We are experts at French and English language instruction and have cohorts of English Language Learners and French Language Learners in all grades, Toute Petite Section through Grade 8/4ème.

We do not, however, offer these programs in the Upper School (Grades 9-12). Students must be fluent in English to participate in our International Baccalaureate program or fluent in French to participate in our French baccalaureate program.

Our application is available exclusively online. The steps involved and the required elements are also listed on our website. There is no fee to apply. Families who want priority status in the application pool, should apply no later than February 15th for an entry into the following September. If you have missed the February 15th deadline, you are still welcome to apply and we will consider your application for admission if we have room available in that grade or for the wait list if we do not. 

Due to the international nature of our community, we occasionally have families who depart ISB before the school year ends. Therefore, we do still consider applications for the current academic year. We will consider your application for admission if we have room available in that grade or for the wait list if we do not.

On March 10th, the Admissions Selection Committee delivers their decisions to families who applied using the February 15th priority deadline. Admitted families will have one month to accept the offer of admission.

Families who submit a completed application after the priority application cycle will typically hear from ISB within two weeks. If you have not heard back about your application and more than three weeks have passed since you submitted it, please check your application portal to see what is missing from your application file and contact the Admissions Office if you cannot identify the missing pieces.

Students applying to the Toute Petite Section (TPS) should have reached the age of 2 by September 1st.

Students applying to the following grades should have reached the age listed below by December 31st:

• Petite Section/Pre-K: 3
• Moyenne Section/Mid-K: 4
• Grande Section/Kindergarten: 5

In our experience, students are most successful in our curriculum and happier at school when they join our Maternelle program at the age guidelines indicated in the answer above.

Children whose grade level is accelerated are often the youngest in age and smallest in stature in the classroom. They need to not only to have accomplished all that they would have in their age-appropriate grade, but also have the social and emotional maturity that is on par with a child that is a year older. 

We recognize, however, that ISB lives in two worlds, French and American, and that sometimes these two educational systems are not in sync. If a student is transferring to ISB from another French or AEFE school, we will trust the judgement of the child’s previous school and we will consider them for the grade level that they would have entered had they stayed at their previous school.

If your child is not transferring in from a French or AEFE school and you would like to make a case for the Admissions Selection Committee to consider your child for accelerated entry into ISB’s Maternelle program, you may apply for the older grade. Families should note that it is likely that the Admissions Selection Committee will offer the child entry into the grade indicated by their age unless the family provides substantial evidence during the application process as to why the child should be considered for accelerated admission including a recommendation from their current school addressing this specific concern and a written statement from the family as to the child’s fluency in French and why they think accelerated admission will be in the best interest of the child.

Students entering Toute Petite Section do not need to be potty trained at the start of the school year. Students entering Petite Section and higher do need to be potty trained prior to the start of the school year.

We give priority to applications from siblings of current students and to applications that are submitted prior to February 15th. Beyond that, we have no other priority categories, including citizenship.

View our tuition & fees.

ISB students may receive financial aid from ISB directly through our Financial Aid Program and/or from the French government through the Bourses Scolaires Françaises. This financial aid is need based. Neither program offers merit-based financial aid. A small number of expatriate families receive a tuition benefit directly from their sponsoring company or organization.

More than 25% of our students typically receive some kind of financial aid to pay for their tuition at ISB.

The application deadline to apply for ISB financial aid is February 15th. Please note that this means you may need to get your taxes done especially early in the year. Financial aid eligibility is determined by TADS, a third-party company that administers the application. The Financial Aid Committee will send their decisions to families during the week of March 10th. Since ISB Financial Aid is need-based, families must reapply every year. Applications for ISB financial aid will not be considered after February 15th. 

While ISB offers as much financial aid as possible, it is not always possible to meet a family’s full need. Families who apply for financial aid and submit a completed file by the February 15th deadline, do not need to commit to enrolling until after they have received a response from the financial aid committee.

Students holding French citizenship (residing with their parents and registered at the Consulate General of France in Boston) may apply for the Bourses Scolaires Françaises. These applications and funds are administered entirely by French government via the Consulate General of France in Boston.

The ISB Financial Aid Program may sometimes supplement the amount granted by the French government. French citizens applying for ISB Financial Aid must also apply for the Bourses Scolaires Françaises. In some circumstances, ISB may not know how much funding the French government will provide French families before the enrollment deadline. The Admissions Office will work with these families on a case-by-case basis to offer extensions on enrollment deadlines, if there is a need for them.

Families with three or more children enrolled at ISB typically qualify for a discount of $2,000/child if they submit an application for ISB Financial Aid by the February 15th deadline.

Families have the option to pay tuition in 1, 2 or 10 installments. Regardless of what option you choose, the first payment is due in early June.

There are a variety of websites where students can search for scholarships from third-party benefactors. Most of these search engines are designed for students applying to college, but there are also some scholarships for students in high school. There was also a recent change in the law governing 529 savings plans, that, as of this writing, allowed families to use 529 funds to pay for independent school tuition.

More than 75% of ISB faculty members hold advanced degrees and all teachers in our English program have credentials from the State of Massachusetts. All teachers coming from France are native speakers who were trained in France and hold credentials from the French Ministry of Education. During their tenure with ISB, the school offers financial support for teachers seeking opportunities for professional growth including advanced degrees.

Our teacher population is diverse. We are very mindful when we are recruiting teachers to not only have French teachers coming from France, but also coming from francophone places around the globe (Canada, Africa, Caribbean, etc.), with the different accents and cultures.

Faculty retention rate is an excellent indicator of the faculty’s job satisfaction. ISB values our faculty and the contributions they make to the student experience. It is not uncommon for faculty to stay with the school for eight years or more, with some choosing to stay for more than 25 years.

Our student ratio is 6:1. This is true for all grades.

IB learners are: 

• encouraged to think critically and solve complex problems
• drive their own learning
• a core part in educational programmes that can lead them to some of the highest-ranking universities around the world
• more culturally aware,through the development of a second language 
• able to engage with people in an increasingly globalized, rapidly changing world.

Like all of our curriculum, IB students pursue project-based learning. They are asked to examine the links between each subject as opposed to studying their courses each individually as in the other popular test-based curriculum. IB students are evaluated against an international standard, but within parameters of their experience, they also have a good deal of autonomy, particularly when it comes to writing their Extended Essay, the capstone of the IB experience.

IB students also learn how to pace themselves in such a way that they do not feel burned out by the time they get to college. The IB curriculum requires that students study a combination of Higher Level (HL) and Standard Level (SL) courses - they cannot overload their schedule only with HL courses. In an era when students in other systems are packing an unhealthy number of advanced courses into their schedule starting as early as 9th grade, the IB Diploma Program allows students to take their time to dive more deeply into subjects, examine them from a variety of perspectives, and most importantly, to learn at a pace that fosters a love of learning that will propel them through college and beyond.

ISB does not offer the Primary Years Program (PYP) or the Middle Years Program (MYP) in the strictest sense. This is largely due to the fact that our overall curriculum goes beyond the requirements of these programs due to our connection with the French Ministry of Education. Families will find that ISB programs during what are typically the PYP and MYP years are very similar to the official IB programs, but with more of an emphasis on multilingual education. The similarities of our programs at the younger levels, makes transition into the Diploma Program (DP) in Grade 11 seamless. 

ISB calls our English-language curriculum in grades 9 & 10 the International Program (IP). This program does not require French fluency. It is designed for current, bilingual ISB students who prefer to follow an English-based program and for new students who are fluent in English.

Students in the IP transition into the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in Grade 11.

Absolutely not! It is even possible to begin the study of a foreign language in 11th grade in the IB program. ISB offers courses for students who have previously studied a foreign language, and there are courses for students with first language fluency.

Definitely! U.S. colleges and universities value the preparation provided by the IB program as do universities in Europe and beyond. Data indicates that IB graduates are in fact more successful than most other US high school graduates in their post-secondary education and beyond. Colleges offer credit for higher scores on IB and French bac exams in the same way they do for Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

Yes, in Upper School, we offer some common classes: Languages, Arts, 3D Design Program, and Histoire-Géo. Students also work on joint projects and participate on the same sports teams and in after-school clubs.

On October 2nd, 2021, ISB joined forces with the George School and the Newman School to present a virtual information session specifically about the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Watch the session and learn more about the IB from Admissions Directors, IB Coordinators, Parents, Students, and Alumni.

Yes, our students do take the Diplôme national du brevet (DNB) des collèges. The exam takes into consideration a continuous assessment, and a final exam at the end of the school year. During the final exam, four written tests are taken (French, mathematics, history-geography and sciences), as well as an oral one.

More information is available here.

Yes, we do offer the baccalauréat français international (BFI). Student entering 11th grade with an excellent English level will be able to take the BFI and will take the classes below in English:

• American Literature and culture
• History and geography
• Connaissance du monde, project-based class.

All our students graduate with either the French or the International baccalaureate, as well as the American High School diploma. The French baccalaureate prepares students to apply to universities worldwide, including the United States.

The United States is the number one destination for higher education for students from across the globe, and college admission officers are intimately familiar with high school curricula around the world (i.e. French baccalauréat, German Arbitur, United Kingdom A Levels, etc.)

ISB students who study the French baccalaureate routinely apply to, are accepted by, and matriculate at U.S. universities. In recent years, 60% of the ISB graduating French baccalaureate students attended a U.S. university.

Students from Pre-K through Grade 1 participate in the Éveil aux Langues program in Spanish and Chinese. They discover one language per semester, 30 minutes per week. The languages are introduced through various activities, reading, and singing. 

All our Grade 2-5 students choose to learn either Spanish or Chinese as a third language, twice a week for 45 minutes. This is in addition to their primary languages of instruction, French and English.

At the Middle School level, students learn their third language, Spanish, German, or Chinese (starting in 2023-24) by ability level. They take beginner or advanced classes, according to their aptitudes in the language.

In Upper School, students in the French track are able to continue to study their third language according to their ability level. In the International Program, students are able to choose between French, Spanish, German as a second language, in Grade 9.