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United States, San Francisco
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Languages taught include Italian, English and Spanish. Italian and English are the two main languages of instruction, balanced by the Montreal Model: Preschool about 10% English - 90% Italian; Grades K-1 about 20% English - 80% Italian; Grade 2 about 30% English - 70% Italian; Grades 3-5 about 50% Italian - 50% English; Grades 6-8 about 70% English - 30% Italian. Specialist subjects may be taught in English or Italian.
La Scuola teaches using two main languages of instruction, Italian and English, balanced through the Montreal Model. From Kindergarten through Grade 1, Italian is the language of instruction about 80% of the time and English about 20%. From Grade 2, the balance is approximately 70% Italian and 30% English. From Grades 3–5 the balance is about 50% Italian and 50% English, and Grades 6–8 use about 30% Italian and 70% English; specialist subjects may be taught in English or Italian.
Your child does not need to speak Italian to enroll in the Italian language immersion program. In PreK–3, the primary classroom language is Italian, and starting in Grade 4, students learn Spanish as a third language. In Middle School, students can follow different paths, with Italian as second language and Spanish as third, or vice versa, and the Middle School remains inherently multilingual with English, Italian and Spanish.
La Scuola International School in San Francisco is a private day school that operates as an IB World School for the Primary Years Program and the Middle Years Program, and it embraces a Reggio Emilia-inspired approach. The school offers Italian language immersion with English instruction, supported by a Montreal Model grade balance and ongoing Spanish instruction in upper grades. Established in 2002, La Scuola maintains multiple campuses, including the Mission Campus (K–8), the Dogpatch Campus (Preschool), the Silicon Valley Campus (PreK–Elementary), and a Milano, Italy campus; it is recognized by the Italian government as Scuola Paritaria abroad. The Mission Campus is the Americas' first Reggio Emilia-inspired campus, with spaces such as the food atelier, dining room, art, music, and makers ateliers surrounding a central piazza. The environment emphasizes hands-on learning, cross‑grade collaboration, and inquiry through transdisciplinary Units of Inquiry, culminating in the PYP Exhibition and the MYP Community Project for students.
