International School of Boston (ISB; french: Lycée International de Boston or LIB, previously ''École Internationale de Boston'') is a bilingual co-educational TPS-12 private school in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. With 560 students from over 43 different countries, ISB is one of the few schools in New England offering the

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 ...

. ISB also offers the French Baccalaureate, and all graduating seniors receive the American high school diploma in addition to one of these international diplomas.

History

The International School of Boston was founded in 1962 as the ''Jardin d’Enfants'' (literally Children's Garden, French for “Kindergarten”) in hopes of integrating French language and culture into children's educational experiences. The ''Jardin d’Enfants'' was one of the first bilingual programs in the United States. Since 1962 ISB has grown from 15 children to 560, and expanded to serve TPS through 12th grade. Students range in ages from 2 to 18 and come from 43 nations. The school had a nomadic existence in its early years as it searched for suitable space. From the basement of the Lutheran Church in Belmont, to a church in Newton Corner, to the Armenian Church in Cambridge, to the Parmenter School on Irving Street in Arlington (where the Pre-school and Kindergarten campus has been since 1983), it finally settled in 1997 in its current location in Cambridge. Its main building is the former Cambridge Almshouse, built in 1850 and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. It also underwent several name changes, including ''Ecole Bilingue de Boston'' (French name), and French-American International School of Boston (English name). Since January 2006, the English name has been the International School of Boston.

Bilingual education

With one of the first bilingual programs in the US, ISB has almost 60 years of experience in bilingual education. ISB's curriculum is bilingual from TPS through 12th grade, with Preschool and Kindergarten being full-immersion programs in French.

The International Baccalaureate

In addition to the American High School Diploma, ISB offers both the French Baccalaureate and

(IB).

Arts

ISB has an extremely strong theater arts program, culminating in a week-long performing arts festival each May. For several years, ISB has participated at the Theater Festival at the ''

Lycée Français de New York The Lycée Français de New York (LFNY), commonly called the Lycée (in English, "The French High School of New York"), is an independent bilingual French school serving an international community of students from Nursery-3 to twelfth grade based ...

'', winning first prize in 2006 and the “Special Prize of the Jury” in 2007. Visual arts also have a week-long festival in May during which student artwork is exhibited. The school choirs have several performances throughout the year.

Athletics

ISB offers competitive teams in

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. In the spring of 2007, ISB hosted the French-American School of Rhode Island and the ''

École Française du Maine École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

'' in a soccer tournament. ISB has had a competitive Fencing Club for many years, as well as additional clubs for mixed sports, handball, volleyball, and badminton. In January 2013 the ISB varsity men's ''épée'' team finished second at the Massachusetts State Championships with all three of their fencers finishing in the top five individually.

Community service

All ISB Middle and Upper School students are required to take part in service activities and encouraged to invest their time in creative, active and service-based projects. This helps students develop commitment to an active and healthy lifestyle, recognition of the value of creative and innovative activities, and collaboration, leadership and other skills. Students participate in the Cambridge

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the Hunger, hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoo ...

and the Walk for Hunger, volunteer within the school and help in the library, serve as homework aides for elementary students, support Open Houses, and aid the Parents’ Association with fundraising activities and events.

After-School Clubs

Clubs include:

Math Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

circus arts Circus skills are a group of disciplines that have been performed as entertainment in circus, sideshow, busking, or variety, vaudeville, or music hall shows. Most circus skills are still being performed today. Many are also practiced by non-perfo ...

knitting Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...

, cross-stitch,

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...

, jazz dance, mime, Spanish,

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

, video animation,

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, jewelry-beading,

gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits ...

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

, and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

Summer Programs

The school offers a summer program for Elementary School ISB and non-ISB students. Non-French and French-speakers are welcome. Activities are run bilingually, so the summer program offers an excellent introduction to French for many students. Activities include art, outdoor games, water games, songs, theater, and a field trip each week. Camp counselors are all ISB teachers—highly professional and well experienced. All speak French and English fluently.

Accreditations

The International School of Boston (ISB) is accredited by The

New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institution ...

(NEASC),

Council of International Schools The Council of International Schools (CIS) is a membership organization aimed at international education. CIS was formed in 1949. It has over 1,360 institutional members consisting of over 740 schools and 610 colleges/universities, located in 122 ...

(CIS),

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 ...

(MEN), and

International Baccalaureate Organisation 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). It is also a member of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

(NAIS), Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE), Association of French Schools of North America (AFSA) and Mission laïque française (MLF).

References

External links

International School of Boston

French-American International School of Boston
(Archive) {{DEFAULTSORT:International School Of Boston Bilingual schools Schools in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts International Baccalaureate schools in Massachusetts International schools in the United States Private elementary schools in Massachusetts Private middle schools in Massachusetts Private high schools in Massachusetts Educational institutions established in 1962 1962 establishments in Massachusetts