Our Mission
Independence Charter School West (ICS West) exists to equip and empower global citizens so that our communities are united. ICS West is a community-based public charter school of academic excellence, located in Southwest Philadelphia and serving a diverse community of learners. lCS West provides an intellectually-stimulating curriculum with a global focus designed to develop independent, thoughtful global citizens. We emphasize second language acquisition and integrate arts, ideas, and culture from around the world.
Global Citizenship
Our Global Citizenship curriculum is guided by Oxfam’s definition of Global Citizenship: A global citizen is someone who is aware of and understands the wider world – and their role in it.
Our students are guided by our Global Citizenship values:
As Global Citizens at ICS West we value Community, Empathy, Responsibility and Persistence.
Ciudadanos Global en ICS West valoran Comunidad, Empatía, Responsabilidad y Persistencia.
Our Beliefs
We believe that all children can be successful in a safe, nurturing, and respectful environment.
We believe that all members of our school community bring unique and valuable perspectives.
We believe that students must be provided with a diverse set of learning tools to reach their fullest potential.
We believe that by learning languages and studying cultures, children gain the skills needed to be active global citizens.
We believe that we are responsible to a larger community and to one another. We strive to be active stewards of the local and global community.
We believe that to reach excellence we must continue to nurture a reflective school community whose members contribute their talents, insights, and hard work in service to our students and to the larger community.
Admissions, the provisions of services, and referrals of students at ICS shall be made without regard to race, color, religious creed, disability, ancestry, national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, or sex.