EBI Middle School Language Learner Program

Hi there. I have a son at EBI and he is thriving in the Lower School. I would suggest reaching out to the school and asking to be connected with families in the Middle School language acquisition program. Good luck@ 

We have been at EBI for many years (3 kids) and are transitioning into the middle school. From what I have heard, the program is growing quickly post Shelter in Place, and is successful. The middle school faculty are extremely capable and connect well with the kids. I recommend calling the school for more info / a tour!

Hi - My child started 6th grade new this year to EBI, though she came from another bilingual program. I can't speak directly about the language learner program but I am so glad we enrolled her at EBI! We commute from fairly far away too & we are so glad we made this move. She is working very hard and still coming up to speed both in her Spanish language classes & Mandarin, and in general, as I think the quality of the education at EBI is quite a bit higher than her already pretty good Elementary school. We are so happy with the curriculum - she comes home frequently excited about material presented at school (and sometimes stressed out about the amount of work). They really encourage the kids to be global thinkers and my student finds her classes very compelling. Her teachers are wonderful and engaging & they reach out directly with helpful suggestions and comments. She made friends quickly and I love how interesting & diverse her classmates are! I agree with other replies that doing a tour & learning more about the program is a good move.

Hello - my son started in the learner program's inaugural class last year (Fall 2020), after K-5 in BUSD's Oxford Elementary. He'd been learning Spanish since kindergarten, but only 1x a week and not year-round. He'd showed a real interest and aptitude so when we heard of the learner program, we thought it would be an amazing opportunity for him to become proficient. The IB curriculum was also a draw. Of course when we enrolled him, it was before Covid. When it came to Fall 2020 after what was already a tough year, starting him in 1) a new school, 2) a community where he knew no one, 3) switching to the (partial) Spanish immersion AND 4) online instruction was a huge leap for him. It was a pretty rough start, but that was true for so many students, everywhere! Luckily. EBI was able to switch to in-person learning later in the Fall. That was and continues to be a huge effort, for which we continue to be so grateful. 

The learner track group was smaller than we'd hoped, but the tradeoff was the very small student:teacher ratio for the Spanish classes, which has accelerated his language acquisition. The other students were very welcoming and he's since made a lot of friends and become very involved in the school community. His Spanish is amazing now, and we understand he (and the other learner program students) will be moving into the main group next year if not before. Of course there are classes/teachers he likes more than others, and we’ve struggled with him feeling overwhelmed with homework at times. Overall, we’re glad we enrolled him and I’m hopeful the program will grow, as it is a great opportunity to provide a quality immersive language experience with a global education focus. I’m happy to discuss his experience with the SLA program and with the school overall in more detail if you’d like. Let me know if you’d like to connect. - Tara