Dalat International School

Dalat International School

Logo
Motto: Education for Life
Status	American-style, college-preparatory curriculum
Official language	English
Director	Karl Steinkamp
K-8 Principal	Brian Brewster
High School Principal	Fred Colburn
Director of Development	Larry Chinn
Population	450 approx.
Location	Penang, Malaysia
Currency	Ringgit Malaysia

Dalat International School is a school in Penang, Malaysia.

History

Dalat School was founded in 1929 as a private Christian boarding school in Dalat, Vietnam to provide a North American elementary and high school education for children of Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) missionaries in Indo-China. Because of the Vietnam War, in 1965, the school moved from its original location to a temporary location in Bangkok, Thailand. Eight months later, the school relocated to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia where it remained for six years. In June 1971, Dalat moved to its present location in Penang, Malaysia where it is today. The word "international" was added into the name in 2002 to reflect its student body. Today, Dalat is a renowned and recognized international school that is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). It serves not only missionary children but also children of overseas expatriates and the local community. The sea wall was damaged during the tsunami in 2004.

Curriculum

Dalat International School uses United States standards of education that have been compiled by McREL Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 education. Dalat also uses Expected School-wide Learning Results (ESLRs) employing teaching methods that focus on cooperative learning and activity-based content learning.

Some Interesting Statistics about Dalat

• Student/Teacher ratio is 8 to 1.
• Dalat students scored in the top 10% of all US schools in the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the US standard test for all students in Grades 1 to 9).
• Students scored 15% higher than the US national average on the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test which determines acceptance into US colleges and universities). The US national average is a score of 1021 (503 verbal, 584 math). In 2005 Dalat students had an average score of 1144 (560 verbal, 584 math). In 2006 Dalat students scored 1179 (553 verbal and 626 math).
• 94% of Dalat students go to a four-year college.
• Recent graduates have been accepted to prestigious colleges and universities including: Stanford University, Harvard University, John Hopkins University, University of British Columbia, National University of Singapore, Cornell University just to name a few.
• All of Dalat's 60 teaching staff have been educated in North America and a majority of them hold advanced degrees in their academic fields of study.
• The average Dalat teacher has 4 years of Dalat experience and 12 years of experience in education.
• Dalat's athletic program is very active and competitive within Penang and Malaysia participating at the highest level in soccer (football), basketball, volleyball and track and field. Dalat's boys varsity basketball team was the Penang State Champions in 2002 and 2006.
• Extra curricular activities flourish at Dalat offering music, drama, forensics, art, cooking and games.
• It is located right along a beach.

References

External links

• Dalat International School
• Dalat Alumni Official Website