International Spanish Academy

Oyster-Adams is proud to be part of the network of schools that belong to the International Spanish Academy (ISA).  The ISA initiative is a bilingual, Spanish/English educational model that the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science promotes in collaboration with American and Canadian educational authorities.  Broadly defined, it is a teaching model based on a shared curriculum of both languages used for  primary as well as secondary education with a vision and mission that:  

1. Encourage students’ academic success in all subjects of the curriculum.
2. Educate students in the values of multicultural education to foster  international communication and respect among different cultures.
3. Train students to express themselves and effectively communicate in  English and Spanish in their personal relationships and in an academic  setting.
4. Facilitate and promote the access of students to prestigious centers of higher education throughout the U.S., Spain/Europe and Latin  America.
5. Prepare the students for their professional development in an international context.
6. Promote the participation of distinct groups and social sectors of the community in an integrative, educational project.

OA is part of this network of strongly language committed schools in the U.S. and Canada that implement Spanish immersion programs.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Spain makes the following resources and programs available to ISAs throughout the world:

• Access to double academic certification for high school graduates completing a full ISA program.
• Specialized visiting teachers, teacher and student exchange programs with Spain
• Language and Culture assistants as well as partnerships with Spanish schools
• Teacher training courses in Spanish universities
• Participation in a North American network of ISAs
• Pedagogical advice and curriculum support via an assigned area director

The ISAs embody an integrated curriculum that will prepare the students to later participate in international programs of recognized prestige to complete their higher education degrees.  The language of instruction is English and Spanish, the exact proportion determined by the school, bearing in mind that the objective is to obtain written and oral competency in both languages.  To this end, all language classes are conducted solely in the target language, Spanish.