The was an international bilingual day school in Palos Verdes Estates,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, in the

Los Angeles metropolitan area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino C ...

, serving students in Kindergarten through grade 9.Park, Andrew. "The ABCs of Asian schools." '' Transpacific'', Transpacific Media, Inc. 9.4 (June 1994): p46+. Available on General OneFile,

Gale Group Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research and the Gale G ...

, Document ID: GALE, A15239827 It was founded by Tadao Hara.Hillinger, Charles.
Students Get a Japanese Education at 2 Palos Verdes Schools
" ''

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''. September 29, 1994. Retrieved on March 6, 2014. The school's name later changed to International School of Los Angeles (ISLA), and it was later located in Torrance.

History

The school opened in Torrance in 1979. At the time, there were six students.Goodman, Adrianne. "Japanese Investors Tap Residential Sales Boom : Peninsula Draws Buyers From Pacific Rim." ''

''. p
2
Retrieved on March 6, 2014. The school was founded to educate children of Japanese nationals working for companies such as

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

.Taylor, Ronald B.
An Education Made in Japan : Schools: Students learn U.S. customs, but the emphasis on excelling is clearly Japanese at an academy in Palos Verdes Estates. The demanding curriculum is designed to keep students on par with their counterparts in Tokyo and elsewhere.
''

''. December 4, 1992. Retrieved on March 6, 2014. During its first year, the school had 48 students. At a later point, it moved to

Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Bay region of th ...

. In the fall of 1988 the school moved to a new building with 21 classrooms. The previous school building had 14 classrooms. As of 1989 the school had 269 students. The school moved to the former Malaga Cove Elementary School in Palos Verdes Estates in 1992. The school leased half of the building, which was still owned by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District. This building also housed the Rolling Hills Preparatory School and the Rancho de Los Palos Verdes Historical Society Museum.Chan, Erin.
Museum Files Suit to Block Its Ouster by School District
" ''

''. July 18, 2002. Retrieved on March 6, 2014. "The museum building is on the site of a closed intermediate school. The property also is home to two private schools: the International Bilingual School and Rolling Hills Preparatory. The school board has filed suit to evict the International Bilingual School. Rolling Hills Preparatory also will have to leave eventually, Smith said." In 1994 the school had 175 students. By 1994 the school's enrollment had declined due to an economic decline in Japan. Hara stated that he had a plan where he would arrange to have 30 to 40 students resident in Japan each take one semester at the school, live with American host families in the South Bay, and gain exposure to the English language and American culture. This plan was to be in cooperation with Japanese high schools. By 2002 the Palos Verdes Peninsula school district had filed suit to force the International Bilingual School to leave the school property. The school moved to a site in Torrance.

Curriculum

The school curriculum was based on guidelines set by the

Japanese Ministry of Education The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...

(Monbusho). The school had nursery, elementary, and junior high divisions.Moritomo, Toyotomi. ''Japanese Americans and Cultural Continuity: Maintaining Language and Heritage''.

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa ...

, 1997. , 9780815317678
138
As of 1987,Rainey, James.
Children of Japanese Executives Flock to Special Classrooms
" ''

''. December 31, 1987. Retrieved on March 6, 2014. and as of 1994 the school gave 210 days of instruction to students. As of 1987, California public schools typically gave 180 days of instruction, and as of 1994 most public schools in the United States gave 180 days of instruction. Watanabe stated that the length of the school year is needed to accommodate the Japanese curriculum. The school held classes five days per week, with elementary students attending from 8:30 AM to 2 PM and with junior high school students attending from 8:30 AM to 4 PM. In addition, as of 1994 students attended school on the first Saturday of each month. Like Japanese schools, the academic year began in April, and ended in March. It used a trimester system. Classes were taught in the Japanese language. The school offered an English language grammar course taught in the English teaching manner used in Japan and an

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...

course. Students also learned about American culture and customs. The school required its students to take gymnastics, and students took calligraphy and music classes. Watanabe stated that the students gained admission to quality Japanese high schools.

Operations

The tuition, as of 1992, was $330 ($ with inflation) to $430 ($ with inflation) monthly. The annual tuition, as of 1994, was from $5,000 ($ with inflation) to $5,800 ($ with inflation). The tuition per month in 1994 was $405 ($ with inflation) to $470 ($ with inflation).

Student and teacher demographics

In 1994, according to Takatsugu "Tak" Watanabe, the school business manager, there were 175 students. Watanabe stated that 95% were Japanese nationals with the remainder being White (Caucasian Americans), African Americans, and those of mixed races. That year, Watanabe stated that many of the Japanese students were children of workers assigned to Los Angeles-area offices of Japanese companies. In 1989 Takatsugu stated that 90% of the students have parents who are Japanese executives. In 1994 Tadao Hara stated that most of the Japanese parents were on three to five year assignments, after which they would return to Japan. As of that year, the maximum class size is 15. , there were 14 full-time teachers and 12 part-time teachers. , there were 28 teachers, including those working full-time and those working part-time. As of 1992, The

trained and certified all of the teachers. , most teachers spoke Japanese and English.

Extracurricular activities

, ninth graders took trips to the

United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

. Hara stated that the students visited historic sites in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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, and

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. According to Hara, within Washington DC the students visited included the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

, the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, and the Embassy of Japan in the United States. In addition, Hara stated that students watched

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

plays.

References

External links

*
International Bilingual School
(Archive) {{authority control Japanese international schools in the United States International schools in California Schools in Los Angeles County, California Private elementary schools in California Private middle schools in California Japanese-American culture in Los Angeles Educational institutions established in 1979 1979 establishments in California Torrance, California Palos Verdes Peninsula