TIS to expand its international dimension with IB primary diploma in 2023

The International School of Macau (TIS), currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, is looking to the future, with concrete plans for expanding its international dimension, the new head of school Lorne Schmidt has told the Times in an exclusive interview.

Schmidt, who has been working at the school since 2018 as a secondary school principal, is now assuming a new role at the helm. He will bring his vast experience in International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, which he wants to implement not only for secondary school students but also at the primary years.

“We are celebrating the excellence of the school and I feel very fortunate to be able to walk into a leadership role at such an established school. How I can move it forward is a very good question, because we are already very strong. One of the ways that we do plan to expand our international dimension is via bringing in the [IB] PYP (International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program) to TIS in 2023,” Schmidt said. 

He says the PYP “will allow us to hone in and expand our international dimension to the school, preparing students eventually for the IB diploma which will again be another focus on the campus of our school and moving more students to take the IB diploma.”

The school will continue to pursue the goal of promoting the “idea experience,” along with the Alberta curriculum, to inspire students to achieve excellence; not just in the IB diploma but also in their university studies and future career paths. TIS, like most institutions and enterprises in Macau, has been battling the Covid-19 pandemic with some difficulty, as it caused some students and staff to leave Macau.

Questioned on the matter, Schmidt said, “I’m seeing a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. It has been darker in the past two years but in recent months we are seeing many countries relaxing their restrictions and we are hearing that even Macau is relaxing [some measures]. We are now able to bring new teachers into Macau with more facility than we did before, so we are very happy about that.”

While acknowledging the difficulties of the past two years, the head of school nonetheless remarked that the school had always been able to provide enough support for students and operate at full capacity without compromising the delivery of its regular programming. Looking to the future, he can “only see it getting better … in terms of bringing in international teaching staff.”

In light of the anniversary celebrations, Schmidt noted some major milestones over the 20-year history of the school, starting with the first group to graduate from the school in 2009.

“In the last few years, we have been designated as the top international school that offers Alberta curriculum (Tier 4), so we are a flagship for Alberta in terms of international schools offering that curriculum,” he said, adding that another important milestone came with the school’s introduction of the IB diploma. 

“It was a big step for the school. We did that five years ago,” Schmidt said, noting that these were the milestones representing a clear shift.

In celebrating its 20th anniversary, the school yesterday organized an event at which the TIS Alumni Awards, a token to celebrate school alumni that have in one way or another achieved “excellence,” were awarded for the first time.

The inaugural laureate was Charles Leong, an alumnus of TIS who won the Macau Grand Prix Formula 4 racing event over two consecutive years (2020 and 2021).