For Immediate Release
Contact: Traci Barnett
Tel: (714) 990-4332
Email: tbarnett@ballard-tighe.com

American International School of Vietnam Selects Champion of IDEAS from Ballard & Tighe

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – October 12, 2009 –Ballard & Tighe, Publishers announced today that the American International School of Vietnam (AIS) has adopted Champion of IDEAS to teach their high school students the English language. The school will also continue to use the IPT® Testing System to identify, place, and redesignate students based on the most up-to-date demographic norming data.

Champion of IDEAS is a comprehensive, systematic, and standards-based English language development curriculum that is organized by level of proficiency. The IPT® Testing System evaluates English language mastery. Both resources are widely used in United States schools for English language learners. They are also being increasingly used by schools in other countries.
“We have selected Champion of IDEAS to help our students become proficient in English and we will continue to use the IPT [Testing System] for assessment,” said Dr. Mark Uerkvitz, high school principal at the AIS. “Champion of IDEAS and the IPT will give our students the tools they need to learn a new language, to better understand our world, and to have better opportunities to succeed in a global economy.”

Champion of IDEAS is well-suited to the American International School of Vietnam’s needs because it allows each student to be taught at their specific level of English proficiency rather than their grade level. It develops and refines social language and builds academic language proficiency through content-specific vocabulary and concepts, idiomatic and figurative expressions, and grammatical and linguistic structures. The program taps into different student learning styles and engages all senses during the learning process. With Champion, students also refine their English academic skills in reading, writing, and research through the use of graphic organizers and specialized dictionaries.

The American International School of Vietnam (www.ais.edu.vn) —located in Ho Chi Minh City—gives an international education to Vietnamese students from grades K-12. The school’s goal is that an international education and the mastery of the English language leads to better opportunities for higher education in English-speaking countries, access to better jobs, and improved understanding about our world.

About Ballard & Tighe
Ballard & Tighe, Publishers (www.ballard-tighe.com) has focused on developing products for English language learners since 1976. Ballard & Tighe provides testing, instructional, and training products and services to more than 3,500 state, regional, and local school districts throughout the United States and internationally. Ballard & Tighe produces assessment products, English language development instructional materials, professional development programs, and a series of unique social studies programs designed especially for English language learners. 

Contacts for the Media
Jennifer Harrison for Ballard & Tighe, 916-716-0636, jennifer@jharrisonpr.com
Traci Barnett, Ballard & Tighe, 800-321-4332 x301, tbarnett@ballard-tighe.com