Silicon Valley International School

Silicon Valley International School, colloquially INTL, (pronounced "international"),[1] is a private grade day school located in Silicon Valley, with two campuses in Palo Alto (formerly International School of the Peninsula, ISTP) and Menlo Park (formerly Alto International School).

Silicon Valley International School
Address
151 Laura Lane

Silicon Valley

Palo Alto
,
Santa Clara County
,
CA
94303-3221

USA
Coordinates37°27′07″N 122°07′31″W
Information
Former namesInternational School of the Peninsula (ISTP), Peninsula French-American School (PFAS), Alto International School (ALTO), German-American International School (GAIS)
School typePrivate Language Immersion
Founded1978 (PFAS), 1988 (GAIS)
FounderCharlotte de Géry and Stephen Kispersky
StatusOpen
Head of schoolBarbara Greiner
GradesPreschool–12th Grade
Age range3–18
Enrollment720 (2023)
LanguageEnglish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese
CampusCohn Campus (Kindergarten–5th Grades), Willows Campus (Preschool–Pre-Kindergarten & 6th-12th Grades)
AccreditationsInternational Baccalaureate, California Association of Independent Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, French Ministry of National Education
Websitesiliconvalleyinternational.org

Silicon Valley International School teaches in English language, Mandarin Chinese, French language and German language. INTL is an International Baccalaureate World School, and teaches the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (DP).

The French AEFE designates this school as a French international school, as the École internationale de la Péninsule.[2]

History

On January 1, 2021, Silicon Valley International School (INTL) and Alto International School legally merged, united under the same name - Silicon Valley International School (INTL). [3]

Silicon Valley International School (INTL) was first established as a French immersion school in 1979, and was named the Peninsula French American School. Founded by Mme Charlotte de Géry with a small group of parents and friends, the school originally opened its doors to nine students. 10 years later, Alto International School (Alto) was founded by Stephen Kispersky in 1988 as the Deutsch-Amerikanische Schule San Francisco (DAS) as a place for children to learn in a German-English environment.

In 1996, the school began teaching in Mandarin Chinese program and middle school program and changed its name to International School of The Peninsula (ISTP).[4] In 2019, ISTP gained authorization to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) and later was authorized to provide the Middle Years Programme (MYP). In September 2000, ISTP moved their elementary and middle school program into the Cohn Campus.[5] As the culmination of a multi-year research and rebranding project, in 2020, ISTP's name was officially changed to Silicon Valley International School (INTL). When INTL and Alto finalized their merger at the end of 2020 and start of 2021, the two campuses became one school under the banner of INTL with Alto's campus becoming INTL's Willows Campus alongside of the INTL Cohn Campus.

School Leadership

INTL's Head of School is Barbara Greiner who began her tenure leading the school in the summer of 2022. Barbara previously served INTL for 21 years, including 11 as Middle School Principal. Barbara was integral to the development and planning for the successful execution of INTL’s International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP). Prior to returning to INTL, she served as Head of School for the French Immersion School of Washington in Bellevue.

Greiner took the reins from former Head of School Philippe Dietz, the longest tenured head in the school's history. Philippe spent 25 years as the Head of School at INTL overseeing change and growth at the school. He led the school's transition to becoming an International Baccalaureate World School and guided the merger between INTL and Alto before retiring in 2023.

Accomplishments

ISTP has been in the annual San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade. The school has received awards in the Amateur Self-Built Float Category in previous years, winning either 1st or 2nd place.[6][7][8][9][10][11]

Based on the International Schools' Assessment (ISA) and the PISA test of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Alto students used to consistently outperform comparable schools worldwide and in 2017 Alto's 9th Grade students had tested above the highest ranking schools systems in the world and scored in the top 10% worldwide.[12] In addition, according to the Presidential Honor Roll of the American Association of Teachers of German, students of Alto International School ranked in 2017 and 2018 within the top 3 schools in California and within the top 10 schools nationwide.[13]

In 2016, ISTP won Palo Alto's 4th annual Mayor's Green Business Leader Award.[14]

In 2017, 2018, and 2019, the "Best of the Best" edition of the Bay Area Magazine, Alto International School was awarded Gold and Silver medals for the best school in the following 6 categories: Preschool, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, International School and Language Immersion Program.[15][16][17]

In 2021, Alto and INTL merged to become Silicon Valley International School and the Menlo Park Alto campus was renamed to the INTL Willows Campus, which now houses their preschool/pre-kindergarten and upper school (6th-12th). [18]

In 2022, "Best of the Best" by Bay Area Parent, INTL was awarded Gold medals for the Best International School, Best Preschool or Childcare Center, and Best Private High School. In addition, INTL was awarded Silver medals for Language Immersion, Best Private Middle School, and Best Technology School or Program. [19]

In 2023, INTL once again earned a Gold medal for the Best International School in "Best of the Best" by Bay Area Parent. In addition, INTL was awarded a Gold medal for Best Private High School. INTL was awarded Silver medals for Best Private Middle School, and Best Preschool while taking home a Bronze medal for Best Language Immersion School. [20]

Accreditations

See also

References
  1. "About | Silicon Valley International School in Menlo Park, CA". Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  2. "École internationale de la Péninsule". AEFE. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  3. "INTL About | History". Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  4. Darling, Elizabeth (1996-08-21). "French-American School to add Mandarin". Palo Alto Daily News.
  5. Breitrose, Charlie (September 13, 2000). "SCHOOLS: International School opens new campus". Palo Alto Weekly.
  6. "2006 Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade Judging Results" (PDF).
  7. "2007 Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade Judging Results" (PDF).
  8. "2008 Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade Judging Results" (PDF).
  9. "2009 Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade Judging Results" (PDF).
  10. "2011 Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade Judging Results" (PDF).
  11. "Around Town: Gung Hay Fat Choi". Palo Alto Weekly. March 12, 2003.
  12. "Alto High School Students Outperform Highest-ranked School Systems" (PDF).
  13. "Presidential Honor Roll - American Association of Teachers of German". www.aatg.org. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  14. "Community Notebook: Eight Palo Alto companies recognized for green efforts". Palo Alto Weekly. April 7, 2016.
  15. "Bay Area Parent - Best of the Best 2017, page 77 & 78".
  16. "Bay Area Parents - Best of the Best 2018, page 66 & 68".
  17. "Bay Area Parents - Best of the Best 2019, page 34 & 36". Bay Area Parents.
  18. Kadvany, Elena (2020-02-10). "New High School to Bring German French and Chinese Language Instruction Under One Roof". Palo Alto Daily News.
  19. "Bay Area Parent - Best of the Best 2022".
  20. "Bay Area Parent - Best of the Best 2023".
  21. "INTL listing on CAIS' website".
  22. "INTL listing on WASC's website".
  23. "INTL listing on AEFE's website".
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