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Elementary School Program

NURTURING LEARNING

Serving students from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 5 between the ages of 3 and 10

The ISK Elementary School builds an inclusive learning community with students from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5, between the ages of three and ten years old. ISK's Elementary School is dedicated to providing a nurturing learning environment that is engaging, challenging, relevant, and learner-centered. Through our Educational Aims, we develop lifelong learners and global citizens with effective communication, creative thinking, problem solving, and collaborative skills who can make a positive difference in the world.

What learning looks like in the Elementary School

Messy Day!

Mud Kitchen

Outdoor Makerspace


Our child-friendly program, with its small class size and personalized attention, provides each child with the tools necessary to attain their academic potential and to be happy and compassionate members of our learning community. ISK’s Elementary School is a center of inquiry, creativity and joyful learning, with all curricular and co-curricular programs designed to fulfill ISK’s Mission, Vision and Educational Aims.

Ryan Hopkins-Wilcox, Elementary School Principal


Elementary Learning Designs

Learning to Be

At the International School of Kenya (ISK), the development of the whole child is at the heart of how we learn. Learning in the Elementary School (ES) is designed around developing the ISK aims and values as well as personal, emotional and social skills. Together, we are learning about who we are and who we want to be by exploring our passions, our unique creativities and our own ambitions. We design our learning to nurture the curiosities, interests and capabilities that each child brings to our community. We work with every learner to design an experience that is driven by their passions and personal motivations. We build on the strengths of each student to empower learners who are resourceful, self-determined, confident, and resilient.

Learning to Do

In the ES, we design experiences to help children find their purpose by honoring their voice and their own unique, personal significance. We encourage all students to consider how they are contributing to their world and communities as they make a difference to those around them. We learn to be responsible and engaged members of our school community as well as citizens of the world. At ISK, we are learning to be globally minded people who actively learn, create, solve, and engage in our world. We inspire and nurture children to feel empowered to create solutions for a better world.

Learning About

Children are natural learners, and our role is to help nurture these interests: to develop the skills of lifelong learning. In the ES, we support all children as they learn how to learn. Our teachers design experiences that are personalized, experiential and integrated; these learning opportunities foster inquiry and conceptual understandings. Our students continuously advance their skills in areas such as literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts, physical education, and languages through a learner-centered approach. Each day is designed to create experiences that allow children to learn how to learn. Together, we learn skills of learning through the lens of our own unique interests. This provides a responsive approach to designing our curriculum and learning pathways by building the skills needed to learn within our school and the world beyond.

Learning Space

The architectural design at ISK takes advantage of both indoor and outdoor spaces. Our environment is spilling over with green, natural spaces which are integral to inquiry within the science, math, writing, and art curricula. The classrooms include flexible learning spaces where children and teachers learn together as collaborators, problem solvers, researchers, mathematicians, authors, storytellers, artists, and makers. As a school community, we have designed timetables and schedules that shape our day. We begin the day with a soft start to promote connections, inquiries and play. This leads into a morning meeting where relationships and communities are built. Throughout the day, learners take part in sustained workshops and projects integrated within areas such as math, literacy, science, and social studies. On the eighth day of the schedule, the personal inquiries of each and every child are honored, cultivated and celebrated.

Learning Together

At ISK, we learn together. Our students, teachers and families are collaborators on the learning journey; together, they design experiences, reflect on learning and celebrate successes. The skills of communication and collaboration extend to peer partnerships as children teach children and learn together. This powerful practice promotes teamwork and prepares the children to be true collaborators throughout their life. Learning does not stop in childhood, and we value our adult learning community through continued professional development and family workshops. We are committed to sustaining productive partnerships with parents to help our students succeed. We have designed time and space for conferences, open days, parent teas and workshops to further shared understandings of the educational philosophy and approaches to learning and teaching used at ISK. We invite you to come learn with us by exploring our website, visiting our campus, and partnering with us for your child’s learning journey.


Elementary School Voices


High School

Middle School