Welcome to AISZ Admissions

Martina joined the AISZ community in 2017 where she worked with families across the school in an administrative role. After discovering her passion for supporting families who are in transition – moving to Zagreb, joining new schools, perhaps even moving to an entirely new country - she was promoted to admissions manager in 2021.

Born and raised in Zagreb, Martina enjoys meeting people from different cultures and communities, and learning about their lives and experiences. She believes that students benefit immensely from being part of an international, multicultural, and diverse community, and she’s committed to helping families make the right choice for their children’s education. Martina’s favorite thing about AISZ is seeing students’ smiling faces as they enter school each day. Martina is multi-lingual and speaks English and Croatian, and she is currently working toward becoming fluent in German. Her favorite way to spend her free time is with her family; as an animal person that includes a number of cats and dogs.

Martina would welcome the opportunity to meet your children and your family, and she invites you to reach out by email or phone to schedule a tour of the school campus and/or a video call. She is here to answer your questions and guide you through the application process at AISZ. She has found that these introductory meetings can be very informative and often help reduce anxiety and stress that can be associated with a family’s transfer to a new location. In addition, all families are encouraged to explore the AISZ website to learn more about the school, its academic and extracurricular programs, and to take a walk on the AISZ campus through this virtual tour.

It is highly encouraged for families to reach out ahead of time to our admissions office to schedule an appointment. If you are not yet in the Zagreb area, you may schedule an online call, while visiting AISZ through the virtual tour at this link.

The documents required in the application process are as follows: last two years of report cards, transcripts for High School students, medical certificates, confidential teacher reference forms, external assessment results, notification of special needs with supporting documentation (if applicable). Additional documents may be requested if deemed necessary by the Admissions committee. All submitted documentation must be translated into English as a certified copy. You'll find detailed application checklists at the bottom of this page.

Families within the AISZ community come from many different countries with different policies and perspectives regarding immunization against communicable diseases. In the Republic of Croatia the program of prevention, control, and eradication of infectious diseases is managed by the Epidemiology Department of Croatian Institute of Public Health whose guidelines and recommendations inform the school’s policies. Croatia has a policy of mandatory immunization for a child's acceptance/admission to a kindergarten and/or school. In accordance with Croatian Health Law and Regulations, AISZ requires up-to-date childhood immunization for school admission.

For students applying to Middle School (grades 6-8), all who are non-native English speakers will undergo an English assessment. Students who are applying to High School (grades 9-12) will be required to take a Math assessment and participate in an online interview; in addition to an English assessment for non-native English speakers. All assessments must be supervised by either AISZ or the applicant’s current school.

For the subsequent school year, an application is to be submitted by the end of March. The exact application deadlines will be announced by December for the following school year. Rolling admission for the current year is possible for applications submitted before March 31. Applications submitted between April 1 and the last day of school in June will only be accepted for the following school year.

Although families and students may request a grade level, the school makes the final decision on grade placement. Students will be placed in a grade level according to their age on September 1st of their year of entry. Where it is considered, the admissions committee may decide on a different grade level than requested, depending on the academic record and age of the child. This will be communicated to prospective students prior to acceptance.

• PreK students must be 3 years of age by December.
• K students must be 5 years of age by September 1.
• Grades 1-12 students are placed in a class compatible with their age on evidence of successful completion of the preceding grade or year.*

*Students moving from a school where the academic year ends partway through the AISZ school year will continue in the same grade. For example, if a student has successfully completed the AISZ equivalent of Grade 4 in December at their current school, that student will remain in Grade 4 for the second semester at AISZ (January - June). If a student has successfully completed half of Grade 4 by the time they are to begin school at AISZ in August, then they will complete a full year of Grade 4 at AISZ (August - June). Exceptions to this will only be made if it is demonstrably evident that the student would be better served in a different grade level.

If your child is accepted but no seats are available in the desired class, they will be placed on a waiting list. Families must confirm their interest in remaining on the waitlist. Should a seat become available, we will reach out to offer it. Placement on the waitlist is valid for one academic year, and additional documentation may be required for future enrollment. We will notify families near the end of the academic year to confirm their status.

The following enrolment requirements are adhered to:

• Pre-Kindergarten students must be 3 or 4 years of age by December.
• Kindergarten students must be 5 years of age by September 1.
• Grades 1-12 students are placed in a class compatible with their age on evidence of successful completion of the preceding grade or year.
• Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12: Consent from both parents, or if custody has been otherwise determined - appropriate legal documentation is to be submitted indicating:
  • Sole custody
  • Legal guardianship

Specific requirements apply to these categories of applicants:

• All grade levels
  • Immunization records - Croatia has a policy of mandatory immunization for a child's acceptance/admission to a kindergarten and/or school. In accordance with Croatian Health Law and Regulations, AISZ requires up-to-date childhood immunization for school admission.
• Pre-Kindergarten
  • The applicant must be completely toilet-trained before commencing school.
  • The applicant must be able to feed and dress him/herself reasonably independently.
• High School and IB/DP
  • Students must be on track with high school credits to graduate on time and have the appropriate academic and linguistic qualification for entrance to high school and IB.

Each candidate's application materials are carefully reviewed to assess the applicant's potential for success as a student at AISZ. The following list, while not exhaustive, describes criteria that are taken into consideration during the admissions process.

• School reports, recommendations, and references from previous schools;
• Academic performance;
• Credits eligible for AISZ diploma for High School applicants;
• Behavior/discipline records;
• EAL proficiency based upon experience and testing results for students in Grades 6-12 who are not native English speakers;
• All High School applicants are required to have a student interview and a Mathematics assessment;
• Program requirements and AISZ resourcing (e.g. AISZ may not offer some IB courses required by students, notably in languages);
• IB/DP only: Students may be required to take a specific Language A course for acceptance (e.g. Chinese A or Croatian A);
• Learning Support needs; to include documentation of all support received at previous schools, IEPs, psychoeducational assessment reports, and any other relevant documentation (kept up to date within the last 3 years).

• Lower and Middle School: All Lower and Middle school students must reside with their parents. Any exception to this rule will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
• High School: All High School applicants must live with either their parent(s) or a legal guardian who resides in Zagreb. A notarized letter must be submitted to the school indicating legal guardianship and the designated person who will make health, safety, and education decisions on behalf of the child. If a high school student is planning to reside in a dormitory then all details about the dormitory must be shared in the application process; and contact details of the person(s) responsible before the student’s first day of school.

AISZ follows a priority system in line with its Admission Guidelines, which are:

• Priority 1: Dependents of employees of the United States Embassy of Croatia and their associated Diplomatic Missions, and eligible dependents of AISZ staff; followed by dependents of other embassies and their associated Diplomatic Missions.
• Priority 2: Siblings of current students, expatriate or host country students moving to Croatia; as well as AISZ alumni and their children.
• Priority 3: Expatriate or host country students transferring from a local or international school in the greater Zagreb area.

If your child was accepted for admission prior to the beginning of the school year (before mid-August) and all of the admission steps were completed, they may begin attending from the first day of school as per the designated school calendar for that year. If your child was accepted for admission during the school year, your child may begin attending school only when all of the admission steps have been completed.

AISZ has a comprehensive application process for enrollment that families need to complete in order to apply for admission. As part of the application process, parents are required to make a one-time non-refundable fee payment at the beginning of the application process - and regardless of the application outcome. This Application Fee, as per the schedule of fees, is paid for each student applying to AISZ at the beginning of the process. The Admission Fee is a one-time non-refundable fee and it is paid for each student upon the student's acceptance to AISZ. This fee is due when submitting enrollment documents and before the student's first day at AISZ. If a student’s enrollment is withdrawn, whether by the school or the family, the admission fee is non-refundable. If a student’s application to AISZ is not approved, or has been put on a waiting list, or a submission of the application is withdrawn – the Application and Admission Fees are not refundable but are valid for the following school year.

Capital Fee is a non-refundable fee that has been established to cover the cost of current and future facilities needs as well as teaching and classroom equipment. Collection of the Capital Fee helped tremendously during the process of getting the Bank loan for our building as we created our own fund needed for the construction, according to the Bank requirement. As this amount is significant, the Capital Fee is subject to a discount: The capital fee will be charged at the full amount for the first three years that a child attends AISZ starting from Kindergarten when the fee is first charged. In the fourth and fifth year the capital fee will be reduced by one third each year until the sixth year where a family will no longer have to pay a capital fee.

AISZ is pleased to offer a Scholarship Program (Croatian Young Leaders Scholarship Program) for Croatian students, for new students entering high school in grades 9, 10 or 11. Scholarship recipients will get a discount of 90% on the amount of tuition for up to four years to mature in AISZ. Candidates must be citizens of Croatia who were educated according to the Croatian national curriculum, who meet the academic criteria and the criteria in terms of leadership, personal, artistic, sporting or social engagement.

AISZ offers a tuition reduction program to families in need of financial assistance (FA). Families who are private payers with children in grades 1 – 12 are eligible to apply for tuition reduction.

The school hours are from 8:00 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. Students are expected to arrive on campus no later than 7:50 a.m. to ensure that they are ready to begin the school day promptly at 8:00.

The average class size varies per grade level from 15-20 students.

Our community represents more than 40 different nationalities. AISZ is dedicated to creating systems that value the unique contributions of all students and staff to our school and fully engage all members of our school community in achieving our vision. We commit to explicitly embedding a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens in our organizational and learning culture.

We offer an academically rigorous international curriculum from Pre Kindergarten to Grade 12. Our Early Learning Program (Pre Kindergarten and Kindergarten) is inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach; our Grades 1 to 10 are anchored in standards with an inquiry approach to learning. The AISZ strong academic program culminates with senior students enrolling in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP), completing requirements for the AISZ High School Diploma, or choosing the Honors’ Diploma pathway. All IB graduates also receive the AISZ HS Diploma. AISZ is accredited by the Middle States Association and the International Baccalaureate Organization.

Students participate in student-centered inquiry as they learn both for their immediate lives and develop skills and understandings enabling them to meet the demands of an ever changing and complex future. Students and teachers feel free to take risks and find success in new things. Without risk and challenge new learning cannot take place.

The AISZ Student Support Team (SST) works closely with students and families and includes:

• Learning Support;
• English as an Additional Language;
• Social and Emotional Learning;
• Postsecondary Advising and College Counseling; and
• The Bridges program for students with intensive learning support needs in the Upper School.

AISZ offers French and German language as world language choices for students in grades 1 to 10. Students who are native Croatian speakers in Grades 1-5 will participate in Croatian Language Arts classes. Students in Grade 6 and above who have had academic Croatian in their previous schooling may also choose the Croatian language and literature class. In the IB, students may choose Language A classes (English, Croatian, French, German, Chinese) or other self-taught or Pamoja language classes. For language B acquisition, students have the following options: English, French, German, German ab initio, French ab initio.

As AISZ aims to support our students’ developing academic language skills in multiple languages, students in Upper School may choose to study their home language with an independent tutor or an online study program. Students who choose to study an independent language have time allotted during the Home Language block.

After school activities are offered per semester. The offerings change each semester depending on interest, availability, and other factors. Some of the activities offered previously include: Choir, Knowledge Bowl, Chess, Student Council (StuCo), Photography, Model United Nations (MUN), Soccer, Basketball, Pottery, Volleyball, Cross Country, Aerobics/Yoga, Dance, Krav Maga, Wall Climbing, MathCounts, Arts, Biking/Rollerblading, Table Tennis, Lego Robotics, Comic Book Club, Student Newspaper, Speech and Debate, Guitar, Drama, Gymnastics, etc.

An important part of the school’s mission is the opportunity for students to learn outside of the classroom. There are different field trips organized throughout the year, and one of these are the Unity Trips, which are an essential part of our academic program and considered an extension of the classroom in grades 4 to 12. The trips are an opportunity to bond as a cohort and to learn skills such as resourcefulness and leadership.

Students do not wear uniforms. One of the main goals of the dress code at AISZ is to allow students to wear clothing of their choice as it allows them to express their individuality.

We recognize technology as a dynamic tool for learning that optimizes productivity, connectivity, collaboration, and creativity. Students in Lower School have classroom devices to use during class. Students in Upper School get either an AISZ owned Chromebook or bring their own laptops. Students are not allowed to use any kind of phone or device such as a smart watch during school time, without the express permission and supervision of a teacher or administrator.

On November 21, 2023, we introduced the newly established AISZ’s School Community Organization (SCO), a culmination of a year-long effort to revitalize our parent community post-pandemic. Through extensive research, it became evident that the conventional PTA model no longer aligned with the mission, vision, and values of the school.

AISZ contracts with an independent local bus company to provide transportation for students. Parents may arrange transportation services directly with the bus company.

We do not offer boarding facilities.

We do not offer virtual learning. Students are expected to attend school as per the attendance policy, Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Food service management is organized by an external company, independent from AISZ. Families receive login credentials and may order lunch weekly for their child(ren) by each Sunday evening.