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ToolKit 

FAM

Our Mission

Escuela Bilingüe Internacional provides an excellent Spanish-English bilingual education based on the highest international academic standards in an environment that thrives on diversity, fosters global citizenship, and develops the character necessary to recognize cultural uniqueness as the touchstone of our common humanity.

Our Core Values

Diversity

Diversity is the heart of EBI. We are passionate about creating a community that reflects the vibrant diversity of the world in which we live and a culture that celebrates a myriad of perspectives. Because we believe diversity in all its forms engenders deeper understanding and compassion for all of humanity, we uphold an educational philosophy that embraces each individual and actively rejects prejudice and discrimination.

Bilingualism

In a global era, the benefits of being bilingual are profound and multifaceted. We believe that everyone is capable of becoming multilingual and that knowing a language opens up new worlds for its speakers. Students at EBI become literate in Spanish and English while developing conversational skills in a third language.

Character

The cultivation of character is at the core of EBI’s educational model. We are dedicated to fostering the development of certain qualities in our students through our educational methods of inquiry and our personal actions. Every day we teach self-respect, kindness, integrity, compassion, cooperation, curiosity, empathy, enthusiasm, open-mindedness, respect for the planet, confidence, commitment, responsibility and an awareness of privilege.

International ​​​​​​​Mindedness

We view the world as our broadest community and context for learning. It is our belief that international mindedness helps people become their best selves and responsible members of their local and global communities. We strive to instill an international mindset in our students that promotes empathy, encourages an understanding of the complexity and value of diversity, and supports them in recognizing that we are all connected.

Educational Excellence

EBI is committed to the highest academic standards in every area of education. We promote the active construction of knowledge and incorporate traditional disciplines into our International Baccalaureate programs of inquiry. Our students develop a joy of learning and the motivation to be self-directed, lifelong inquirers who are agents of change.

Our Story

In 2006, a small group of committed parents and professional educators dreamt of providing their children with an outstanding bilingual education based on the best teaching and learning practices from around the world. They valued the immense cognitive, social and cultural benefits of multilingualism and wanted their children to be engaged members of both the Spanish and English learning communities.

But, with no Spanish-English independent schools in the Bay Area and no Spanish-English bilingual programs beyond 5th grade at the time, they could not find a program like the one they imagined. Then, inspired by their vision, EBI’s founders decided to build a dual immersion school for students from pre-kinder through 8th grade that would prepare them in Spanish and English for the highest academic levels in all disciplines.

2006

Escuela Bilingue Internacional began at the St. Augustine Parish on Alcatraz Avenue in Oakland in the fall. It was the first independent co-educational day school offering a Spanish-English dual immersion program to pre-kinder and elementary students in the Bay Area.

2011

Escuela Bilingue Internacional acquired its Emeryville building with the generous support of Steve Oliver and Company. Escuela Bilingue Internacional opened its Middle School on San Pablo Avenue in Emeryville.

2014

The California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accredited EBI through the year 2021. The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) authorized EBI to offer their Primary Years Programme curriculum.

2015

The first EBI eighth grade class graduated.

2016

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) authorized EBI to offer their Middle Years Programme (MYP) curriculum. EBI became an IB World School.

2020

EBI welcomed its first cohort for the Language Acquisition Track to the Middle School. This program is designed for students with little to no Spanish and integrates their studies with that of the Bilingual Track students in grades 6-8.

2022

EBI becomes the SF Bay Area’s only certified school test site to offer the DELE. Students and community members from all over the area can test at the San Pablo campus to certify their Spanish language level.

For more information on our campus tours or admissions process, please contact us at admissions@ebinternacional.org