Middle School International Track
Does your child thrive in a small class setting with lots of individualized attention? Do you have high academic expectations for your middle schooler? Are diversity and language fluency important? Then the Middle School International Track at Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley is the right fit. Discover the program and schedule your visit today.
Our Approach
Speaking French is not needed to join the Middle School International Track. Applicants must have a keen interest in learning a second language at an accelerated pace and a desire to pursue a renowned international curriculum that encourages rigorous skill development, critical reasoning and empathy with perspectives from around the world.
Key aspects of the International Track program:
Individualized attention
Small class sizes (fewer than 10 students per class in the International Track) enable us to provide high levels of support to each student.
Strong academics
The core of EB’s program is the French curriculum, renowned for its rigor, taught in the progressive, nurturing, and welcoming setting of an American independent school.
International perspectives
Students become not just bilingual but bicultural. They get four times more second language exposure than a typical middle school, and are immersed in an international community that’s diverse, taking part in many local, regional, and international field trips.
"We love the very small class size. Our child has individualized attention, that was the primary thing for us." Shelli and Keith, parents of a student in the International Track.
Weekly Schedule
The International Track is a separate academic track for non-French-speaking students.
Each week, students in this track attend six accelerated French language classes, as well as physical education and music classes in French. During classes taught in English, International Track students join their peers from the bilingual track.
"As European parents, we feel more connected to the rigorous, structured approach to education that is offered here." Nina, mother of a student in the International Track.
After 6th Grade
In the 6th grade, International Track students spend 25% of their instruction time in French, learning this language at a high pace to promote fluency. That is 50% more than average independent schools in the area, for the ones who introduce a second language in 6th grade at all. As students progress in the program, they are able to follow more classes in French and learn in that language. By 8th grade, they are ready to learn a third language and have a choice between Spanish or Mandarin.
| 6th grade | 7th grade | 8th grade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instruction in French | 25% | 30% | 30% |
| Instruction in English | 75% | 70% | 67% |
| Instruction in Spanish or Mandarin | 3% |
High school placement
EB students are highly sought after by top private schools for their unique qualities. EB graduates are open-minded, globally oriented, culturally fluent, flexible, adaptable, and articulate.
Schools particularly value our students’ extraordinary communications skills, thanks to their mastery of at least two languages—sometimes more.
Our dedicated high school placement counselor works closely with families so that students apply to the schools best suited to them; 95 percent of our students applying to private high schools get into their top choice.
Admission and Tuition
To apply to the International Track, students must meet the following requirements:
- Be in 5th grade during school year 2019-2020
- Provide two years of transcript
- Be available to spend half a day for a shadow visit
- Have limited to no proficiency in French
- Do not need to pass an entry test
Please refer to our Tuition’s page to learn more about the cost of the International Track. Note that the “One Time Enrollment Fee” is waived for International Track applicants. Financial aid is available.
The Ecole Bilingue Middle School
The middle school years are crucial to nurturing students’ sense of identity, their individual voices, and their feelings of belonging and community. Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley (EB) middle school students develop into independent thinkers who can articulate their points of view, and who understand and respect those of others.
The depth and breadth of our international curriculum encourages not only rigorous skill development and critical reasoning but empathy with perspectives from around the world.
Our team of professional, innovative instructors challenges and nurtures students. They encourage the students to learn collaboratively, think creatively, and work on solving real-world problems.
Our middle school, founded in 1988, boasts:
- 21,000 square feet of facilities located in West Berkeley
- 15 highly skilled and bilingual faculty members
- a network of over 1,600 alumni living in more than 20 countries
- an average of 19 students per class
