Student Support Services 

Please click here for overview of our middle and high school support program.

Students with Special Needs

ICS can provide an appropriate education for most students, including non-native English speakers, students with mild to moderate learning disabilities and highly capable students. However, because of the limitations of the local professional support network, ICS is not able to serve the educational needs of those students with more serious mental, physical emotional or learning disabilities. Admission is open to those students who are able to participate successfully in a mainstream class with some specialist support. In cases where ICS determines that it may have an appropriate educational program for a child, the school may require the parents to fund extra assistance beyond what is available in the classroom.

Please contact the Admissions Office immediately if your child requires special services, so that we can attempt to determine if we can provide a suitable program for your child before you accept an assignment in Addis Ababa.

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Elementary and Middle School

ICS provides support for students learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) at the elementary and middle school levels. Students may be enrolled with little or no English proficiency from early childhood to grade 6. In grades 7 and 8, candidates must demonstrate increasing levels of language proficiency, as determined by an English assessment administered by ICS.

Depending on assessment results, students will be placed in an age-appropriate class and will receive additional instruction in English. In the elementary school this may be through either the intensive (beginning level) EAL class, or EAL support classes (intermediate and advanced levels). In middle school, students will have access to push-in and pull-out support.

High School

At the high school level, ICS offers a college preparatory program that includes the IB Diploma. The development of academic language takes time and ICS is committed to preparing students thoroughly for the college or university of their choice. In order to be successful in our program, students must be able to understand, speak, read and write in English at or near the grade level for which they are applying. ICS can only provide minimal support (one period per day) for high school students in grades 9 and 10 who need EAL support. If enrolled, parents may also be asked to arrange (and pay) for additional tutoring after school, if rapid acquisition of English is critical for the student’s continued enrollment at ICS. At ICS’s discretion, high school students without sufficient English language competency may not be eligible for enrollment. 

Mother Tongue Languages At ICS

Our language philosophy at ICS supports the learning of academic English and foreign languages, as well as the maintenance of mother tongue languages. Our academic program focuses on the teaching of English, as well as offering French and Spanish as foreign languages. Instruction of other foreign languages can often be organized by parents, and facilitated by the school.

Instruction in mother tongue languages (other than English) is not provided by the school. However, principals will facilitate parents organizing this support and/or instruction to their children wherever possible.