INCHEON, South Korea — Beginning this week, ArborBridge and Chadwick International are teaming up to bring the world's finest test preparation to students in South Korea. ArborBridge will be conducting a month-long course to prepare students at Chadwick's campus in Incheon Free Economic Zone, near Seoul.
Though the class takes place 6,000 miles from ArborBridge's Santa Monica, California headquarters, the collaboration has local roots. Chadwick International is the eponymous sister school of Chadwick School, located in the Los Angeles suburb of Palos Verdes. With predominantly English-language instruction and an American curriculum, Chadwick International is unique in Korea for enrolling a relatively high proportion of native Korean students, thanks to a special dispensation granted by the Korean government.
"This collaboration between Chadwick International and ArborBridge is international education at its best," said ArborBridge's Director of International Development Josh Stephens. "We are both trying to expose Korean students to the very best of American education and test preparation."
The SAT class will be part of Chadwick International Summer Program, and it will be the first such class offered at Chadwick International, which was founded in 2010. The program offers a wide range of academic, arts, and enrichment classes for students in elementary school and early high school. The summer institute accepts students from all schools and seeks to offer a global education.
“Chadwick’s unique summer program is a good way for the students to immerse themselves into the world of knowledge and creativity,” said Summer Program Director Connie Kim.
ArborBridge specializes in providing elite tutoring and test preparation for the SAT, ACT, and Subject Tests to students around the world. ArborBridge's tutoring takes place primarily online, with classes designed for schools on occasion.
"I'm personally excited that two Los Angeles-area institutions on the forefront of education are joining forces," added Stephens.
The course is a rare introduction of American-style test preparation to South Korea, which is famous for its students' success on American college entrance exams. ArborBridge's tutoring seeks to endow students with a mastery of the key skills and concepts that are tested on the SAT, thus enabling them to address any and all questions that arise on the exam.
Created and administered by the College Board, the SAT exam is required for admission to most selective colleges and universities in the United States. Korean has a long tradition of attention to standardized tests. Its own national college entrance exam is notoriously challenging and constitutes nearly the entirety of a student’s application to college. One of ArborBridge’s missions is to de-mystify the SAT, especially in countries where students might not be familiar with it.
"The SAT does not have to be difficult or complicated," said ArborBridge Associate Director of Curriculum Owen Tuleja. "When the test is broken down into its component parts—and when a skilled tutor recognizes what each individual student needs—students can reach their goals very quickly."
Chadwick International's curriculum emphasizes experience-based learning and meets the educational standards of the International Baccalaureate and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
"We believe in exposing students to a diverse range of teaching styles, promoting well-roundedness, and encouraging students to pursue their academic passions," said Kim. "We are delighted to welcome ArborBridge to our campus so that they can support this mission. We hope to give students a fantastic educational experience and, if they choose to apply to the U.S., a strong head-start on the SAT."
About ArborBridge
Geared towards students who are applying to American universities, ArborBridge (www.ArborBridge.com) provides online SAT, ACT, and Subject Test preparation to students around the world -- currently in over 30 countries on all six continents. ArborBridge works with students of backgrounds and from all types of schools, including those that teach American, British, IB curricula and caters to the unique needs of international students, expats, and TCK's alike. Programs are customized according to each student's testing profile, enabling ArborBridge to help students achieve outstanding test scores conveniently and efficiently. ArborBridge is based in Santa Monica, California.
About Chadwick International
Chadwick International (www.chadwickinternational.org/) is a PreK-12 international school fully equipped with an exceptional 500,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facility that has been built in the Songdo International Business District in Incheon, South Korea. Chadwick International encourages students to cultivate their intellectual, artistic and physical abilities based on Chadwick International’s experience-based curriculum. The curriculum at Chadwick International is designed to meet the educational standards of the International Baccalaureate (IB) as well as the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
For information about ArborBridge's in-school classes or online tutoring, please email info@ArborBridge.com.
Media Contact: Lisa Helmers, lisa@ArborBridge.com
