The American International School of Lesotho (AISL) is a non-profit, independent coeducational day school, which offers an American style educational program to students from preschool (age three) through grade eight. The school, founded in 1991, serves the needs of the wider American community and other students seeking an American style education delivered in English. The school year is divided into three trimesters extending from August to November, December to March and March to mid-June. AISL is accredited through Middle States Accreditation (MSA). Our next MSA visit will be approximately April 2023.
Organization: AISL has a school board comprising up to fifteen members. Five members are elected from the parent community, two board members are appointed by the U.S. Ambassador and the board itself may appoint up to three extra members who may have specific skills the school needs. AISL aims to involve the parent community as much as possible when organizing events and running community building activities.
Curriculum: The standards-based curriculum is similar to that of established U.S. public schools. Textbooks and teaching materials are often sourced and used from suppliers in the United States. Regular academic courses include language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. In addition to the regular academic courses, music, French language, technology, library research, art, and physical education are offered at all grade levels. The standards used by all grades are those from the American Education Reaches Out (AERO) program.
Faculty: In the 2022-2023 school year, AISL has 32 total staff including 20 teachers, 2 of whom are U.S. citizens, 12 host-country nationals, and 6 third-country nationals from Australia, Cameroon, Lesotho, Nigeria, Philippines, United States of America, Zambia, Zimbabwe. All teachers have Bachelors or Masters in an educational field.
Enrollment: At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, enrollment was 115 (Preschool = 10, PreK = 11, Kindergarten = 9, G1 = 14, G2 = 10, G3 = 15, G4 = 10, G5 = 9, G6 = 13, G7 = 8, G8 = 6). There are 16 U.S. citizens, 42 host-country nationals, and 57 third-country nationals. Class sizes are small and allow for good communication between teaching staff and students. Currently the maximum size for classes is 20, with the average being 14. Most lower-elementary classes have a teaching assistant to support learning.
Students with special needs: While we are a small school, we are able to support a number of needs within our student population. This is dependent on the student’s requirements. We have the ability to push-in support within the classroom or pull-out should the need be required. The more information a family provides to us well in advance, even if only considering Maseru as a post, will help us in knowing what support we can provide.
Facilities: The school consists of several buildings on the campus with a total of 14 classrooms. The school also has a library and technology space for reference work, supplemental reading, and pleasure reading. All classrooms have one or more computers with internet capability and teachers have use of digital whiteboards in all classrooms. The WiFi-connected campus is secure and has a 24-hour security presence. There is ample area to play using playground equipment, a small physical fitness course, a volleyball court, a basketball court, a soccer field with an all-season artificial surface. An optional door-to-door school bus service is available at an additional charge. A recent new safe haven, multipurpose building was completed to allow for the possibility of protecting all on site.
Finances: In the 2022-2023 school year, about 95% of the school’s income is derived from tuition. Annual tuition rates are as follows: PS and PK: approx. $3,000.00 (35,000 maloti converted on day of payment); K-Grade 8: $14,000.00. There is a one-time application fee of $216 and a one-time capital fee of $3,630 for grades Kindergarten and above. A sibling discount applies for two or more children from the same family. All fees are payable in U.S. dollars for sponsored parents. Local parents or self-paying parents have the option to pay in Lesotho Maloti.
Special Needs: Download the Special Needs Profile (2023 Special Needs- Lesotho, Maseru) for this school to learn more about their capability to support students with exceptionalities.
This Fact Sheet is intended to provide general information. Prospective users of the schools may wish to inquire further of A/OPR/OS or contact the school directly for more specific and up-to-date information. Information and statistics are current as of September 2022 and are provided by the school.