Info about the International School in Florence?

Hi everyone,

My daughter would like to spend a year at the International School in Florence, but my husband (an native Italian) claims that he heard through a woman he met here in the US who taught there that it isn't a very good school, that she didn't even have a teaching credential.

Our daughter would be a Junior in high school (11th grade).  I know that here in the US, teachers in private schools do not have to have a teaching credential, so I imagine that it is similar for this school.  This doesn't necessarily mean that it offers an inferior quality of education-indeed here in the US people pay big bucks for the "privilege" of sending their kids to private schools.  Does anyone have kids going there or know anything about it?

Thanks!

Hello, I am glad you posted this because we are possibly looking at this school for my children.  They are ages 2 and 5.  My son is currently attending a private preschool and we want to come to Italy for a year.  I am just starting to plan and learn all I will need to know.

Maybe we could help each other!
Good Luck to you.

Hi there:

I never got any additional feedback from other commenters on this topic.  It doesn't look like space will be available in the specific courses that my daughter would need to take in order to complete the requirements for the IB Diploma, so at this point, unless spots in the specific classes she needs open up, we will not be going to Florence.  This is a huge bummer for my daughter, who really had her heart set on doing this!

I think given that you would be starting out in the lower school, it would not be a problem just diving in, as you would have time to correct your course for him should that school not meet your expectations. 

However, having lived in Italy when our daughter was younger, I strongly recommend that you consider having your son attend public Italian school for the full immersion language experience.  We were very pleased with the quality of public education at the elementary school level when we lived there.  My daughter attended 2nd-5th grade and she had an exceptional base when we came back to the US.  She was far ahead especially in in terms of math & history  compared to her American peers-plus she was fluent in Italian!

best of luck!

I'm sorry I do not know if this is write good English with google translator. I know very well this school and if you need advice from me, do not send your children to the International School of Florence, is a bad school.
The value for money then it is even worse, greetings from an Italian who had a child in that school and took him away. Long live the good culture that is taught in Italian schools.
Good luck to all.

hi i have attended the school 1979-1993 and it was fine.. with problems but ok. i put my childer in the school and after 2 yrs (preschool-kindergarten) my kids asked me to change school!!! the school has changed sooooo much and offers so much less at too high prices. my kids will attend the french school next yr.. i hope it will be better!!! at least accademically it does offer much more at half price!!

It isn't a very good school, even if sometimes good teachers happen to work there. As far as I know, it's not worthy the money.

I see this topic started in 2010; much has changed since then – for a large part thanks to a new director. In my opinion it is currently a great school where students get much help and personal attention in order to succeed. Classes are small, students are well-behaved and many of them move on to some of the best universities in the world. The academic program runs like clockwork and there are lots of extracurricular activities to choose from. Both the lower and upper schools are housed in classic Tuscan villas with gardens and stunning views. IMHO it provides a healthy learning environment, academically as well as socially.

Hi Javajos,

Please feel free to create a new topic on the Florence forum, this might be helpful to other members. :)

Regards,

David.

A wonderful school with excellent exam results. Too bad evina had a bad experience.

I think the same! Fantastic school.
My first child is in PreKindergarden
Next year will start other child
Something important informations from School e-news of Semptember:

"Thirty-five ISF students took IB Diploma examinations in May 2013, with thirty-three of them pursuing the full Diploma and two pursuing certificates in specific classes only.  We are very pleased to announce that 88% of our candidates were awarded the IB Diploma.  This is quite a bit above the world-wide pass rate of 78%.  In addition, one quarter of our students earned 36 total points or more, with two students earning 40 points. These are definitely fantastic results.  Finally, the average score of all of our students was 31, again above the world-wide average this year of 29.8"

So....before speaking bad of a school is better to know that school! :)
GREAT ViaViolet!!!