Cultivating a Culture of Literacy at ISA
Intellectual curiosity is the cornerstone of academic excellence at the International School of Amsterdam. This year, our Libraries are leading a renewed effort to build a culture of ready and literacy that connects students, staff, and parents, encouraging everyone to think critically, ask questions, and develop their own identities as readers, writers, and thinkers.
Through partnerships with the John Adams Institute, The American Book Center, and Waterstones Book Store, the Libraries team has hosted a series of author visits designed to strengthen reading engagement across our school.
The first visit featured Dutch-Israeli author Yael van der Wouden, whose debut novel The Safekeep explores history, memory, and belonging. Upper School students discussed how fiction can shape perspective and asked thoughtful questions about writing, research, and character, demonstrating the curiosity and analytical skills that underpin learning across the IB continuum.
Next, we were joined by Dutch-American author Maria van Lieshout who visited ISA to share her historical graphic novel Song of a Blackbird / Het lied van de merel, which bridges art and history with the powerful message: “Fight hate. Make art.” Her bilingual sessions in English and Dutch brought students, staff, and parents together to explore the connections between language, identity and creative expression.
At the end of October, American author Daniel Kraus, writer of Whalefall, will visit ISA in partnership with the John Adams Institute to continue the conversation about imagination and the power of stories. Later in the year, Maria van Lieshout will return to offer students another opportunity to gain insights into her creative process and explore new perspectives on art and history.
For Head of Libraries Kim Tyo-Dickerson, these events are part of a broader and more intentional approach to literacy at ISA. With technology competing for our attention, she sees author visits as a catalyst for reading, writing, curiosity, and creative expression. “It’s about providing our community with enough ways and opportunities to connect to reading, and supporting them to build success with reading,” Kim says.
This approach extends throughout the school and into the wider community. Initiatives such as celebrating Dutch Children’s Book Week, exploring censorship during Banned Books Week, hosting staff book breakfasts, and organising author visits like these invite our community to experience literature together. Kim often uses the metaphor of a tree to describe the Libraries’ community outreach:
“Early Childhood students are the roots, Middle School the trunk, and the Upper School and parent community the branches, which drop seeds on the ground to continue the cycle of connection to reading, learning, a love of books and the sharing and exploration of ideas.”
Together, these experiences show how curiosity fuels lifelong learning. As our Libraries continue cultivating a culture of literacy, we are supporting our students to become not only strong readers and writers, but also thoughtful learners who approach the world with curiosity and a lifelong love of ideas.
