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• At QSI International School of Belize, students are assigned to classes according to their birthdays. QSIY classes do not use the traditional American terms of pre-school, kindergarten, first grade, fourth grade, sophomore, senior, etc. For elementary classes the terms used are five-year-old class, six-year-old class, etc.  In some cases, students will be assigned to classes based on levels completed at previous schools.  

Example:  A student is assigned to the eight-year-old class if he/she has turned eight years old before the 31st of October.     

• Any exceptions can only be made through a meeting with the Director.  Following this, the Director will meet with any teachers that are involved with the student. If an exception is made (either to place above or below age level), the meeting will be documented with the rationale for out-of-policy decision written and placed in the student's permanent file.  Parents will meet with the Director and sign off on the plan.  

The MAP placement examination is given to applicants (7 yo+) to determine the appropriate placement. The assessment involves reading, language arts, and mathematics. Some students may be given a writing prompt as well.  This is more likely to occur at the secondary level to determine writing proficiency and credit transfer.  School administration and parents will also discuss the academic, social, emotional and physical development of the child.  Screening will be carried out by the classroom teacher for the first couple of weeks that a student is in the class. 

• Some middle school students entering QSI Belize might have secondary credits from other institutions.  If this is the case, then their transcript must clearly state that such credits are secondary level so that these courses might be considered as counting towards graduation requirements.   

• Courses taken during the Sec I-IV years at another school may be eligible for transfer to QSI Belize for graduation.  The Director will work with families to determine which courses apply toward transfer credits for each class.   

• Grades of A, B and C (or their national equivalent) may be transferred into QSI Belize from other schools.  Any other grades will not be accepted at a mastery level. 

• In order for any completed courses to be transferred for credit, an official transcript from the school must be provided to QSI Belize. 

QSI Belize may admit a student with limited learning needs, problems or disabilities and within the scope of meeting the student’s needs in the classroom.  However, it is important to know that QSI Belize does not have a resource department and so there may be a limitation in accepting a student with special needs.  For students with moderate disabilities, the school will review additional information including evaluations, reports, IEPs, or school referrals required to help the school assess whether a program can be provided to meet the academic needs of the applicant. At times, QSI Belize accepts special needs students based on the family or sponsor providing the additional school fees to cover the cost of additional professional services. 

The Intensive English program is for students in QSI Belize who are in need of additional instruction in verbal and written English, particularly those for whom English is not a first language. The principal goal of Intensive English is to bring students to a level of academic English, including oral competency, which allows them to transfer to regular classes as rapidly as possible. Students of different ages, maturities, linguistic backgrounds, and previous exposure to English will progress at different rates.  Students are assigned to the appropriate level to best meet individual needs.  The content of Intensive English parallels that of the Elementary literacy courses while building a foundation for academic success.