During this week nine trained international educators arrived at European Azerbaijan School (EAS) to conduct a visit regarding school request to become a Council of International School (CIS) accredited the school.

Axar.az reports that this accreditation which involves a demanding process stretching over two years is highly sought after by international schools or those teaching an international program like the International Baccalaureate (IB). In this process, all phases of school life (curriculum, governance, classroom teaching, student support, community relationships, and mission) are judged against international standards of good practice first by the school itself and then by the visiting team. Daniela Vasile, the chairperson of the Visiting Team commented that her colleagues were impressed with the high quality of learning in the classroom, and dedication of the teaching staff. There were sessions in which they got parent feedback about the school as well as sessions with students.

CIS accreditation is valuable to the school in a number of ways. First of all, the process gives the school and its leaders a clear holistic vision of school strengths and areas for improvement. These become targets for future school actions. Secondly, the accreditation is valuable to parents in that it is an assurance that the school their children are learning is recognized by a highly respected international body as having meet the standards of high educational quality. Parents can also be assured that in terms of safety, security and student support the school is very qualified. Thirdly, when students make their university applications these institutions need to know the kind of school that is issuing reports about student applicants. A CIS accreditation assures them that the student’s school has passed a rigorous standard regarding teaching and learning.

When a school has achieved accreditation status with CIS which must be renewed every 5 years, it is fully aware that it must write yearly reports for CIS to document their progress on recommendations stemming from the school’s report and the team visit. CIS states that a good school is one that is constantly reflecting on the quality of their programs and practices. In other words, one that embraces continuous improvement. At EAS we feel that such a statement mirrors our beliefs completely and is perhaps the single most important motive for us seeking CIS accreditation status.

The European Azerbaijan School (EAS) is a private school founded in 2011. The school is licensed by the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan and offers international programs.

These programs include the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Year Program (PYP), Middle Year Program (MYP), Diploma Program (DP) and Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). Along with grades 1-11, the School has also Early Learning Program (for 4 and 5-year old children). The School is also the member of the Council of International Schools’ (CIS) network. The graduates of the School have been admitted to universities in Azerbaijan along with being admitted to international prestigious universities with high scores.