· updated monthly
The five schools Washington dc parents researched most this year, chosen from the 15 international schools in the city. Ranked by how many families opened each school’s profile and spent time reading it between July 2025 and June 2026, then the full picture on curricula, class sizes and fees.
The 2026 ranking
Ranked purely by parent interest — the number of families who opened each school’s profile and spent time reading it between July 2025 and June 2026.
British International School of Washington BISW is a private international school in DC serving ages 2 to 18 and part of Nord Anglia Education. Opened in 1998, BISW blends a British educational heritage with an international focus. The school offers a curriculum across 2–18: Early Years Foundation Stage; the English National Curriculum supported by the International Primary Curriculum; the International Middle Years Curriculum; IGCSE in Upper Secondary (Years 10–11); and the IB Diploma Programme in Upper Secondary (Years 12–13). English and Mathematics are taught in line with the English National Curriculum. The campus is a single building housing facilities for the sciences, arts, music, dance, computer science and design technology, plus a learning hub, library, and counseling space. BISW uses Seesaw in Primary and ManageBac in Secondary to track progress. Juilliard and MIT collaborations enrich arts and STEAM, alongside Nord Anglia's Global Campus programs. Preparing students for a global career.
Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School is a public, two-campus Chinese-English immersion school in Washington, DC, serving ages 3 through 11. The school delivers the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) within an immersive bilingual model. PK3–PK4 receive 100% Mandarin instruction; K–1 blend Mandarin (about 75%) and English (25%), with English Language Arts taught for 180 days; Grades 2–5 use a 50/50 Mandarin–English model with instruction delivered on alternating days. The program fosters globally minded learners through inquiry-based learning and the IB learner profile. The Elementary Campus is located at 220 Taylor Street NE, DC 20017, with the Early Years Campus nearby; together they occupy a three-acre LEED-certified site featuring Founders Forest, a one-acre outdoor nature center, supporting environmental learning. REEF provides on-site before- and after-school care. The school emphasizes a values-based community, welcoming families seeking a rigorous, multilingual science and humanities education within a public charter framework for families.
Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School operates across two DC campuses, Brookland and East End, serving students from PK3 through fifth grade (ages 3 to 11). The school delivers the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme in a dual-immersion framework, with English plus a target language (Spanish or French) for content-area instruction. From Pre-K, 90% of instruction is in the target language; kindergarten to fifth grade use roughly half English and half the target language, with native-speaking teachers leading lessons. The campus facilities include a kitchen that prepares three meals daily from local ingredients, a garden program, a library, a music and art room, and outdoor spaces. The school is accredited by the Middle States Association and participates in Label FrancEducation and Learn24. Support services include MTSS and English Learner supports, with targeted 1:1 or small-group instruction as needed. The program emphasizes inquiry-based learning, intercultural understanding, and student voice.
Washington International School is a not-for-profit independent day school for ages 3 to 18 across two DC campuses. It offers the IB program from the Primary Years (PYP) through the Diploma (DP) for grades 11–12, with externally graded exams. In the early years, language immersion runs in French or Spanish; Grades 1–5 follow a dual-language program of English with either English/French or English/Spanish, while Mandarin begins in Grade 6. The school earns LabelFrancÉducation accreditation for high-quality French bilingual education and supports continued study through French or Spanish as Additional Languages. The Primary School includes a library with books in English, French, and Spanish, and the Lasseron Design Lab. The Tregaron Campus houses Middle and Upper Schools; Le Centre Brown, a science-centric facility, is under construction to LEED Gold standards and expected to open in 2025. WIS offers after-school programs and clubs such as Model UN, Amnesty International, and Pride Alliance.
District of Columbia International School (DCI) is a tuition-free public charter for students aged 11–18, serving grades 6–12 on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus in Delano Hall. Founded in 2014, it grew from language-immersion charters to become an International Baccalaureate World School offering the Middle Years Programme (MYP) for grades 6–10 and the Diploma Programme (DP) or Career Programme (CP) for grades 11–12. DCI implements an IB for All approach, with English as the language of instruction for core subjects and three language tracks (French, Spanish, and Chinese), where language study and electives are delivered in the target language. The school runs a 1:1 Chromebook program, supporting inquiry-based, student-centered learning. Distinctive features include language immersion, work-based learning through CP, and robust electives in arts and STEM. The campus is Tier 1 per DC PCSB, and ACE activities, athletics, and partnerships enrich experiences. A true model for IB for families.
What’s on offer
The mix of programmes and teaching languages across all 15 schools. Many offer more than one curriculum, so totals run higher than the school count.
Number of schools teaching each curriculum.
Number of schools teaching in each language.
Size & classes
School size and class size shape day-to-day experience as much as curriculum does.
Schools grouped by total enrolment.
Average school size is 701 students · based on the 12 schools that report enrolment.
Schools grouped by typical class size.
Average class size is 15.1 students · based on the 12 schools that report it.
What it costs
Fees shown are one year for a 12-year-old (or the closest age available), excluding one-time enrolment costs.
Across the 10 schools that publish a price for a 12-year-old. All figures in USD.
How many schools sit in each annual-fee range.
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