Elementary School
About AXIS International Academy
AXIS International Academy is a tuition-free public school for students in kindergarten through 6th grade. AXIS International Academy is located at 2700 S. Lemay Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80525, inside the Clearwater Church building.
AXIS is a CSI-authorized school and accepts students residing in any Colorado school district. Students can enroll in Mandarin, French, or Spanish in any grade-level: Kindergarten, grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Complete our Intent to Enroll Form and let us know what grade and language you are seeking.
Our Vision
Empowering citizens of character to thrive in their local and global communities.
Our Mission
By advancing academic excellence, cross-cultural understanding, multilingualism, and social-emotional and cognitive skills development, AXIS International Academy empowers students to lead choice-filled lives and be thriving citizens of character in their local and global communities.
Foundational Principles
Academic Excellence
- Dynamic multi-layered curriculum integrates Core Knowledge, Singapore Math (see video here), and other world content with skills and strategies embedded in the Colorado Academic Standards.
- Teachers embrace high expectations for all students, model problem solving and a growth mindset (belief that intelligence and ability can always grow), and use data-informed instruction to monitor students’ response to instruction.
X Cross-Cultural Competency
- Explicit instruction of and exposure to various cultures, locally and globally, deepens understanding and empathy.
- Teachers utilize resources from the International Studies Schools Network to help students master knowledge and skills that enable them to adapt effectively in cross-cultural environments, locally and globally.
- Teachers apply a critical lens to ensure a variety of cultural perspectives are included in the curriculum content.
Immersion in World Languages
- All students learn a second world language through the research-based 50/50 language immersion model (similar to the Utah Model) which empower students with academic, cognitive, social, cultural, and economic benefits.
- Students receive instruction in English 50% of day and the other 50% instruction is in a partner language: French, Mandarin Chinese, or Spanish.
Social-Emotional and Cognitive Skills Development
- Implementation of the Whole Child Initiative prioritizes six critical school tenets: safe, healthy, engaged, supported, challenged, and sustainable.
- This Whole Child approach inspires a growth mindset.
- The approach also builds character and develops key social-emotional and cognitive skills: self-management, social awareness, self-awareness, relationship skills, and ethical and responsible decision-making.
- Staff and students use the Yale RULER program materials for social and emotional learning.
Our Educational Philosophy
Introduction
As stated clearly in our mission and outlined above, AXIS International Academy is built upon four key principles necessary for student success for life in our increasingly interconnected, globally competitive world: Academic excellence, X (cross)-cultural competence, Immersion in world language, and Social-emotional learning and cognitive skills development. Every decision made at AXIS is dedicated to building and strengthening these principles in our students.
Academic Excellence
AXIS believes academic excellence starts with high expectations for all students and faculty in behavior and learning. High expectations for student learning are based upon mastery of the Colorado Academic Standards and Core Knowledge content. Teachers are empowered and supported with evidence-based, content-rich curriculum and evidence-based, engaging instructional practices that enable academic growth and mastery. Every day teachers work to ensure students grow academically and stay motivated by our growth mindset for all, the idea that intelligence and ability is not fixed, yet can grow and be developed. Our growth mindset induces problem solving, and we utilize our strong Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to guide our problem solving. Teachers administer valid, efficient assessments to collect purposeful data to know how their students are responding to instruction.
X Cross-Cultural Competence
There is no denying the world today is fundamentally different from the one in which our current parents and teachers grew up. Rapid economic, technological and social changes have created a world that is ever more interconnected and interdependent. We are re-examining our understanding of economics, communication, security, cultural identity, citizenship, and the environment; thus, we must re-examine how and what we teach. We believe to reach the AXIS vision, students need to master knowledge and skills that enable them to adapt effectively in cross-cultural environments, locally and globally. This is known as cross-cultural or global competence.
Immersion in World Languages
To deepen cross-cultural competence and to capitalize on the many benefits of being bilingual, we believe all children should have an opportunity to learn a second language. Students who learn a second language experience academic, cognitive, sociocultural, and economic benefits. We agree strongly with research that states a second language should be taught early during a child’s optimal language learning window, and that immersion is the best model in which to learn any language.
Social-Emotional and Cognitive Skills Development
Strengthening the whole child enables higher levels of academic excellence, cultural competence, and language learning. We nurture the well-being of our staff and students, and we intentionally develop and reinforce skills across all developmental domains: social, emotional, cognitive, and physical. Teachers model and teach our students to be self-managed, self-aware, socially aware, to build relationship skills, and to be ethical and responsible decision-makers. We believe these skills will empower our students to be strong citizens of character operating with respect, integrity, honesty, and perseverance. We have curriculum and frameworks that support our teachers in teaching these skills including RULER from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.
