History

EBI was born in greater San Francisco’s East Bay area in 2004. The school was created by a group of committed parents, including several professional educators, who envisioned an outstanding bilingual education program based on the best teaching and learning practices from around the world.

These parents valued the immense cognitive, social, and cultural benefits of multilingualism and wanted their children to be engaged members of both Spanish and English learning communities. They found that no Spanish-English independent school existed in the Bay Area, no Spanish-English bilingual programs extended beyond 5th grade, and public school bilingual programs were limited in access and in the scope of their mission.

EBI’s founders committed to creating a dual immersion school for students from pre-primary through 8th grade that would prepare children —at the highest level in all disciplines—in both Spanish and English.

EBI opened its doors in Oakland in September 2006, becoming the first independent co-educational day school offering a Spanish-English dual immersion program to pre-K and elementary students in the Bay Area.

In fall 2009, EBI began offering PE and Mandarin. EBI's first library was opened through the enormous efforts of parents in spring 2010. In the fall of 2010, EBI began offering art.

The school attained candidate status from the International Baccalaureate, an organization dedicated to developing internationally-minded citizens through the highest quality educational practices, in spring of 2009.