Bilkent Laboratory and International School

Well, we've been at work now for 8 days and starting to get into the routine.  Peggy leaves for school at about 7:50 and arrives two minutes later.  I leave about 7:55 and it takes me all of 3 minutes to get to the high school.

Bilkent Laboratory and International School was established in 1993, and is known everywhere as BLIS. It is a private tuition school, so only middle and upper class parents can afford to send their kids here.  BLIS started with 43 middle school students.  The 8th grade class became the first high school class the next year, when they also started a preschool.  They continued to add classes as the previous class advanced until they had a full school.  The first school building was constructed in 1993 and the next in 1997.  They didn't call the buildings "Elementary School" or "Middle School," but instead ,"Building '93" for the year the building was constructed.  So, first through fourth grades are in buildings 93 and 97.  There are two building for the kindergarten classes, and a high school and middle school that are connected via hallways.  

Peggy's building '97 from one of our apartment balconies

There are 18 kids in her class, and she shares teaching duties with Saadet Zoraoglu, in her second year of teaching.  She's only 23 or 24 and also working on her MA degree at nights!  They don't actually team teach, as much as take turns teaching.  The Turkish Ministry of Education has many, many rules regarding what kids are taught and what schools can do.  So, Peggy teaches an English writing lesson, and then Saadet will teach a Turkish language lesson, in Turkish!  It seems confusing to me, but it works for the kids. The entire school is utilizing the International Baccalaureate program and their Primary Years Program for the elementary school (K-4).  The schedule affords lots of planning, and the 5 international first grade teachers plan together (including a Syrian 1st grade teacher), the 5 Turkish first grade teachers plan together, and they also all get together and plan.  Plus, the PYP coordinator meets with them as a group. So, there is very little need to do planning on nights or weekends.

It's a pretty long school day, as the kids get here about 8:10 and don't leave until 4:15.  I'd guess about 60-70% ride the school buses, that are 15 passenger types and operated by a company that is contracted by the school.  Most Turkish teachers ride the buses to work as well.  The other 30% or so are dropped off and picked up.  Many students have the family driver doing the duties of drop off and pick up.  Yesterday after exams, I had two students ask if they could use their cell phones to call their drivers to tell them what time to come and get them!  Different than Cotopaxi!! There are lots of Mercedes, Audis, Puegeot, Volvo, etc., and an occasional VW, Fiat, or Ford.

Peggy and Saadet in their classroom

The University Board has determined that this school of 600 should double in size, so they are adding classes one grade level at at time until they have 6 sections of each grade. There are 6 kindergarten classes this year, 5 first grade classes, 4 second grade classes, and all the rest have 3 sections.  Next year, the numbers will all move up one level with 6 in K and 1, and so on.  They are building a new elementary school, breaking ground in the next 6 months.  It will be attached to the north end of the middle school.  They are planning for the 6 sections, but will need to build more rooms in the middle school, which is only a couple of years old, and then the high school.  

High School south entrance

Things remind me of Cotopaxi in that you enter a building at ground level, but because it's built into a hill, you end up on the third floor if you enter from another door.  The above high school building has 2 levels below these entrance doors, and they are at ground level to the north.  The new middle school is to the north.  

I'm still playing substitute teacher for the economics classes and doing some subbing in the middle school as well.  The instructor they have hired is waiting, like we did, for the Turkish government to approve his work permit so that he can then get his work visa from a Turkish consulate or its embassy in the U.S. The good thing is that my 1/2 time, 15 hours per week is really like 22 hours a week, so I don't mind hiking back to the apartment when I'm done, rather than hang out in the classroom.  (That's why I'm doing this at 3:30 in the afternoon.

The 12th grade kids are waiting for college admissions.  Last Friday 2 seniors found out they were accepted to Penn State and very excited.  About 75% of the graduates attend college in the US or Great Britain.  

Geez, this is long and you may have already stopped reading.  I'll let you know about the apartment, lojman, next.  Can't wait, huh!