ABOUT US
The NM International School Foundation ("NMISF") is a non-member 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed to promote and support education for New Mexico children at the New Mexico International School ("NMIS"). It is operated entirely by volunteers and its affairs are managed by the Board of Directors who enlist to volunteer for three year terms to help grow the mission of NMISF.
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The Foundation does not report to NMIS or the NMIS Governing Council but we do meet regularly with the Head of School to discuss funding needs and operational logistics with the school.
Executive Board and Directors
The NMISF Executive Board operates under its Bylaws. It has oversight of all committees and programs. It creates and monitors strategic plans for fundraising and operations, and sets fundraising goals and the yearly budget. The Board is responsible for maintaining the Bylaws, adopting and maintaining internal policies, administering Foundation business, maintaining its 501(c)(3) status with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and maintaining its non-profit status with the State of New Mexico.
Committees and Programs
Volunteer Community
Our Volunteer Community is a fundraising sub-committee of the Foundation. As volunteers composed of parents, grandparents, and guardians, the Community organizes and facilitates fun events to raise money for various Foundation endeavors. It has contributed significantly in acquiring enrichment classes for the school, provided teacher appreciation funding, contributed to the upcoming playground and much more. Most importantly, the Community aims to build community and have fun while supporting our students.
If you like to have fun and are excited about giving your time and talent to NMIS to positively impact the future of your child’s education, then this is the group for you! There are many needs and each one could use your personal and professional skills!
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Co-Chair: Tara McElheney
Co-Chair: Jessica Medrano
Grants
The Grants Team works together to research, develop, and approve grant proposals for the benefit of NMIS & NMISF.
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Chair: Laura Matzen
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Please contact us at info@nmisf.org if you are interested in helping the Foundation with grants!
Why parents volunteer & the community is getting involved...
Support Growing into our New Permanent Home for NMIS
In 2019, NMIS moved to a new campus that meets the needs of the growing school. The new facility offers a performing arts center, gymnasium, increased outdoor recreation space, and additional classrooms to accommodate planned growth through eighth grade. Our new facility has several opportunities to enhance to education of NMIS students. NMISF seeks funding opportunities for a new performing arts center; campus security; and an outdoor play space.
Support the NMIS Music Program
All NMIS students participate in the Suzuki Violin program. Modeled on the pedagogy of Shin’chi Suzuki, music is taught in the same way students learn language - through listening, modeling, and imitating. This model is based on the idea that no child is inherently born with talent, but rather each child can reach their own potential through hard work.
Teacher Appreciation
The teachers at NMIS spend everyday with the students, ensuring that they get a quality education. In addition to providing funding directly to the school to support teacher appreciation activities, the Foundation gives directly to the staff-organized Sunshine Committee. The Sunshine Committee spreads happiness by celebrating staff birthday and other important life events.
Athletics
The new building that NMIS moved into in 2019 has a large, wonderful gymnasium. This has made athletics at NMIS possible, with basketball in 2019 and now volleyball in 2021. The Foundation partners with NMIS to ensure that the students have an excellent opportunity.
Support Bilingual Education and International Baccalureate - PYP
NMISF seeks funding opportunities to help support the expansion of the middle school program to provide the opportunity for older students to be part of the NMIS community and access IB education.
Support the NMIS Art Program
NMIS strongly emphasizes fine arts and recognizes art as a strong tool to foster inquiry, understanding of self, and understanding of others. Learning to create art opens a window into a child’s imagination, and students gain knowledge when they make creative choices. Arts education supports students in becoming resourceful, inventive, whimsical, and aesthetically aware. NMIS offers an enriched art program twice per week to every student in our school.
Student Activities
NMIS is and International Baccalaureate World School offering the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years’ Programme (MYP), which provide students a learning lens through which they explore our identity, our place in the world, our understanding of how things work, and our connection with the world. The Foundation financially supports special activities for students, including staff stipends, such as United Nations Day, the Science Fair, the Talent Show, the Spelling Bee, World Poetry Day, Earth Day, Graduation and MORE!
About the New Mexico International School
NMIS is tuition-free public charter school open to all students in grades K-8.
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NMIS is part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, a global network of schools and educators dedicated to developing inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who create a better world through intercultural understanding and respect.​
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At NMIS, content is centered on the IB Primary Years Programme. This program is designed to focus on student-centered learning. The IB pedagogy is research-based and utilized at schools around the world. Current research indicates that the IB program consistently fosters stronger academic outcomes and students are more internationally aware and socially conscious compared to learning through traditional models. In each grade level, students build upon the six core themes, investigating each with more depth and rigor each year. Students' time at NMIS culminates in an extended, in-depth project that celebrates the student’s learning experiences. Students conduct an in-depth inquiry into real-life issues or challenges and present their research and resulting action to the whole school community. The NMIS student is empowered to research an issue or challenge that is important to them, forming a better understanding of their ability to make a positive impact in their community.
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The study of a second and third language is a required component for every student. Learning a new language, particularly at a young age, has numerous benefits. It enriches and enhances a child’s mental development, creates more flexibility in thinking, improves a child’s understanding of their native language, and opens the door to other cultures and appreciation of people from other countries. Every student at NMIS begins learning Spanish in kindergarten utilizing immersion techniques. Ninety percent of kindergarten classroom instruction is taught in Spanish. Instructional time slowly phases in more English with each year, and by the end of fifth grade, 50%-55% of instructional time is in English. In fourth grade, students begin to learn Arabic. The goal is to foster fluency in Spanish and conversational skills in Arabic by the time students leave NMIS.
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The goal is to foster inquiry in everything NMIS does. Students at NMIS are not simply given the answers to problems, they are taught how to be investigative to find solutions. NMIS fosters inquiry through six themes:
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Who we are.
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Where we are in time and place.
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How we express ourselves.
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How the world works.
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How we organize ourselves.
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Sharing the planet. ​