American International School Vienna

The school supports social-emotional learning through counseling services and Learning Support programs. Five counselors serve the school community: one in Elementary, one in Middle, and three in High School. This collaborative approach with students, parents, and teachers supports positive social-emotional well-being, resilience, and academic success. Learning Support targets social-emotional growth alongside literacy, numeracy, time-management, organization, self-advocacy, and study skills. Counselors and Learning Support staff work with classroom teachers to develop strategies that help students manage challenges and reach their potential. This integrated approach places social-emotional learning at the center of AIS Vienna's student support.

The school enrolls students with mild and moderate learning differences who can be successful in mainstream classrooms with support. Learning Support teachers differentiate instruction and provide accommodations in collaboration with classroom teachers. Support is provided in addition to core instruction, not in place of it. Areas targeted include social-emotional growth, reading, writing, mathematics, time-management, organization, self-advocacy, study skills, and learning strategies. The program uses a service-delivery model offering small-group or in-class support, with the goal of helping students become independent, lifelong learners. AIS Vienna does not accept students with significant behavioral or emotional challenges or learning differences beyond staffing capacity.

The English as an Additional Language (EAL) Team provides English language support to help students reach grade-level academic language in the social-cultural context of the grade-level classroom. The program is committed to helping each EAL student be socially and academically successful while valuing home culture and language development. AIS Vienna serves a large population of students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and strives to respect, value, and celebrate this diversity. EAL learners gain language skills to communicate effectively in social and academic settings throughout their education. EAL teachers collaborate with classroom teachers and the Student Support Team to integrate language development with content learning when appropriate.

The school supports mental wellbeing through a dedicated counseling program. The counseling team includes five counselors serving Elementary, Middle, and High School. The collaborative approach with students, families, and teachers supports positive social-emotional well-being, resilience, and academic success. Learning Support also emphasizes social-emotional growth as part of its services. The wellbeing framework is designed to help students develop coping strategies and thrive academically and personally.

AIS Vienna maintains strong safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures. The welfare of students is the overriding focus, and AISV aims to provide a caring, safe and stimulating environment that promotes holistic development. All adults, including temporary staff, administrators, faculty, volunteers, and Board members, have a full and active part to play in protecting children from harm. AISV adopts the World Health Organization definition of child abuse and neglect, including physical and emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, and failure to act to prevent harm. Staff are regularly trained about child protection responsibilities, and background checks are completed for all employees with renewals every five years; the Director reviews this policy annually. The policy is underpinned by a shared ethics of responsibility, accountability, and student success.