Silicon Valley International School Silicon Valley International School, colloquially INTL, (pronounced "international"), is a private grade day school located in Silicon Valley, with two campuses in Palo Alto (formerly International School of the Peninsula, ISTP) and Menlo Park (f ...

, colloquially INTL, (pronounced "international"), is a private grade day school located in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

, with two campuses in

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

(formerly International School of the Peninsula, ISTP) and Menlo Park (formerly Alto International School). Silicon Valley International School teaches in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. INTL is an

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

World School, and teaches the

IB Primary Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) for students in grades Kindergarten to Fifth grade. While the programme prepares students for the IB Middle Y ...

(PYP), the

IB Middle Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an educational programme for students between the ages of 11 to 16 around the world as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum. Middle Year Programme is intended to pr ...

(MYP) and the

IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...

(DP). The Willows Campus houses the INTL’s Early Years Program (Preschool and Pre-K) as well as the school’s Upper School (6th-12th) which includes the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (DP). In addition to its language immersion programs, INTL offers an Upper School Language Acquisition (USLA) program. USLA provides an intensive language learning environment that cultivates international leadership skills while gaining the ability to quickly become proficient in a second language (Chinese, French, German, or

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

History

On January 1, 2021, Silicon Valley International School (INTL) and Alto International School (Alto) legally merged, united under the same name - Silicon Valley International School (INTL). When INTL and Alto finalized their merger at the end of 2020 and start of 2021, the two campuses became one school under the banner of INTL with Alto's campus becoming INTL's Willows Campus alongside the INTL Cohn Campus. Prior to the merger, Alto was originally founded in 1988 as the first German school on the US West Coast. Originally named the German-American International School (GAIS) it changed its name to Alto International School in September of 2016. As an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School since 2007, the school offered both the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) from Grades 6 through Grade 10, and (Since receiving accreditation in 2018) the IB Diploma Programme (DP) from Grades 11 and 12.

Accomplishments

ISTP has been in the annual

San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade The San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is an annual event in San Francisco. Held for approximately two weeks following the first day of the Chinese New Year, it combines elements of the Chinese Lantern Festival with a typical Amer ...

. The school has received awards in the Amateur Self-Built Float Category in previous years, winning either 1st or 2nd place. Based on the International Schools' Assessment (ISA) and the

PISA Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

test of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Alto students used to consistently outperform comparable schools worldwide and in 2017 Alto's 9th Grade students had tested above the highest ranking schools systems in the world and scored in the top 10% worldwide. In addition, according to the Presidential Honor Roll of the

American Association of Teachers of German The American Association of Teachers of German is a professional organisation for teachers of German in the United States and Europe. Teachers may be involved in primary, secondary, or university education. Additionally, retired and student teacher ...

, students of Alto International School ranked in 2017 and 2018 within the top 3 schools in California and within the top 10 schools nationwide. In 2016, ISTP won Palo Alto's 4th annual Mayor's Green Business Leader Award. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, the "Best of the Best" edition of the Bay Area Magazine, Alto International School was awarded

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

medals for the best school in the following 6 categories: Preschool, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, International School and Language Immersion Program. In 2021,

Alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

and INTL merged to become Silicon Valley International School and the Menlo Park Alto campus was renamed to the INTL Willows Campus, which now houses their preschool/pre-kindergarten and upper school (6th-12th). In 2022, "Best of the Best" by Bay Area Parent, INTL was awarded

medals for the Best International School, Best Preschool or Childcare Center, and Best Private High School. In addition, INTL was awarded

medals for Language Immersion, Best Private Middle School, and Best Technology School or Program.

Accreditations

California Association of Independent Schools
(CAIS) *

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing School accreditation, accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary school, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, ...

(WASC) *

French Ministry of Education French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

Agency for French Teaching Abroad The Agency for French Education Abroad, or Agency for French Teaching Abroad, (french: Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger; abbreviation: AEFE), is a national public agency under the administration of the Minister of Foreign Affairs ...

(AEFE) * National Association of Independent School (NAIS)
Independent Schools of the San Francisco Bay Area
(ISSFBA) *

International Baccalaureate Organization The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

(IBO)

References

External links

Silicon Valley International School
* {{authority control High schools in San Mateo County, California International Baccalaureate schools in California Private K-12 schools in California German international schools in the United States International schools in California International schools in San Francisco 1988 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1988 German-American culture in California Round Square schools