Common Entry Points
Your Pathway to a Global Education
At the International School of Boston (ISB), we view admissions as the beginning of a collaborative, long-term academic partnership. We welcome students and families at all grade levels, from age 2 through Grade 12, but most frequently at four key milestones: Maternelle (our Preschool program), Grade 1 in the Lower School, Grades 6 and 7 in the Middle School, and Grade 9 in the Upper School. Both local families from the Arlington, Boston, Cambridge, Lexington, Medford, Somerville, and Winchester area, as well as families relocating from abroad, join our community to experience the unlimited possibilities of a global education.
We meet your child exactly where they are on their learning journey, providing the support and intellectual framework they need to thrive.
Maternelle: Early Years (Age 2 – Kindergarten)
The Maternelle offers a dual-language foundation during a child’s most receptive window for language acquisition. No prior French or English proficiency is required for enrollment. Our French immersion model allows children to acquire linguistic fluency organically through exploration, play, and problem-solving. Non-French-speaking households feel fully supported from day one.
Entering ISB during these formative years allows your child to not only speak two languages but also to think, reason, and create in both English and French. This immersive framework builds advanced pre-literacy skills, confident mathematical thinking, and deep cross-cultural awareness. By the time they transition to the Lower School, they have the intellectual confidence and autonomy for long-term academic success.
Lower School: Grade 1
Grade 1 marks a pivotal transition into the Lower School years and serves as an exciting entry point for both rising Maternelle students and new families joining us from local or international schools. The focus is on rapidly expanding your child's knowledge of French and English by building strong literacy skills and learning how to interact and work with classmates. Instruction is approximately two-thirds in French and one-third in English, with opportunities for targeted language support and differentiated instruction, ensuring that students coming from diverse linguistic backgrounds adapt quickly, build confidence, and feel fully integrated into the classroom from day one. This is also the formal beginning of our Global Learning Program, with overnight trips (one night) beginning in Grades 1 and 2.
Middle School: Grades 6 & 7
Grades 6 and 7 serve as an accessible entry point if you are looking to transition your child from a local elementary school or from abroad. Students do not need to speak French to enroll. Our framework features an English-emphasized curriculum track for core subjects such as mathematics, science, and the humanities, as well as small-group ESL or FSL instruction to help new students integrate seamlessly into our community.
Middle School at ISB serves as an intellectually stimulating stepping stone. By introducing interdisciplinary projects and analytical writing, we cultivate the critical thinking and independence your child needs to grow. This experience ensures that, whether they arrive fully bilingual or entirely new to the language, they will conclude Grade 8 well prepared to enter either our International Baccalaureate Program or the French Baccalaureate Track.
High School: Grade 9 (Dual Track Program)
Grade 9 serves as a natural transition to entry into high school at ISB. Unlike our bilingual program in Preschool through Grade 8, our Upper School academic framework expands to offer two distinct, globally recognized diplomas: the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program, taught in English and the most common pathway for local and non–French international relocation, and the French Baccalaureate program. As an ISB graduate, your child will also receive an American high school diploma.
The IB track is the most common entry point for local students looking to drive their own research and connect ideas globally—the exact skills that are highly prized by elite university admissions offices worldwide. The ultimate aim of the IB pedagogy at ISB is to develop internationally minded individuals ready to navigate complex, cross-cultural paradigms.