Click the image to watch a short video about MCI's engaging visual and performing arts programs available to all students
Prepare for Academic Excellence
To ensure students have the best outcomes possible, MCI has developed several highly effective programs for students to gain expertise and activities for international students who want to integrate effectively into the MCI community and culture.
English as a Second Language Program
MCI's goal is to prepare students for the rigors of the mainstream classroom and success in college. MCI offers our English as a Second Language (ESL) program tailored to the language needs of students. The ESL program, with a more than 20-year track record of excellence, has catered to the needs of students from more than 25 countries.
The program is divided into three tiers of language proficiency: beginning, intermediate and advanced. MCI offers ESL classes in
- Literature I
- Writing I
- Speaking I and II
- Algebra I and II
- Science
- Listening
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
- World History
Benefits of MCI's ESL Program
- Our ESL faculty has combined experience of more than 70 years working with the language needs of international students.
- Our ESL faculty is available to students after school, in the evening, and on weekends.
- MCI's program offers a safe, nurturing atmosphere where students thrive and learn.
- All ESL courses are designed to help students acquire the language and skills necessary for college.
- Our students receive individual attention and support both inside and outside the classroom.
- Our students develop skills to level the playing fields with their American counterparts.
- MCI offers intensive TOEFL and SAT preparation study sessions throughout the school year.
- TOEFL and the SAT exams are given on campus.
- Individual scores from pretesting and post-testing are available to students and parents.
Visual & Performing Arts at MCI
Summer Programs
Summer Orientation and Language Immersion
Summer Orientation and Language Immersion (SOLI) is offered in late August for international students who are new to MCI. SOLI offers two-course pathways to serve students in gaining English language proficiency, and encourage student interaction with various participatory techniques. The SOLI Cup Competition, woven into classes and evening activities, fosters an atmosphere of speaking English, friendly competition, and taking healthy risks.
Orientation to MCI and Community:
- Classes and experiences with MCI faculty and staff to gain comfort with the campus
- School-year expectations in living on campus to help students establish positive routines early
- Local excursions to experience life in Maine with built-in community-building activities
Language Immersion:
- Daily courses in English literacy, history, and performing arts that encourage student interaction through participatory techniques such as public speaking and group work
- Comprehensive testing to ensure students are placed appropriately for the school year
Bossov Ballet Summer Intensive
The Bossov Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive provides comprehensive Russian training (Vaganova method) with a strong emphasis on technique, pointe, partnering, variation and character. MCI holds a one-week program and a five-week program every summer for student-dancers to refine their skills and participate in a pre-professional ballet troupe.
Students audition for acceptance into the program. For more information about any of these programs, please contact Elizabeth Audet at (207) 487-3355 ext. 217 (email: eaudet@mci-school.org).
Summer Credit Recovery
Summer Credit Recovery is a three-week program that allows students to make up work they may have missed or failed to complete in their core classes during the regular school year. Students who wish to recover credit for the first semester come for the first half of the program to complete assignments that their teachers have prepared for them, and the second half of the program is designated for the second semester credit recovery. Math and science courses are held in the mornings, and English and history courses are held in the afternoons.
Transitions Academy
Transitions Academy is a one-week program designed to introduce incoming freshmen to MCI. Students take math, English, and MCI orientation classes in the mornings, eat lunch in the dining room, familiarize themselves with campus, and take part in various enrichment opportunities to acquaint themselves with teachers and staff before upperclassmen arrive.
Afternoon activities include making movie trailers about MCI for peers who did not attend Transitions Academy, develop and publish a magazine about the incoming class, creating useful products using recyclable products, and learning hip-hop.