Where does the money go?

Where and Why?

Where does my donation go? Why should I donate to ISL? These are questions, I get all the time. The short answer is... The International School of Louisiana (ISL) is a nonprofit, public, tuition free school. As such, we rely on the support of our donors and community to continue to offer a challenging education emphasizing language immersion to over 1300 students. Although ISL receives Federal and State funding, this funding does not cover all of our quality programming and services. However, this only begins to answer the question.

Please allow me to take a moment to provide the long answer.

ISL is unique in many ways. In comparison to many of the area public schools, ISL offers programs and services that truly allow it to stand alone. Support from the community and donors is essential, as resources, supplies, and materials require extra funding. So for the long answer to “Why should I donate to ISL and where does my donation go?” Let me count the ways!

1) Did you know that ISL has a 15:1 student teacher ratio?

This is double the amount of staff than the State required minimum. Employing Multilingual Teachers, as well as, multilingual Assistant Teachers in our ISL community allows our students the minimum amount of interruption in their language immersion education, whether inside the classroom or outside. Additional staff also allows opportunities for individual or small group instruction, as well as co-teaching opportunities across grade levels and classrooms, and enrichment instruction more than five times per week for each student.

2) Did you know that ISL hires over 200 staff members from 30 different countries speaking more than 16 different languages?

We live in a diverse community. At ISL, we also learn in a diverse community. This opportunity is not available anywhere else in the city on a daily basis. It is by far the most exciting and enriching part of our ISL experience. Your support allows us to attract and recruit staff from all over the world providing our ISL students with the most diverse learning environment in the city.

3) Did you know ISL employs 22+ enrichment teachers that teach Art, Music, Physical Education/Movement, and Library across the three campuses?

This is unheard of in most public school systems. At many public schools, classroom teachers are required to integrate the arts, physical education, and movement into their curriculum or their daily schedule. Some schools partner with outside agencies to provide these services to their students through a instructor. In some cases, a traveling teacher visits multiple school a couple of times per week and provides this instruction to only certain grade level or small group of students. At ISL, all students from Kindergarten through eighth grade have access to full time enrichment teachers who teach them Art, Music, and Physical education at least twice a week, providing them with Enrichment instruction more than 5.5 hours per week. This commitment to the Arts and Movement allows ISL students to grow academically, as well as in other areas.

4) Did you know that foreign language materials cost more than English language materials?

So, most understand that at ISL classes are taught in Spanish and French (some in Mandarin, as well). However, it’s easy to forget this means we need materials in those languages that are not readily available at the local or national education store. ISL must purchase foreign language materials and supplies in Spanish and French language from halfway across the world. This requires an extra fee for the materials, as well as overseas shipping costs, and in some cases software, equipment, and services to make curriculum materials and programming available and accessible to teachers and students in their target language. ISL’s level of commitment to language immersion education has kept ISL at the forefront of immersion education nationally, allowing us to provide a challenging education to all of our students,  celebrating diversity and international awareness right here in New Orleans.

So why should you donate to ISL?

Donating to any nonprofit is a personal choice. So, when I am asked this question, I often don’t know how to answer. I will tell you this: What happens in our school everyday is incredible, the research tells us the benefits of immersion education and we get to experience it every single day. With ever-changing funding formulas, nonprofits, like ISL, have to continually and creatively find ways to fund their programs to meet the needs of the community and build a network of supporters to continue the work.

If you believe in multilingualism, learning and discovering in a diverse community, offering all students a challenging education celebrating the arts, movement, and each other, curriculum and instruction that delivers beyond the required minimum… Then you believe in ISL, its programming, its curriculum, its language immersion education… YOU BELIEVE IN THE ISL MISSION!

Why make a donation? When you are inspired and believe in something, you typically want to share it with others. Supporting a cause makes this sharing possible! It allows you to help us to continue the work and share it with more local students. Consider a donation to ISL. #SupportISL on #GiveNOLA day!

Gracias ~ Merci ~ Thank you ~ XieXie,

Karla Marie Cochran

Director of Institutional Development

kcochran@isl-edu.org

(504) 229-4375

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Interested in supporting but... WHERE IS MY DONATION GOING?
Your donation goes towards continuing the quality programming and level of education that ISL has been providing its students since the year 2000.

YES, ISL receives public funding as a tuition-free public school.
NO, it does not cover all of our quality programming.

What creates the largest gap at ISL?

Enrichment Programming:

• Art, Music, Physical Education, Library, and Special programming/Movement Arts.
• ISL employs 22 Full time Enrichment teachers across the three campuses providing over 5.5 hours of Enrichment instruction to all ISL students each week
• This is nearly double the state requirement. The state requires 150 minutes per week, ISL offers 250 minutes per week to every student
• Art, music, physical education, and special programming supplies

Foreign Language education and Supplies:

• Textbooks and other teaching materials in French and Spanish (cost more than English language material)
• Supplies that allow our teachers to be innovative and creative in the classroom to support immersion education.
• The state funds for 150 minutes of foreign language education, ISL provides over 1,600 minutes of instruction in a foreign language per week. The funding by the state does not match the required funding to sustain this program.

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