On Friday, May 13, the FIS hosted the Association of German International School (AGIS) Annual General Meeting and in the afternoon Head of School and Business Manager meetings. AGIS is an organization that represents and promotes the educational and public interests of member schools, and their communities, working together to support learning.
This organization fosters sharing among member schools and supports professional development. The FIS is very actively involved with AGIS. Our colleagues attend the innovative Annual Teachers’ Conference, subsidized job-alike groups for e.g. librarians, nurses, administrators, counselors, subject and division leaders, and the provision of a comprehensive annual survey of statistics to benchmark the collaborative development of AGIS schools.
AGIS was founded in Berlin on February 9, 1994, and currently serves 23 member schools, teaching more than 16,000 students from more than 65 nationalities representing more than 40 different home languages. On average, more than 85% of the parents from AGIS schools are foreign experts working for German or international companies here in Germany and our member schools employ about 2,000 teachers representing 32 different nationalities.
AGIS international schools are run as independent, non-profit, private institutions and must provide an international education in the English language, that is recognized in Germany and accepted worldwide. Member schools must also be committed to continuous improvement and quality assurance through evaluation, external programme authorization, and international accreditation.
AGIS also serves as a representative and lobbying organization to support the educational and existential needs of member schools. AGIS works with the Kutusministerkonferenz (KMK), International Baccalaureate Organization, and other federal and regional organizations to continually improve the status of international schools in Germany and ensure our curriculum programmes are fully recognized.
I thank and congratulate our colleagues at the FIS for setting up and leading these meetings successfully. It has been a packed day with many keen discussions and positive learnings. Special thanks to Early Years 5 students for designing personalized welcome cards for the visitors (pictured above).
Liam Browne
Head of School
