Any advice on public vs international school for American 3rd-grader?

I used to teach at the International School and it is a good level of education there. My kids are going to a Norwegian school though.

The big question for most people is how long they are planning to be in Norway. If you will be moving on again one day, then there's a lot to be said for an international education and concentrating on English skills. If you are in Norway for the long term, I really can't see the benefit.  A lot of the children in the international school move around to different countries quite a bit, so friends might come and go.

My eldest goes to a Montessori school and I can't recommend it enough as an alternative, although we'll probably review it again when she moves on from primary.

Thanks for your response, Ben_C.  We'll be there only for one year, so it's more a question of whether I want to give my kid an "immersion" experience in Norwegian school or not.  Glad to hear your perspective on the International School.

My children go to the International School in Bergen.  The level of education is good compared to the Norwegian primary education, but is below the academic standards you would find at a good school in an English speaking country like the UK, Australia or in North America. As you will only be here for one year it does not really matter.   I would say academically the children are a year or 2 behind.

Many of the children who go to the school have one or both parents who are Norwegian and thus both parents work.  About 30 percent of the families are the transient ex-pat type.  It is NOT a typical ex-pat school with extra-curricular activities for the children and does not have a strong parent network.  You will find lots of activities in the community though.

I think it is up to you to decide.  If you have your child in the International School you are not paying for an excellent or even good education, but you are paying for them to have friends and be comfortable in an English speaking environment.  A year at that age is not going damage their SAT scores.

So, like you said, it is really up to you.  I have heard good things about the Montesorri School and I have also heard good things about Steiner School. 

Good luck with your decision.

Hello bergen5432 and thanks for sharing these info with us!

Francesca

Most ex-pats I know seem to want to send their children to the international school as they are not planning on being here forever.

My little girl will go to the local school as her father is Norwegian and this is where we are staying.

Norwegian isn't a particularly useful international language... but it's also not a million miles away from English, so I think your child could thrive in either environment.

I taught in international schools for eight years at primary school level and one thing I know is that kids pick up languages incredibly fast. I knew non-Norwegians who'd become fluent in less than a year just through playing with other locals and non-English speakers in August who were fluent by Christmas. Makes me feel ashamed at my Norwegian after ten years here.

I once taught a class of 20 six to seven year olds, of whom twelve could speak at least three languages fluently (like a native), seven could speak two fluently and just one who had one language but was learning two others. I remember once watching a 6 year old girl, by no means exceptionally smart, talking to her mother in Finnish, before turning and asking her dad a question in French, before coming in and chatting to me in English. As she sat down she spoke Norwegian to the girl sitting next to her.

Why do I have so much trouble squeezing two languages into my brain?

International school sounds good...

Thanks everyone!  We've decided on the Nygard Skole--where she'll get part of the day Norwegian immersion and part, English instruction.  I hadn't realized this existed, as part of the public school system, when I first posted!

Hi profclr,
      I like to know your experience of Nygard Skole. Are you still in Norway, if so, is that your daughter is still in the same Nygard school? Pls do share your thoughts as we are planning to move to Bergen, Norway from Singapore for a period of two years. My daughters are aged 12 and 9.

Hello k_kanaks and welcome to Expat.com!

This thread is a year old.
Do not hesitate to start a new thread on the Bergen forum with your questions.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Thnx Aurelie!

Hi there, and welcome to Bergen!  I haven't checked to see if you started a new thread, so I'll just answer here.  We are about to leave Norway after a year, and I can say that my daughter had a great experience at the Nygård Skole.  She transferred into the regular neighborhood school in January, because her Norwegian by then was good enough.  (This is their goal: to teach new immigrants mainly language skills in Norwegian to prepare them for the regular schools.)  I think, however, that Nygård is being shut down in the next few years.  I'm not sure if they are taking new admissions.  You should email them to find out: nygard.skole​@bergen.kommune.no  Best of luck in your Norwegian adventure.  We've had a great time here.

Hi profclr,
          Thnx for your wishes and happy to know that your Norwegian experience was great. Gives positive rays of hope in me.
I have not yet started a new thread, coz I was quite keen to get your reply.
Thanks for  the info about the school shutting down, let me check about it with the school.
Regd Nygard Skole, as you have mentioned, is that only they will focus on language skills? Then what will be the status of academic subjects like Math and Science? I am bit worried as my elder daughter will be entering in middle school and will she lose the thread of these subjects?

They do cover other basic subjects, but not in much depth.  (I can't speak about anything but 4th grade.)  In my daughter's case, they covered enough so that she was on track when she transferred  to the regular school.  We did find that in general they're at least a year behind the US in math.

Thanks a lot for your prompt and informative reply. Actually it added burden to my head, coz thru ur finding I understand that it might lead my daughters' two years behind in Math then...
Thnx again and my wishes to  u and ur family!

We'll see how my daughter does when she gets back, but my feeling is that what she gained in learning a new language and new culture far outweighs having to catch up in math later.  Don't worry too much-- it'll be a great learning experience for your kids whichever school you choose!

Those are real positive words! In fact, u hv answered my unwritten question which I was struggling to put it in a sentence. Well, I am going to hang on with your words "great learning experience"!
Where can I get to know more about public school curriculum, activities etc.? If u can pass any links related to it, it will be a great help! Thnx n Cheers!