School Profile 2019 – 2020 - LEAF Academy€¦ · Vietnam Hungary Tunisia Russia Ukraine South Africa USA of LEAF Academy students speak a language other than English at home Higher

LEAF (www.leaf.sk/en/) is a Slovak NGO founded in 2012, focusing on the development of young people with the potential to grow into the shapers of Slovakia and Central Europe. Through a variety of programs, LEAF aims to nurture a new generation of future shapers in the private and public sectors – people who will promote world-class excellence and strong moral values around Slovakia and beyond.

Students come primarily from Central Europe, but LEAF Academy also enrolls students from the rest of Europe and the world.

Slovakia

Afghanistan

Czechia

Mongolia

Poland

Vietnam

Hungary

Tunisia

Russia Ukraine

USASouth Africa

of LEAF Academy students speak a language other than English at home

Higher quality of life in Central Europe through mindsets and behaviors of most leaders in the private sector and public service.

Contribute to developing young people with the potential to grow into shapers who will demonstrate ethics, excellence, entrepreneurial leadership and civic engagement. Regardless of their socio-economic background.

Established in 2016 by LEAF Organization (see below), LEAF Academy is an independent, co-educational, international boarding high school for students aged 14 - 19, offering a rigorous program focused on entrepreneurship, leadership, academics and character development.

ABOUT LEAF ACADEMY CONTACT

TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS

NO. OF COUNTRIES REPRESENTED:

12

30100

99%

CLASS OF 2020

OUR MISSION

OUR VISION

School Profile 2019 – 2020

www.leafacademy.eu

+421 907 836 490

LEAF Academy, Sasinkova 13, 811 08 Bratislava, Slovakia

CEEB Code: 719027

UCAS Code: 41405

Matej Sapak / Principal E: [email protected] P: +421 948 000 227

Jana Klagova / Dean of StudiesE: [email protected] P: +421 905 293 667

Michael Curpek / Head of Careers & University GuidanceE: [email protected] P: +421 907 209 472

W:

A:

P:

The unique American-style curriculum intertwines rigorous academic preparation with the intentional development of leadership, entrepreneurship, strong moral values, and self-awareness through a pan-departmental focus on:

All courses combine traditional academic pursuits with experiential learning, teamwork and collaboration, as well as cross-curricular investigation and synthesis.

Our 4-year program at ISCED Level 3 (equivalent of grades 9 through 12 in the U.S. educational system) offers two entry points, Year 1 (Grade 9) or Year 3 (Grade 11). Students pursuing the 4-year program spend the first 2 years following an inter-nally developed curriculum. All Year 3 and Year 4 students in addition to our core and elective classes also take a number of university-level Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which are audited and externally examined by The College Board.

Because of the heavy emphasis on skills and competency development through experiential and collaborative learning in all LEAF Academy classes, student’s performance is assessed against a pre-defined set of competency-based indicators.

The following classes are ungraded: All Year 1 & 2 classes Entrepreneurial Leadership (3 – 4) Character Seminar (3 – 4) English Language Learning (3) LEAF Core: Mathematical Modelling and Statistics (3) LEAF Core: Central European Seminar (3)

There are, however, clear learning outcomes and expectations that students need to meet in these classes in order to achieve a “Pass”, or “Pass with Distinction” (if their class performance is deemed outstanding). A student who fails to meet these expectations will be assessed as “No Credit Earned.”

The traditional A-F grading system, with plus and minus, is applicable to Year 3 & 4 classes only. Grades are recorded and reported at the end of each semester (Sem 1: January; Sem 2: June). Only the end-of-year grades for all courses completed and attempted are reported on our final tran-scripts.

Favoring the holistic approach to assessing students’ learn-ing, our aspiration is to implement a system of assessment (including a transcript) that truly reflects the unique strengths of our students. Based on our work with the Mastery Transcript Consortium™ (MTC), we expect to implement a mastery-based architecture in a few years time.

We currently offer 23 AP courses. In addition, students have the option of and are assisted in pre-paring for taking additional AP exams, based on their interests and abilities.

LEAF Academy is also approved by The College Board to offer the AP Capstone Diploma™ program.

Self-study and independent learn-ing are encouraged both within the curriculum and through our partnership with Global Online Academy (GOA). GOA courses and respective grades are listed on the student’s transcript (if applicable).

...as outlined in the LEAF Academy Graduate Profile: www.leafacademy.eu/education/graduate-profile/

CURRICULUM AP RESULTS (2018 - 2019)

SAT RESULTS (2017 - 2019)

Ethics Excellence

Civic Engagement

Entrepreneurial Leadership

4 Es

4 Cs Critical Thinking

Creativity

CooperationCommunication

EXAMS

1 2 3 4 55 18 51 103 1422% 6% 16% 32% 44%

Number of AP ExamsAP SCORE

% of Total AP Exams

STUDENTS

319

92% 4.13

107

GRADING

LEAF Academy awards an American High School Diploma to students upon successful completion of a rigorous academic program as prescribed by the school’s governing board.

GRADUATION

NOTE: Students prepare for this test independently.

NUMBER OF STUDENTS TESTED:

The Median SAT score:

The Median EBRW section score:

The Median Math section score:

1430 (out of 1600)

650 (out of 800)

740 (out of 800)

14

of AP Exams passed with a score 3 or higher

Average AP score

ENGLISH

SOCIAL STUDIES MATHE-

MATICS

WORLD LANGUAGES

SCIENCE

VISUAL ARTS

INTERDIS-CIPLINARY STUDIES

AP Seminar AP ResearchAP English Language and CompositionEnglish Language Learning (1, 2, 3)Central European Studies: Writing & Rhetoric (1,2,3)

AP Comparative Government and PoliticsAP Economics (Macroeconomics /Microeconomics)AP Human GeographyAP European HistoryAP PsychologyCentral European Studies: History (1, 2)

AP Calculus (AB / BC)AP StatisticsPre-CalculusLEAF Core: Mathematical Modelling and Statistics (3)STEM: Mathematics (1, 2)

AP French Language and CultureAP German Language and CultureNational Language: Slovak (1, 2, 3, 4)National Language: Czech (1, 2, 3, 4)National Language: Hungarian (3, 4)National Language: Polish (1,2,3,4)German (1, 2)

AP BiologyAP ChemistryAP Physics C (Electricity & Magnetism/Mechanics)AP Computer Science AAP Computer Science PrinciplesAP Environmental ScienceSTEM Science (1, 2) STEM: Computer Science (1, 2)

AP Studio Art: 2-D DesignAP Art History

Entrepreneurial Leadership (1, 2, 3, 4)Character Seminar (1, 2, 3, 4)LEAF Core: Central European Seminar (3)

Consistent with our philosophy of education, we do not rank students or calculate GPA. In such a small school, the distinction between GPAs is insignificant and the impact of ranking students is unproductive. It is our policy to not fill in the Ratings.

LEAF Academy students are required to self-report all disciplinary violations (whether related to academic or behavioral misconduct) that occur prior to the submission of a college/university application and result in suspension or expulsion to all colleges/universities which ask; The counselor letter will provide follow up in the form of verifying the student’s explanation, providing context, and commenting on the student’s current standing in the community.Any disciplinary infractions that occur after the submission of a college/university application and result in suspension or expulsion will be reported to all colleges/universities to which the student has applied. If such a disciplinary action should occur, the student must self-report the incident to each institution within ten (10) days. After ten days, if the notification process has not been initiated by the student, LEAF Academy will contact each individual institution with a formal letter on behalf of the student.

Students are required to sign and adhere to the school’s Integrity Assurance Agreement document which states (among other points) that if a LEAF Academy student applies Early Decision (ED), they agree it is their first choice for universities worldwide and, if admitted, will enroll and withdraw all other active applications.

Students are limited to a maximum of 10 university /college applications worldwide or 8, if applying only to US colleges (including global campuses). This encourages students to identify universities/colleges that are the best fit for them. Any institu-tion reading an application from an LEAF Academy applicant can therefore be assure d that the student is a serious applicant.

It is our intention to provide specific and in-depth letters of rec-ommendation that best represent our students’ abilities, level of engagement and interest in being challenged. Our teachers and counselors have close working relationships with students through seminar-style classes, advisory meetings, extracurricular activities, and other mentorship opportunities. Letters of recommendation are confidential, and students are counseled not to request extraneous recommendations.

SCHOOL POLICIES RELATING TO UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS/ADMISSION

Ranking, GPA and Ratings Reporting Discipline

Integrity in College and University Applications Application Limits

Letters of Recommendation

COURSE OFFERINGS (2019 – 2020)

AP courses in any academic discipline are our most rigorous academic courses and are generally only available to Year 3 and Year 4 students. Students are not allowed to repeat courses that they have passed, but they may retake the AP Exams.

The language of instruction is English, unless otherwise stated.

THE

NET

HER

LAN

DS

USA

USA

UN

ITED

KIN

GD

OM

OTH

ER

CO

UN

TRIE

S

MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS:

OTHER COUNTRIES

UNITED KINGDOM

GAP YEAR AND DEFERRED ADMISSION

UNIVERSITY ACCEPTANCES & MATRICULATIONS – CLASSES OF 2018-2019

Universities where students have matriculated are shown in BOLD. Parentheses indicate number of matriculated students if more than one.

Breda University of Applied SciencesHanze University of Applied SciencesMaastricht University (2)Saxion University of Applied SciencesThe Hague University of Applied SciencesUniversity College Utrecht (UCU)University of Amsterdam (3)University of Tilburg University of TwenteUtrecht University of Applied Sciences

Babson CollegeBrandeis UniversityCase Western Reserve UniversityClark UniversityDePaul UniversityFranklin & Marshall CollegeHarvard UniversityLasell CollegeLynn University - Watson Institute (3)Michigan State UniversityMount Holyoke CollegeNaropa UniversityNew York University (NYU)Northeastern UniversityQuinnipiac UniversitySyracuse UniversityTrinity CollegeUniversity of RochesterUniversity of Notre DameUniversity of the PeopleWagner CollegeWesleyan UniversityWashington and Lee University

University of LeicesterUniversity of LiverpoolUniversity of ManchesterUniversity of NottinghamUniversity of OxfordUniversity of ReadingUniversity of SheffieldUniversity of SouthamptonUniversity of SussexUniversity for the Creative ArtsUniversity of Warwick (2)

Abertay UniversityAston UniversityBath Spa UniversityBirmingham City UniversityBrunel University LondonCardiff UniversityCoventry UniversityDurham UniversityGoldsmiths, University of LondonHult International Business SchoolImperial College LondonKing’s College LondonKingston UniversityLiverpool John Moores UniversityLondon School of Economics (LSE)London South Bank UniversityNewcastle UniversityOxford Brookes UniversityQueen Margaret UniversitySOAS University of LondonThe Open College of the Arts (OCA)The University of the ArtsUniversity College London (UCL) (3)University of AberdeenUniversity of BathUniversity of BirminghamUniversity of BrightonUniversity of BristolUniversity of CambridgeUniversity of East AngliaUniversity of EdinburghUniversity of EssexUniversity of GlasgowUniversity of KentUniversity of Leeds

Aarhus University (Denmark)Charles University (Czechia) (2)Gdańsk University of Technology (Poland)Griffith College (Ireland)Istituto Europeo Di Design (IED) (Italy)Istituto Marangoni (Italy) Masaryk University (Czechia)Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) (Italy)Newton College (Czechia)New York University (NYU) - Abu Dhabi (UAE)The New School Paris (France)Unicorn College (Czechia)University College Cork (Ireland)WU Wien (Austria)

DESTINATIONS – CLASSES OF 2018-2019

ACCREDITATION & RECOGNITION

23% 20%

30%

11%THE NETHERLANDS

16%

LEAF Academy was granted Candidacy by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in Spring 2019, following the initial stages of the accreditation process.NEASC accreditation is highly regarded throughout the world and furthermore enjoys official recognition by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Overseas Schools.

LEAF Academy operates in Slovakia with the consent of the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava (Slovakia) and is recognized by the Slovak Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport.