In early 2014, Italian school La Scuola debuted its second campus on Fell Street, a large building with ten classrooms and a 9,000-square-foot playground. The school, which offers Italian immersion classes for students in kindergarten through the fourth grade, is hosting an open house this Saturday for interested parents to check out the program and space.
La Scuola (whose second campus, for preschoolers, is located in the Dogpatch) operates under the Reggio Emilia approach to education, which centers around children's own desire to learn. This philosophy means that La Scuola teaches children based on their interests. It also utilizes the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, a global standard for elementary education. The school is on track to receive its IB certification early next year.
Though the majority of classes are taught in Italian, 90 percent of the families whose children attend La Scuola are American. "We do have a number of students with Italian heritage, but the more we've grown, the more international we have become," says admissions associate Ginny Smith. "We currently have 23 different languages spoken within the homes of our community members. As an international school, we aim to build a diverse community that cares about both local and global issues."
The school on Fell Street is gradually growing to accommodate older kids. When it first opened, it offered classes from kindergarten to third grade, but now fourth graders are invited to attend. Next year, classes will expand to fifth grade, and continue up a grade each year until the school is a full K-8.
While students are accepted into the program at any age, it's recommended that students in second grade and above have some Italian language skills. Smith told us that "with the language acquisition, we have found that the younger they start and the more exposure they have, the easier it is for them."
For those parents interested in starting their kids off early in the program, there are two kindergarten classes being offered for Fall 2016. Track 1 is an Italian immersion class, taught in 80 percent Italian and 20 percent English. Track 2 is an English class with Italian taught as a second language, with 80 percent English and 20 percent Italian. Annual K-4 tuition for the current academic year is $24,590, including meals; financial aid is available.
The open house will take place on Saturday November 14th, from 11:30am-1pm, at 735 Fell Street. Interested parents are asked to sign up online prior to the event.
