At A Glance
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- Grades8-12
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Why Teach At Vancouver Independent School For Science And Technology?
Vancouver Independent School for Science and Technology (VISST) is Vancouver’s first and only dedicated STEM high school. Our philosophy involves a mix of rigorous fundamentals with project-based learning. Projects provide an incredible opportunity for students to pursue their interests, practice teamwork, grapple with ambiguity, and go deeper when their curiosity tugs. On the other hand, we also believe in the value of structured learning to build up fundamental knowledge and skills through practice, continually pushing the boundaries of our students’ capabilities.
Mission, Vision and Values
We view our mandate as helping a person develop, broadly speaking, beyond the transmission of knowledge and skills in individual subject areas. Our mission is represented by our four commitment statements on our website, to our four stakeholder groups: students, teachers, parents and society.
Our guiding values are:
- A STEM focus: A thoughtful focus on the science and technology skills that are demanded by life and work in the 21st century.
- Student buy-in: A curriculum designed and communicated so that students care about what they’re learning and understand why they are learning it.
- Character education: Blending academic and personal development to prepare our students for success both in and out of the workplace.
- Diversity: We believe science and technology should be for everyone.
- Access: We believe tuition should not be a barrier to a great education
Draw For Employees
We are a small, close-knit team that connects regularly and collaborates on the big picture of our students’ education. We are all passionate about what we do. We avoid egos and power dynamics in the workplace. We treat each other with respect because we do genuinely respect each other.
Why you’ll love it here
We address this question in our blog post, On Finding Great Teachers. In short, VISST is a school whose reason for existence involves creating an ideal environment for educators, not just students. Teachers at VISST are not seen as simply a means to an end. Concretely, VISST teachers have significant prep time, autonomy and a fantastic group of students to work with.
Community & School Culture
School community
Our school culture that promotes student buy-in during their education by avoiding the traditional power structure found in schools. For example, students refer to teachers by our first names, students and staff share spaces, and students occasionally write report cards for teachers.
There are many ways we offer a unique educational experience:
- Classes start at 10 am.
- We offer an accelerated STEM curriculum with computer science starting from Grade 8.
- Students are seen and heard as an individuals, with input into decisions affecting their learning and the broader school community.
- We offer a progressive and transparent tuition model that accounts for each family’s circumstances.
- At VISST, cultivating curiosity and having fun are explicit goals of the school — learning new things is not the only metric for success.
- We offer students clear connections between school subjects and life outside of school, so that students aren’t left wondering, “Why am I learning this?”
Our accelerated STEM program leaves additional time in the higher grades for courses like Philosophy 12, Economics 12 and Work Experience 12.
Our community
We are located in the South Granville neighbourhood in Vancouver. Students are frequently out in the community, such as at the False Creek Community Centre for Physical and Health Education, or the Vancouver Public Library for English, or a machine shop for ADST. Our location is extremely accessible by transit (and is across the street from the station for the new Broadway Subway Line), which helps with commuting and with school-day excursions. The afternoon schedule consists of a 2.5-hour-long block, giving teachers the freedom to take students on excursions by public transit without additional organizational overhead.
Salary and Benefits
VISST teachers receive VSB salaries (ranging from $66,000 to $100,000) with comparable benefits and professional development opportunities.