The school follows a seven by seven curriculum wherein students pursue studies in seven core academic areas for seven years of attendance.

The seven core subjects included are: English, Science, Math, Social Studies, Physical Education, Fine Arts, and French.

Siblings of students already enrolled get priority, and then names are drawn from the general pool for the remaining spots.

Later, the school was moved to its current location in an unused junior high in the Wilburton neighborhood.

Historically, about two-thirds of incoming students had taken French and one-third had participated in the German Language Program.

In addition to the language programs, IS has a long-standing partnership with the Amity Institute which places native French speakers with an undergraduate degree and a career goal in education in the school as French language teaching assistants.

[8] The club was founded in 2000 as a way for students at IS to gain experience with Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) as the school offers few engineering-related classes, and it participated in its first competition in the 2001 season.

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