Admission Policy
1. Open Admission Policy
The Diploma Program is designed to promote the growth of all students in the attributes described in the IB Learner Profile, it strongly fosters student development in agreement with the values and pillars of Escola Eleva. By completing the IBDP at Escola Eleva, students will be stimulated to strive for academic excellence, while expanding their world to respectfully consider and appreciate contrasting and often conflicting views of other people, cultures and nations. They will develop a love for learning, being enthusiastic and responsible about it. They will also develop the social emotional skills to be able to communicate well and be effective team members, to be proactive and to persevere in their efforts to promote equity and justice, kindly caring for themselves and for others.
We, at Escola Eleva, believe that every student has the right to attempt and the potential to successfully complete the full IB Diploma Program. As we are a brazilian bilingual school, offering a dual language program, our students are constantly exposed to the English language in and outside the classroom. By the end of 9th grade, Escola Eleva students are expected to reach a B2 level of fluency (CEFR) in English. We understand that fulfilling this language fluency expectation is essential to the attendance and completion of the IBDP at our school, as it is a challenging program almost exclusively taught in English*. In order to assess students’ level of proficiency, the school internally administers AAPPL tests before the end of Grade 9.
Students who successfully complete Grade 9 at Escola Eleva will be granted admission to the IBDP. External candidates entering Escola Eleva for Grade 10 will be required to undertake Portuguese, English and Math admissional tests.
*All IB subjects are taught in English at Escola Eleva, except for the Portuguese A Language & Literature, and the Brazilian Social Studies courses, which are taught in Portuguese.
2. Information and Decision Making Process
All documents pertaining to the IBDP at Escola Eleva, as well as all relevant school policies, will be shared with the school community in the school's Family Handbook. Additionally, to ensure every student and their families have all of the information needed to make the best decision for the student's high school years, the IBDP Coordinator and other members of the school leadership will hold a series of meetings. Attendance of parents and students to meetings is strongly encouraged as it is vital to inform their decisions and for the construction of a common culture of the IBDP at Escola Eleva.
Timeline of meetings:
Middle School Opened Presentations (2nd semester): The DP Coordinator will hold general parent and student meetings to provide the basic information on the IBDP and the specifics of the program offered at Escola Eleva, the costs involved, and other relevant information.
Grade 9 Presentations (May and November): The DP Coordinator will hold 2 meetings specifically for 9th grade parents and students, to facilitate a deeper understanding of the program in its breadth and depth, including its assessment practices, diploma award requirements and course selection details.
Following the May meeting, 9th grade students and families will complete a survey on whether they want to follow the full DP or not, to help the school plan accordingly;
After the November meeting, students and families will complete a second survey for a preliminary selection of IB courses the students would like to pursue at HL and at SL;
Teacher and staff feedback on the students will be sought, especially on their level of commitment to their education and on their level of academic English;
Grade 10 Meetings (1st semester): From February to the end of March of a student's 10th grade, families will be invited for individual meetings to review and discuss their specific options with DP Coordinator and student support staff, and to refine their plan in a way that is consistent with the student's academic and socioemotional well-being and with their future educational and/or career plans.
The feedback received from teachers and staff will be considered in these conversations;
At any point during this process, families are welcome to set up a meeting with the DP Coordinator and/or with the Counselor, to discuss individual concerns;
Students with special educational needs will receive additional support throughout this process in agreement with the Escola Eleva inclusion policy described in the Student Support Services Handbook.
3. Course Placement and Registration
At Escola Eleva, we understand the importance of selecting wisely subjects and levels for study wisely in the DP, as the proper placement in subject courses is essential to the student’s success in the program. Therefore, we have established the following requirements and guidelines towards registration to IB courses, to provide guidance on course selection:
● English A SL and HL: an expectation of B2 level of english (CEFR) is required for HL and recommended for SL courses, and the student’s Grade 9 English teacher recommendation. Candidacy will also be subjected to an analysis of students’ academic record.
● English B HL: registration for English B HL course will be recommended to students who did not meet expectation of B2 level of English by the end of Grade 9.
● Mathematics HL: acceptance of students to Math HL courses will be conditional to the student’s Grade 9 Mathematics teacher recommendation. Candidacy will also be subjected to an analysis of students’ academic record
Acceptance to all subject courses will be subjected to a vacancy limit. Classes should have around 23 students for IB subjects offered at Escola Eleva, except for Brazilian Social Studies and Portuguese classes, which are limited to 30 students.
The official course registration process will happen in April of 10th grade, allowing time for final adjustments both on the part of the student's choices and on the school's timetable and teaching assignments, if necessary.
The course registration process will include a contract to be signed by students and parents where they declare to be fully aware and in agreement to comply with the IB and Escola Eleva's academic honesty and assessment policies, registration and assessment fees, and other relevant rules and regulations.
4. Continued Guidance and Support
Escola Eleva understands that students are developing as independent learners and must receive continued guidance and support throughout their primary and secondary education. The DP Support Team will be composed of the DP Coordinator, the Counseling and the Student Support departments. This team will monitor and support all IBDP students throughout the whole program. Teachers, students and families are encouraged to bring any concerns involving DP students to this team.
When an issue such as continued or repeated absences, disciplinary occurrences, incidents of academic misconduct, and other issues that may affect the academic and socioemotional well-being of a student is brought to the DP Support Team's attention, the following steps will apply:
I. The student will be called to a meeting with the relevant faculty to identify the potential sources of the problem and to design an action plan to resolve it. If necessary, the family will be involved. Once a plan is agreed upon by the relevant parties, the student’s progress will be monitored.
II. Shall the problem persist or aggravate after the agreed plan is put to action, or if the student and/or family fail to follow the established plan, the initial plan will be revised and adjusted with the agreement of all parties involved. The possibility
of the student being recommended to drop the Full DP or from a specific subject course will be examined by the DP Support Team as well.
III. If the issue continues after this process, the decision to remove the student from the full DP or from a specific subject course will be the responsibility of the DP Coordinator, in agreement with the school leadership team. If such a decision is taken, the school will then redesign the student's schedule accordingly.
In severe cases, the DP Coordinator reserves the right to recommend the immediate exclusion of a student from the program, without following the steps above.
If a student and/or their family spontaneously decides to leave the full IBDP or any of the IB courses, the DP Support Team will meet with them to understand the origin of the problem and to discuss the impact of this decision of the high school and post-secondary options for the student. If the decision to withdraw from the DP is sustained, the DP Coordinator will help the student redesign their schedule accordingly.
5. Policy Review
This policy of admission to the IBDP will be revised at the end of each school year to ensure its continued alignment with the IB and Escola Eleva philosophy and practices. The DP Coordinator will lead the review process and representatives of all stakeholders will be involved.