Our Kids interview - International American School of Warsaw

On this page:

About the school and its identity
Curriculum
Teachers and staff
Students and the school environment
Challenges and the future
For parents and prospective families

About the school and its identity

Our Kids: What was your professional path that led you to becoming the Principal of the International American School of Warsaw?

My professional journey has been in international education for over two decades. I began as a Humanities teacher, later taking on leadership roles including Head of Department, and Deputy Principal in international schools across Central and Eastern Europe. My experience with IB programmes (MYP and DP), accreditation processes such as Cognia, and curriculum development prepared me to lead a school that values academic rigour alongside wellbeing.

Becoming Principal was not a sudden step, but a gradual evolution driven by a belief that schools must be both intellectually ambitious and deeply human places. I am particularly excited to lead IAS. Founded in 1989 as the first private American school in post-Communist Poland, it is a school that holds values at the heart of everything it does.

Our Kids: How would you describe the mission and educational philosophy of your school? What distinguishes it from other schools in Warsaw and across Poland?

Our mission is to provide an academically challenging, internationally minded education within a supportive and values-driven community. We believe education is not only about academic outcomes, but about shaping young people who are reflective, ethical, resilient, and globally aware.

What distinguishes our school is:

A strong commitment to international curricula (IB programmes).
A culture of clarity and high expectations.
A balanced focus on academic excellence and student wellbeing.
A genuinely diverse, international community of over 40 nationalities, with a maximum of 18 students per class and a 7:1 student-teacher ratio.

We combine structured academic rigour with personalised support. In so doing, we allow all our students to grow whilst creating a supportive and open community.

Our Kids: Which values are most important in your everyday work with students?

As a school we are committed to our values of:

Respect: We treat every individual with dignity and cultural understanding
Integrity: We act with honesty, responsibility, and academic integrity
Empathy: We care for others and contribute positively to our community
Curiosity: We value inquiry, critical thinking and intellectual courage
Responsibility: We take ownership of our learning, our actions, and our impact
Global Mindedness: We embrace diversity and prepare for an interconnected world

Curriculum

Our Kids: Which educational programmes do you offer, and what diploma pathways are available to students?

We offer both an international and a Polish national curriculum. This structure is a defining feature of our school. IAS is the only school in Warsaw where students can pursue the IB Diploma, an American High School Diploma, and the Polish Matura within a single institution. We find this particularly valuable, as it allows flexibility and transferability between educational systems, both within Poland and internationally.

Within our international pathway:

Kindergarten to Grade 5 follow the US Common Core State Standards, providing a strong foundation in literacy, numeracy, and conceptual understanding.
Grades 6 to 10 follow the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), which develops interdisciplinary thinking, inquiry skills, and personal responsibility for learning.
Grades 11 to 12 follow the IB Diploma Programme (DP), an academically rigorous and internationally recognised qualification that prepares students for universities worldwide.

In addition, all graduating students receive our American High School Diploma, which provides further recognition of their academic achievement and supports global university access.

This combination of national and international pathways gives students breadth, mobility, and choice, enabling them to pursue higher education.

Our Kids: What is your approach to teaching foreign languages and providing language support for students coming from outside Poland?

Language is central to both identity and successful integration into a school community. We view multilingualism as a strength and an essential part of international education.

All students at our school participate in Polish language learning. They study either Polish Language and Literature at native-speaker level, or Polish as an Additional Language, depending on their background and proficiency. This ensures that Polish nationals maintain academic fluency while international students are supported in integrating into the local context. In addition, our international language programme expands as students progress:

From Grade 6, students may study French as an additional language.
From Grade 9, we offer Spanish as an additional language.

Throughout high school, we actively support students and families in maintaining their mother tongue or other acquired languages. This may include guidance, external examination pathways, and individual support where possible. Students arriving from abroad also receive structured language support to ensure they can access the curriculum confidently and participate fully in school life.

Our goal is not simply language acquisition, but the development of culturally aware, linguistically capable global citizens.

Our Kids: In what ways does your curriculum respond to the challenges of contemporary education, such as technology and future-ready skills?

We focus: on critical thinking and inquiry, digital literacy and responsible technology use, research and analytical skills, collaboration and communication. Technology is used purposefully as a tool to enhance learning. We are particularly mindful of balancing digital competence with focus, reflection, and depth of thought. Future-ready education is less about predicting specific jobs and more about developing adaptable, principled learners.

Our Kids: What additional or extracurricular programmes are available to students?

Students can participate in sports teams, creative arts, academic clubs, community service, and leadership programmes. One example is our AI Innovation & Startup Summit, where students pitch original startup ideas to a panel of judges and compete. Activities like these build entrepreneurial thinking, confidence, and teamwork beyond the classroom. These activities strengthen character, teamwork, and identity beyond the classroom.

Teachers and staff

Our Kids: How would you describe your teaching staff? What makes your faculty unique, and which qualities and competencies are most important to you when building your academic team?

Our teachers are internationally experienced, highly qualified, and deeply committed to student development. What makes our faculty unique is strong IB expertise, a collaborative culture, commitment to professional growth, and care for students beyond academics. When building a team, I look for subject mastery, pedagogical clarity, eemotional intelligence, and alignment with the school’s values.

Our Kids: How do teachers cooperate with parents and the wider school community?

We see parents as partners. Communication is structured and transparent with regular reporting, parent-teacher conferences, and open channels of dialogue. We also involve families in school events, workshops, consultations, and community initiatives. A strong school community is built on trust and clarity.

Students and the school environment

Our Kids: What does a typical school day look like for a student at International American School of Warsaw?

A typical day balances academic lessons with collaborative activities and wellbeing. Students engage in inquiry-based lessons, discussions, group work, and independent research. Break times are structured yet social. The atmosphere is purposeful but warm.

Our Kids: How do you support students’ individual development, both academically and socially?

We support students through differentiated instruction, learning support services, university and career counselling, and social-emotional guidance. We see each student as a unique individual. Academic progress is important, but so is confidence, resilience, and interpersonal growth.

Our Kids: What paths do your graduates typically follow after completing their education at your school?

Our graduates attend universities across Europe, the UK, North America, and beyond. They pursue fields such as medicine, business and economics, engineering, social sciences, arts and humanities. More importantly, they leave as independent learners prepared for global environments. Recent graduates have gone on to universities across the UK, the Netherlands, the US, Dubai and Poland.

Challenges and the future

Our Kids: What are the biggest challenges your school is currently facing, and how are you addressing them?

Like many schools, we are navigating several significant and interconnected challenges: rapid technological change, including the emergence of artificial intelligence, supporting student wellbeing in an increasingly fast-paced world, maintaining academic rigour while ensuring inclusivity and personalised learning, and attracting and retaining outstanding international educators.

Artificial intelligence, in particular, presents both opportunity and responsibility. Our focus is on ensuring the responsible, ethical, and developmentally appropriate use of AI in teaching and learning. We want students to understand AI as a tool that can support thinking, not replace it. This means explicitly teaching academic integrity, critical evaluation of AI-generated content, and the importance of original thought. At the same time, we want students to see technology as something they can build with.

Our New AI Innovation and Startup Summit will give students the chance to develop real business ideas and pitch them. It is about giving young people the tools and the confidence to create, not just consume. We see entrepreneurial thinking, creative design, and real-world business skills as part of what a modern education should offer. We are also supporting teachers through professional development so they can integrate technology purposefully, rather than reactively.

We address all of these challenges through strategic planning, continuous professional learning, and a clear commitment to our mission and values. Our goal is not simply to respond to change, but to guide students in navigating it wisely and responsibly.

Our Kids: Which upcoming changes or projects at your school do you view with particular optimism?

Currently, our school has placed a strong emphasis on strengthening teaching and learning across all grade levels. The introduction of the IB MYP in Grades 6 - 10 has had a tremendous impact, fostering inquiry-based instruction, interdisciplinary thinking, and a shared pedagogical language among teachers. This year, we are also preparing for a joint accreditation visit by Cognia, the organization that grants our American accreditation, alongside an evaluation from the IBO reviewing our IB Diploma Programme.

With these developments occurring concurrently, our school has a unique opportunity: to align international best practices, accreditation standards, and our own mission into a coherent, future-focused approach to teaching and learning. Rather than viewing these processes as compliance exercises, we see them as catalysts for reflection, professional growth, and institutional coherence. Together, they allow us to refine our instructional practices, strengthen assessment literacy, and ensure that student learning remains at the center of every decision we make.

For parents and prospective families

Our Kids: What would you like parents and students to know about the school before making an enrolment decision?

Families should know that we offer high expectations, clear structures, international standards, and a supportive but demanding environment. We strive to develop confident, principled global citizens who think critically, act ethically, and lead with empathy in a changing world.

Our Kids: What does the admissions process look like, and what should parents pay particular attention to?

The process typically includes application submission, review of previous academic records, interview or meeting, assessment where appropriate. We aim for transparency and clarity. We seek students who will thrive in an academically focused, internationally minded environment.

Our Kids: What do families within your school community value most?

Families often tell us they value strong academic standards, clear communication, international diversity, a respectful, orderly environment, and the balance between challenge and care. Ultimately, they value that their children are known, supported, and stretched. A 7:1 student-teacher ratio makes that possible every day.

Thank you for providing us with a deeper look into the philosophy and daily life of the International American School of Warsaw.

We encourage all parents seeking an international environment for their children—one built on high standards and modern technology—to visit the school’s profile and check the dates of upcoming open days. It is an excellent opportunity to see firsthand how IAS prepares its students for the challenges of the future.

Visit the International American School of Warsaw profile on Our Kids

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