Why CASL?

The CASL experiences are meant to balance the rigorous academics with student passion and personal growth through creative, physically active, and service experiences in or out of school. Students get as much out of CASL as they put into it via their efforts to develop old and new skills, explore new experiences, and push themselves to achieve personal goals.

For other students, it is simply an integrated way to gain the intangible life-long skills that will set them apart from other teens to help get them into the university and/or work programs they desire.

• CAS/L is the AISL Global Competencies in action – a good CAS/L program can develop all IB Learner Profile attributes as well as AISL’s 21st century global competencies.

• CAS/L aims to develop the whole person - it complements the academic demands of the IB Diploma and offers a balance to academic activities.

• CAS/L is experiential learning. In addition to academic/intellectual skills, it engages other intelligences in order for students to learn through doing.

• At the heart of CAS/L is a commitment to personal and social development

• When well carried out, CAS/L should build self-esteem, self-confidence, autonomy and self-reliance.

CAS/L is inspired and informed by components of the student’s Diploma Program but is individualized according to student interests, skills, values, and background.

For many students, their CASL experiencies throughout High School have helped them to choose the topics for their IB extended essays, choose their Service Learning projects, and even decide what career path they are most interested in. Many students also end up using "stories" form their CASL experiences in their university application essays as they are pushed to show achievement of the 7 learning outcomes: