Escuela Bilingüe Internacional (EBI) | Preschool & 1st Grade School

After not even a full year at the school with a preschooler and Kindergartener, my husband and I agree this is the best decision we've ever made as a family and are beyond thrilled with everything we've experienced so far-the teachers and staff, the curriculum, and above all, the community and support we feel. We cannot wait to see what the rest of this year and subsequent years will bring!
Feb 7th, 2023

I highly recommend Escuela Bilingüe Internacional (EBI). We commute from Half Moon Bay to Oakland each day because we love EBI so much.Our 5-year-old daughter loves EBI. She wakes up every day excited about going to school to see her teachers and play with her classmates. She never wants to come home after school. In fact, my daughter made my wife and I put her in the after-school program Aventura. We were dubious at first because being in school from 8:30 am to 5:45 pm (normally 3 pm) seemed like a long day, but our daughter was relentless, we finally caved in, and we are delighted by the results. It is amazing to see how much our daughter has grown mentally and emotionally since starting at EBI. She has become an inquisitive little girl who constantly tackles problems, comes up with creative solutions, and takes the initiative on all sorts of things, for example, eating healthfully.The staff and teachers are wonderful people, as are the parents. EBI is a school that lives and breathes the principles of global citizenship and cultural diversity, both in terms of its faculty and student body. It is amazing to see all the kids in my daughter's class speaking to each other in Spanish and even Spanglish while playing. With its international baccalaureate and socio-emotional learning curriculum, EBI also provides an excellent Spanish-English bilingual education based on the highest international academic standards. The school offers a plethora of fun opportunities for every child-friendly activity imaginable, including art, dance, fitness, music, and science, among others. Aventura is open ended, letting the students explore their interests. For example, our daughter was part of an art exhibit done in collaboration with celebrated artists and the local community.We are grateful that our daughter was able to complete her entire year of kindergarten at EBI in person despite the global pandemic. The school managed the pandemic superbly, consulting with experts and letting them manage the school's reopening. The result was that the school never had to shut down after reopening. Based on what our friends told us, other schools did not fare so well. I cannot think of a better testament to how well the staff run the school than this.We could not be happier with our decision to put our daughter in EBI and look forward to seeing her continue to learn and grow and build lifelong friendships at EBI.
Jun 14th, 2021

This is an amazing school. Both of my children have thrived and feel that they are part of a loving, caring, and supportive and diverse educational environment. My kindergarten daughter is now completely fluent and can enjoy media, books, and music in both Spanish and English. My pre-K son absolutely adores his teachers and feels that he is loved and supported. My children are mixed Latinx/Black and are part of an intellectually exciting, supportive, and globally-focused school that imparts a message of social justice and community.
Feb 6th, 2020

EBI kids are surrounded by loving and encouraging teachers and staff. The parent community is so welcoming and resourceful. As an immigrant parent trying to expose my children to our native language (not Spanish) at home, I am very happy to say EBI has been so tremendously helpful in keeping my kids engaged and excited to learn Spanish and English at school while maintaining our native language at home.
Dec 12th, 2019

This is our daughter's second year in Pre-K at EBI and we absolutely cannot imagine a better school.  The students EBI produces are extraordinary- here's why:1.- The International Baccalaureate (IB) Program.  If ever there existed a curriculum that maximized the number of self-actualized students in a school, this would be it.  The IB Program has structured, transdisciplinary units of inquiry that get the students thinking about complex, global topics starting at even the earliest ages (for example: what our rights and responsibilities are as members of a local and global community; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; what it means to be human; etc.).  And the use of math is imbedded into all of it.  All of this starts in Pre-K, and wow does it pay off!2.- Spanish Immersion.  There are, last I checked, native Spanish-speaking teachers from at least 14 different countries represented in EBI's faculty.  The consequence?  The students thereby have the unrivaled opportunity to learn directly from primary sources about a staggering number of different cultures and experiences that the average American student never gets exposed to.  And the teachers here are phenomenal!  Also, by virtue of the school's Spanish immersion, EBI students graduate as biliterate.  Not merely are they fluent in English and Spanish, but they are also literate in both languages.  3.- Diversity.  The amount of diversity at EBI is staggering, even by Bay Area standards, and it's made that way quite by design.  EBI's tuition assistance program ensures that families with lower incomes can afford to send their children to EBI.  Why?  Because having a diverse school boasting families from all backgrounds is integral to EBI's mission.  My husband and I were initially worried that our daughter would be alienated because she has two dads, but then we learned that the appreciation of diversity is so important to EBI that each class spends a significant amount of time discussing the differences and similarities of families, and that differences are taught to comprise an asset and not a detriment.  It's so profoundly simple and effective that one wonders what the world would be like if all pre-schools took this approach to appreciating and respecting diversity.4.- Community.  Relaying how phenomenally warm and welcoming the faculty, staff, and parents at EBI are might prove difficult given how much of an outlier the school is, but here it goes.  I have never witnessed such a welcoming environment.  Ever.  Dropping off my daughter in the morning is a complete joy given her excitement to be going to school, and especially given the excitement and enthusiasm of the other children being dropped off.  It needs to be seen to be believed.  The existing EBI families are friendly and welcoming to one another, and are especially so to new families.  The teachers, most importantly, are tremendously loving and attentive to the children.  My daughter's teachers each give her a big hug every morning when I drop her off, and that love is so incredibly important for creating a real sense of community at the school.  5. Mandarin.  The world is shrinking, and raising tomorrow's children in the same manner that we ourselves were raised (i.e., Isolationist) is, in my opinion, a huge miscalculation.  As an international school, EBI's curriculum recognizes the importance of global mindedness and the appreciation of different cultures and worldviews.  Knowing additional languages is invaluable in the world of tomorrow, and EBI's decision to begin teaching its students Mandarin in the third grade is, I believe, a truly brilliant touch.  EBI graduates, therefore, are English/Spanish biliterate and conversational in Mandarin, which means that they can effectively communicate in the world's three most populous languages.  And this is only upon graduating from the 8th grade.  Just imagine all of the opportunities afforded them with such an early advantage.Why it is most families decide to continue on at EBI through 8th grade is now very clear to me.  It's an extraordinary school that seems to thank its existence to the chance convergence of a handful of visionary educators whose work created a dynamo that in turn attracted and retained more brilliant people.  My daughter, who was so dispirited at her previous preschool, now loves going to school.  She comes home speaking rapid-fire, flawless Spanish, and while I have absolutely no idea what she's saying, I'm reassured in knowing that her mind is working at a higher level and that she's profoundly excited to learn.  And she's not alone.  Go to campus during morning drop-off and you'll see kids literally sprinting from cars in order to get to school faster.  Take a campus tour and see it for yourself.  EBI is a truly marvelous and exceptional school that seems only to get better with each passing year.
Oct 15th, 2019