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The Future of the International School of Estonia
You have probably heard about the discussions between ISE, the Viimsi city government and the Ministry of Education. We also provided a briefing on this at the last AGM, which many of you attended. Although there are no new concrete items to tell you, the Board and I want to keep you informed about these talks.

Last year ISE was approached by the Viimsi government and the Future School Foundation to be a part of a new school to be opened in Viimsi in August 2013. This last year has been spent discussing various possibilities. In all these discussions the ISE Board and Management have clearly stated the requirement that ISE retain autonomous authority over our curriculum, our staff, our admissions and the overall international nature of our school. We will only proceed with this project if these things are assured.

No decisions have been made yet; however, the general idea is for ISE to operate side-by-side with an Estonian school. The two schools would share space, staff and resources. ISE would also work with the Estonian school, helping to bring more English language and international teaching practices into their program. This arrangement would have many benefits for ISE. It would provide us with a brand new, purpose-built facility. The school would be supported by a variety of IT companies, offering ISE access to state-of-the-art equipment, programs and instruction in the latest innovations in education. This new building and IT focus would be a strong marketing force for ISE, leading to greater enrollment and the potential of reduced fees.

In addition to our discussions with Viimsi and the Foundation, we have recently been working with the Ministry of Education on their plans for establishing a European School in Tallinn. This is a requirement of the new EU IT agency, set to open in Tallinn in the fall of 2013. Because this European School is expected to be very small, the Ministry is interested in sharing of space, staff and resources. We are now looking at ways to incorporate the European School into the plans for the Future School in Viimsi. These discussion are in a very preliminary phase, and little is know for certain.

As you can imagine, the issues are complex and the road forward is not yet clear - except one thing. ISE will only join with these projects if we feel it is the best interest of our school, and if we are assured that we can continue to offer a genuine, international education experience that will meet the needs of the international community in Tallinn.

Keep checking here to stay updated on our progress. In the meanwhile, if you have any questions, please direct them to Kathleen Naglee (principal@ise.edu.ee), as she is taking the lead with this project.