About
Dearborn Park International Elementary School
We are pleased you’ve stopped in for a visit. Spend some time looking around, we think you’ll find that Dearborn Park International School is a very special place.
About Dearborn Park International School
At Dearborn Park International School we respect and celebrate the wealth and vitality of the ethnic and cultural traditions that abound in Seattle’s Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley neighborhood. We have Mandarin, Spanish and English tracks with an international education focus for all students. At DPIS, we have a wonderfully diverse faculty and staff who not only have excellent educational credentials, but also bring to their classrooms many personal interests and passions.
“To have another language is to possess a second soul.”
‒Charlemagna
Dearborn Park International School Academic Program
We create and deliver a rigorous, standards-based curriculum. Our English language arts and math teaching is grounded in the Common Core Standards. Using research based academic tools including Readers and Writers Workshops, Math in Focus and Arts Impact, along with their many personal interests and passions, our dedicated, highly-qualified, wonderfully diverse faculty and staff provides high quality, standards based instruction.
We offer academic rigor through complex and critical thinking while integrating and infusing subjects in our hands-on, project-based instruction for all students at every grade level.
English/Language Arts (ELA), math, social studies, science, technology, the arts, and social/emotional learning are among the subject areas taught each day at Dearborn Park.
English/Language Arts (ELA): We use the Seattle Public School adopted Center for Collaborative Classroom (CCC) curriculum. The program is comprehensive incorporating reading, writing, phonemic awareness, spelling, and vocabulary. For more information, please go directly to the CCC website.
Math: Dearborn Park International teaches to the Common Core and State Standards in math using Math in Focus and other resources. The math team uses the Spanish version of Math in Focus and Engage New York in our Spanish Immersion classes. Our Mandarin immersion staff adapted a math curriculum similar to Math in Focus, but adapted from a number of Mandarin sources and translated from English Math curricula. For more information on MIF, please go directly to the Math in Focus Website.
Science: We follow the Seattle Public School (SPS) District Science Curriculum after translating the material into Spanish and Mandarin. For details, please go to the SPS Science Webpage.
Social Studies, Technology, The Arts, and Social/Emotional Learning: Social studies, visual art, dance, drama, and social/emotional learning are interwoven into literacy and math, using common core standards and Washington State Grade Level Expectations, Arts Impact, and other curricula to provide well-balanced, high quality instruction.
Physical Education (PE): Margaret Travaille teaches, coaches, and mentors Dearborn Park Students in our outstanding P.E. program.Our PE program includes partnerships with Dance Chance with Pacific Northwest Ballet, US Tennis Association, Cascade Bike Company, Outdoors for All, and At Bat with Seattle Mariners.
Performing Arts: All students at Dearborn Park study music theory, music appreciation, vocal and instrumental performance and dance performance in Helen Zhou’s exceptional music and dance program. Dearborn Park is proud of its award-winning dance program, in which interested students learn many forms of dance, including creative dance; multicultural dances inspired by the cultures of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Philippines; American street, folk, and country dance; and Power Dancing (choreographed acrobatics).
Mandarin/Spanish/English Dual Language Immersion Program: Students in dual language programs:
- Learn to read, write and speak well in English and the immersion language.
- Do better in ALL subjects on standardized tests.
- Learn to work with people from different cultures and backgrounds.
- Have more job opportunities and better pay.
- Develop pride in their own language and culture.
Please visit our Dual Language Immersion Program page for more details about our program, and visit the Seattle School District’s International Education page for more general information.
Online Resources for Families
Detailed online resources for families are available on the Seattle School District’s website in Online Student Resources.
Online English/Language Arts (ELA) Resources for Families
Our Mission
The mission of Dearborn Park International School is to create an exciting, safe, and equitable learning community where children are engaged in and empowered by their learning through international education, language immersion, and celebrate their diversity as informed, compassionate, lifelong global citizens.
Our Vision
We celebrate our cultures and rich school community by engaging all students in educational partnership with family and community to become informed, compassionate, global citizens.
Overall Goal
Our aim at Dearborn Park is to provide a foundation for your child’s education in a safe, nurturing environment, with high expectations. Our teachers have worked hard attending many different professional development sessions, Readers and Writers Workshops, Explorations Math and Arts Impact, just to name a few. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated, highly-qualified team at Dearborn Park. Our quest is to increase academic rigor. Our plan is to do this thru complex and critical thinking with a bell-to-bell instructional schedule.
Contact Us
2820 South Orcas St.
Seattle, WA 98108
Main Office: 206-252-6930
Attendance: 206-252-6930
Fax: 206-252-6931
Acting Principal: Don Noble
dfnoble@seattleschools.org
School Admin: Atia Yousuf
atyousuf@seattleschools.org
Assistant Secretary: Aaron Kern
aekern@seattleschools.org