International School Yangon

The International School Yangon (ISY; အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာကလေးများကျောင်း၊ ရန်ကုန်မြို့) is a private, co-educational day school, which offers an educational program from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 for students of all nationalities who desire a U.S. education. The school was founded in 1955 and is widely considered to be the most prestigious secondary school in Myanmar due to its selectivity, academic rigor, breadth of on-campus facilities, and distinguished alumni. The school year typically begins the second week of August and ends the first week of June.

The school operates as a private school entity in Myanmar (Burma). It is an American Embassy sponsored school and receives a small amount of its funding from The Office of Overseas Schools through the U.S. State Department.

Organisation
The school is governed by a 9 member Board of Management, 4 members are elected for 2-year terms by the Parent’s Association, the sponsor of the school. Membership in the Association is automatically conferred on the parents or guardians of children enrolled in the school. The school is non-profit and non-sectarian. It is unofficially permitted to operate by the Myanmar government.

Curriculum
The International School Yangon (ISY) has U.S.-based elementary and middle school curricula and a high school curriculum shaped by the adoption of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program. The language of instruction is English with Mandarin, French, Spanish, and Burmese taught as additional languages. The assessment program includes Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), International School Assessment (ISA), and the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) in addition to the broad spectrum of IB exams in grades 11 and 12. ISY is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), and a member of the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS). The vast majority of ISY graduates are accepted by selective universities in the United States as well as the United Kingdom.

Faculty
In the 2023-2024 school year, there is a director, 2 principals, an IB coordinator, 2 counselors, an advancement team, 2 librarians, and 48 teachers and 20 teaching assistants. Classes have 18 to 22 students.

Facilities
The school consists of 1 campus in Yangon. It consists of 5 buildings on a 4-acre site in the Golden Valley residential area of Yangon. It has 2 well-equipped libraries, music rooms, an elementary art room, a secondary school Visual Arts area with pottery facilities, a maker space, an art gallery, science labs, 2 vegetarian eating outlets, and a sports court. Sports facilities include a playground; a playing field; and 1 open-air, covered basketball/volleyball courts. As of the 27 of January, 2018, the school has a new large 5 storied building known as the SAS building (Science, Arts and Sports). This also has a fully equipped Gym with 2 courts, a multi gym and a climbing wall. The SAS now contains the bulk of the classes offered at ISY.