executing our vision, we expanded collaborations with community partners South Bronx Overall Development Corporation and Make the Road NY. We also developed I-START, the first New York City urban teacher residency program, where we work to prepare exceptional TESOL teachers for New York City schools in partnership with Long Island University and the New York City Department of Education. As we expand our work, we continue to support our existing schools by providing services such as professional development events, leadership development, and curriculum development.

As we celebrate the impact of our work serving English Language Learners, we also look to the future, where we intend to develop an even broader capacity to integrate our students and families into the fabric of American society.

Thank you for your interest and support as we continue to serve recently arrived immigrant youth.

Claire E. Sylvan