Headlines Newsletter | Start of School 2019-2020 Academic Year

A PERSONAL NOTE FROM MS. HEAD

I write today as our school community is making its transition from the busy start of a new academic year into the more regular (and welcome) routine of the important months to come that will be full of learning and growing in the classroom.

The start of the school year has marked several important milestones that led me to announce at the annual ISI Wine and Cheese event on September 17 that the state of the International School of Indiana is STRONG!

First among those milestones is the public launch of the ONE ISI campaign to create a unified campus. An effort many years and leaders in the making, the public launch (a part of the aforementioned Wine and Cheese event) came after $5 million was raised, much of it in a silent phase that began in January. In less than two weeks since the public launch on September 17, ONE ISI has received additional pledges valued at more than $500,000, bringing us ever closer to the campaign goal of $7 million. Please visit the campaign website to learn more about our efforts and to be introduced to the campaign's lead-gift family - Allison and Stanley Chen. 

Other vital points of pride for our community at the start of this new academic year include: 

  • the successful celebration of the first ISI Parade of Nations and International Festival, an event that brought students from all grades together in a preview of how special a unified ONE ISI will be.
  • the addition of Jessica Armstrong, CPA, to our leadership team as the new Vice President of Finance.
  • the highest new student enrollment in 10 years, a total of more than 130.
  • the creation of a new cafeteria in the Blackwell Building to serve our middle school students, faculty, and staff in the facility that they call home.

The start of each new academic year is a time of great promise for our students in their growth and development, for our families in their pride and passion, and for our faculty and staff in their ability to impact the young people entrusted to their care. But this year, maybe more so than in many previous, this sentiment is most aptly applied to our institution. The promise of a stronger, more unified and prosperous ISI is at hand. I am humbled that we can all be part of it.
ON OUR CAMPUS
Highlights from Summer & Start of School

Annual Bell Ringing Ceremony

Marking the start of the new academic year, students and their families participated in the Bell Ringing Ceremony on August 13.
Ms. Head and the ISI leadership team greeted each student as he or she entered school for the first day of classes and shared in ringing the bell.
Alumni Meet and Greet

On August 14, Ms. Head met with a group of nearly two-dozen ISI alumni from classes spanning back to the first high school graduates in 2004.

During the event hosted at Metazoa Brewing Company, she presented her vision for the school and heard from alumni about their hopes for the future of ISI.
Inaugural Parade of Nations

On September 20, the ISI community came together as ONE to celebrate the inaugural Parade of Nations.

More than 700 ISI students, faculty, and staff members took to the parade route as the flags of 83 countries were on display.
IN THE NEWS
 Highlights from Summer & Start of School

WFYI Public Radio

In August, Ms. Head was interviewed by WFYI News anchor Taylor Bennett about the distinct academics offered at ISI in a segment that aired as a part of the Morning Edition and All Things Considered broadcasts.
Inside Indiana Business

In September, Ms. Head was interviewed about the ONE ISI campaign to create a unified campus.

The story was featured in the IIB's INside Edge e-newsletter delivered daily to more than 45,000 Hoosiers and on Inside Indiana Business Radio, airing on public radio stations throughout the state.

Indianapolis Business Journal
In September, the IBJ reported on the launch of the ONE ISI campaign.

Ms. Head was quoted in the story that also featured the campaign's lead-gift family Allison and Stanley Chen.
OUT IN INDY
Highlights from Summer & Start of School
Despite the extended summer break, Ms. Head participated in more than 15 community events since June as well as some 50 one-to-one meetings with the region's leading business and civic leaders, many of them regarding the ONE ISI campaign to create a unified campus.
 
These commitments included attendance at Conexion , hosted by the Indy Chamber's Hispanic Business Council; a meeting with Congressman Andre Carson, U.S. Representative for Indiana's 7th congressional district; and attendance at the 2019 Touchstone Awards for extraordinary Central Indiana women in leadership.
ISI welcomes opportunities for Ms. Head to connect with your organization at its next major event. Deliver your invitation using the button below.
New editions of Headlines are published at the start, mid-point, and end of each International School of Indiana academic year.

For the latest information from Elizabeth Head, we encourage you to bookmark and regularly visit her webpage.
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