La Scuola International School | Preschool Campus - San Francisco, California

Rodney Minott

Our son started La Scuola preschool this year and he loves it! He’s made many friends and all of his teachers are terrific — extraordinarily dedicated and caring. The campus is beautiful and the school's emphasis on the Reggio Emilia learning philosophy offers a richly nurturing learning environment. Our son has embraced his Italian immersion and already enjoys correcting my limited Italian word pronunciations! Getting to know the other parents has also been a great experience. I highly recommend La Scuola.

Lama Nachman

My son started at La Scuola 3 years ago in 1st grade, we couldn't be happier. The school is a gem, the teachers and staff love their jobs, deeply care about the kids and have a really high image of every child. The integrated curriculum and project based learning approach is really effective. Kids are learning everywhere, in the garden, classroom, the city on field trips, art room. It is all connected & well planned, and they truly learn how to become passionate learners.
We are not Italian, but we wanted a good international education and the IB program really appealed to us. While our son started relatively late with the Italian, the school was very supportive and he is now fully fluent in Italian. Since this is a startup school, I believe the leadership is a very good predictor of how well the school will continue to do as it grows. The head of the school is a brilliant, dedicated and energetic woman, she really understands kids and cares about what's best for them. She is very creative and resourceful and always finds solutions to any problem. The staff and the teachers are very competent, energetic, work very well together and engage the parents in meaningful ways. In my kid's previous school parents were treated as free resources, not at La Scuola. The community is very tight and each of us bring a different expertise. Most importantly my son loves going to school every morning, nothing beats that.

Erin Colbert

3.5 years later and we still love and adore La Scuola. It's been such a great environment for our daughter to thrive. I am continually impressed by the dedication and commitment of the teachers. She is now fully fluent in Italian, despite neither parents at home speaking the language. She has made so many friends there and we have truly become part of a great community in San Francisco.

Honestly, at one point we had considered leaving SF as so many families do, but it was the community, friends, and top-notch education from La Scuola that kept us close -- so close we purchased a home next door the school. We're looking forward to many more years at La Scuola, both in elementary and middle school.

parul vora

Our experience at La Scuola exceeded our high expectations. The school is well run with a leadership team that has a strong and informed point of view. The teachers are engaged, happy, and have experience in both challenging and supporting every child. The community is inclusive, its growth happens organically, and the values of the school radiate through to the other parents we've come to be friends with.

Most importantly, everyone at La Scuola shows a genuine care and respect for the development of our child. Grazie!

Aaron Harms

La Scuola flew under the radar for us when we were researching the maze of preschools and K-8 programs in San Francisco, but once we found out about the school and went on a tour, we were blown away. And since starting, our daughter has flourished in countless ways.

The school combines two really interesting and leading-edge approaches to education: the progressive Reggio-Emilia approach and the academically rigorous International Baccalaureate. The Reggio piece provides all the creative goodness of progressive education - joy, exploration, and unexpected discovery. And the IB delivers the rigor: a robust and global set of standards to ensure the quality and standards will always be top notch. The combination of the two is really innovative and compelling.

We're not Italian nor do we speak it at home - in addition to a progressive education with high standards, we wanted an international school, along with all the neuroscience benefits of a bilingual education, and were pretty agnostic on what that second language is. There are lots of parents like us, along with parents with strong connections to Italy as well.

The Director, Valentina, is warm, accessible, and a real visionary... and the teachers are amazingly talented and tireless. Each week we get a lengthy newsletter detailing everything that happened in our daughter's class - new concepts that were explored, snippets of conversation, and photos and videos of learning in action. It's an incredible window into the magic that happens on a daily basis.

Finally, lots of people rightly focus on the experience for kids when looking at preschools and K-8 programs. Keep in mind that it's also going to be a big part of your community as parents as well. When you go on the tour and talk to other parents, imagine that this circle will become a central piece of your social life for years to come. We weren't really certain what that experience would be like at a private school in San Francisco, but have found the La Scuola community to be warm, down to earth, creative, and energized... folks that we would want to hang out with even if we weren't bound together by our children's education.

So check it out - there's no substitute for going on a tour to see what makes this place so special. You may secretly want to go back in time and be in school yourself!

Richard Bargetto

My daughter attended the preschool for 4 years. At the preschool, I found all (yes, all) the teachers to be extremely professional and sincerely interested in the development of the children. There is an authenticity of spirit at La Scuola that is unmatched. Of course, I loved the fact that hugs were freely given and part of the culture of an Italian/International preschool. I was very impressed that the teachers listened intently to the children as the children fully participated in their own learning. The social development component of the curriculum is amazing. Children are allowed to fail and reflect upon what they have learned from all their experiences. My daughter always felt safe there and would run to the gate in the morning. The challenge was always prying her away from her favorite place at the end of the day. The Reggio approach put the child at the center of the learning process. I must admit, I think I have become a better parent as I learned myself about the Reggio philosophy and incorporated it into our household.

After preschool, I made a large search for the right elementary school for our family. I went to a couple of Catholic schools, a number of public schools and many independent schools. During my exhaustive search, I was trying to find a school that offered both the curriculum, teaching expertise, community and environment where my daughter could thrive. I did not find one and my daughter has now entering the second grade.

La Scuola talks a lot about creating curious learners where students look at an issue through multiple lenses with an interdisciplinary approach. The outcome of such learning helps to deepen their understanding and providing a more comprehensive mechanism for all students to learn. It sounds a bit utopic, but it is really true. My daughter is usually excited about doing her homework and is learning with both her heart and her head.

You can feel that La Scuola is a special place the minute you walk through the doors. It's not just the fact that many languages are spoken. Rather it is due to the fact that the staff and community are committed to learning and creating something unique in San Francisco. If you don't believe me, stop by for a visit. I know you will be impressed.

Richard Bargetto
Parent of La Scuola Second Grader

Sheila Pierce

We just moved to San Francisco from Rome, Italy, where our children, aged 10 and 7, were attending an Italian public school. Their transition to La Scuola has been seamless thanks to the warmth and intelligence of everyone who works there. It is a first-rate place run by wonderful staff and teachers that offers a welcoming environment of an international community coupled with small-town friendships. From the language immersion program to the IB curriculum to the emphasis on thinking "out-of-the-box" creatively, it is the kind of place parents dream of for their child and the sort of school the kids can't wait to return to after a holiday. I honestly cannot praise the school enough. Run don't walk is all I can say.

Jutta Kamp

We currently have two kids at La Scuola, and our 3rd one will go as well once she turns 2 next year. Our oldest has been at La Scuola for 6 years and we couldn't be happier!

Our son is a first grader at the K-8 school, our daughter is in her last Preschool year, and both thoroughly enjoy being at their school: The teachers are incredibly caring, passionate, highly motivated and highly trained regarding the RE philosophy. The classes have a great student/ teacher ratio and our kids especially enjoy learning in small groups, i.e. in the school garden, in the (digital) atelier, at music classes or in the school library. We're always impressed by the interdisciplinary learning and how much coordination it requires among the involved teacher - their collaboration is just amazing and the kids feel this great vibe.

Due to the curriculum, the staff, the respectful and caring atmosphere at school the kids become very aware of the importance of a good social environment and how to maintain it. For example, my son's class developed - selfdriven - their own conflict managing rules to help other students to solve a conflict. And as a a parent we see the huge impact on our kids social behaviors and personalities in general.

Creating curious learners is also a focus of the RE approach. Providing very well maintained facilities with child friendly colors, furnitures, toys, arts and crafts supplies help the kids to establish a creative way of thinking and problem solving. Helping the kids to trust their own solving skills builds up our kids self confidence - and our kids have been surprising us with their creative and caring suggestions. It's amazing to observe this!

It's a warm hearted and safe place to have your kids go to school with a fantastic community. This is a very special school and we're proud and happy of being part of it!