AIS Vienna Today
Mission & Profile
Our Mission
At the American International School Vienna, we empower each student with the skills and character strengths necessary to be positively impactful global citizens who strive for personal growth and excellence in an ever-changing world.
Our Vision
A community of innovative learners realizing their chosen futures with courage, curiosity, and joy.
Our Values
Respect
We will be kind, considerate, inclusive, and thoughtful in our interactions with others and the environment.
Aspire
We will pursue our passions, imagine possibilities, and make them real.
Achieve
We will apply ourselves to the best of our ability with effort and ingenuity, and strive for personal growth.
Character Traits & Dispositions
As an extension of our core values, we have set expectations of what it means to be an AISV citizen in a community that embraces diversity, equity and inclusion, building on the foundation of ethical character, purposeful action and international mindedness.
These are the Character Traits & Dispositions of the ethical and purposeful AISV citizen.
Respect
Aspire
Achieve
Belonging Statement
At AIS Vienna, we aim to recognize and celebrate our complex identities and shared humanity. International-mindedness is a lived value that emphasizes understanding and appreciation for diverse cultures, languages, and perspectives. Through open dialogue and empathy, we foster a community of informed citizens with a sense of responsibility and respect for others and our world.
It is in this spirit that we created and adopted our AISV Belonging statement to guide and inspire us in cultivating an internationally-minded and connected community as aligned with the Council of International School (CIS) Standards .
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Environmental Ethics Statement & Goals
The AISV community is committed to developing an environmentally friendly school by raising environmental awareness, making environmentally friendly decisions, including environmental action and education in our daily routine, and supporting the environmental policies of Austria.
Students, teachers and staff can make progress toward these goals by:
using the existing recycling bins appropriately
reducing paper usage by printing on both sides, using half sheets or working digitally if possible
reducing electrical use by turning off lights, Smart Boards and computers when not in use
reducing our use of plastic bottles and bags
reminding one another to conserve our resources
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AIS Vienna serves some 800 students from 80 countries, with about half of the total American or Austrian. The school is divided into three divisions -- Elementary School (Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 5), Middle School (Grade 6, 7, and 8), and High School (Grade 9 to 12). The typical class has twenty students, with many language classes considerably smaller.
Because of the international and transient character of our student body, the average stay at AISV is four years, with approximately 200 new students admitted each year. Many students, however, spend eight years or longer with us. Our Parent-Teacher Forum makes a great effort to help new families adjust to a new environment.
Our international parent community is predominantly affiliated with embassies, international organizations, and international corporations. Our local parents tend to work in private businesses or professions such as medicine and law.
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The core of excellence at AIS Vienna is our talented faculty and administration. Each of the three academic divisions (Elementary, Middle and High School) is headed by an experienced principal with a record of excellence. In addition, our Senior Leadership Team includes the School Director, the Director of Teaching & Learning, the Director of Events, the Director of Technology, the Director of Admissions, the Human Resources Manager, and the Business Manager. There are also trained and experienced counselors in each of the three divisions, resource staff, and librarians for the Elementary School, and the Middle and High School. A full-time nurse practitioner oversees the school’s health unit.
The AISV Faculty numbers over 100 individuals. More than 80% of our teachers hold advanced degrees, with several having earned doctorates. A substantial majority are U.S. citizens, but the school does have teachers of other nationalities, including faculty from Europe, Canada, the Middle East, the Far East, and South America. The teachers at AISV are dedicated professionals with a commitment to on-going development, as demonstrated by frequent attendance at regional and international conferences, IB training, and subject-specific workshops.
AISV Staff range in age from 24-65, with an average and median age of about 46. The average stay of a staff member at AISV is over ten years, which greatly enhances the school’s stability and continuity.
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AISV is located in the Neustift-am-Walde area of Vienna, adjacent to the famous Vienna Woods, and provides an instructional setting in the midst of the physical beauty of the surrounding hills, forest, and countryside. On our 11-acre (4.5 hectare) premises there are seven interconnected buildings housing Elementary, Middle, and High Schools.
Overall, there are more than 70 classrooms, eight science labs, art studios, music rooms, two libraries, a theatre, two gyms, a cafeteria, health unit, and a separate sports hall (which houses three indoor tennis courts or two basketball courts or ten badminton courts). There are various offices for counseling, the International Baccalaureate program, division offices, technology, and faculty departments. The exterior facilities include a soccer field, a running track, an elementary playground, an outdoor amphitheater, and an outdoor classroom (ES).
The land for the school was bought by the U.S. government in the late 1950s, using U.S. government funds obtained through the Marshall Plan, and the school occupies the premises in perpetuity. The school is built along a sloping hillside, making for many different levels and stairs. Because of this, AISV is not easily accessed by a student or parent with physical challenges.
AISV is a 1:1 Apple school. Our school loans each learner one Apple device while they are a student at our school. These devices are on a replacement cycle and are replaced by the school at regular intervals. All classrooms have ceiling-mounted video projectors and interactive SMART Boards -- touch-sensitive screens that replace the traditional chalkboard and facilitate digital manipulation of images and text.
At AISV computers are seen as a necessary tool for teaching and learning.
School Stories
