International School of Brooklyn

Reviews

• Submitted by parent on June 16, 2023
  We love our experience at ISB so far for both our children. Great teachers, friends and a welcoming space. The kids really enjoy going to school and we love that for them.
• Submitted by parent on May 11, 2023
  Four Fantastic Years at the International School of BrooklynWow, four years have flown by since our girls started at the International School of Brooklyn! And what a journey it's been in middle school.We're not just parents here – we're part of a vibrant, supportive community. The friendships we've made are absolutely priceless.The school has a magic touch in boosting our kids' confidence. They're not just learning languages or science, they're learning to believe in themselves.And it's not just the curriculum that warms our hearts, but the genuine partnership with the faculty. They're always ready to listen to our feedback, making us feel truly valued.This journey has been a joy, and the quality of the program is top-notch. I couldn't recommend this school more. It's more than a school, it's a family. And we are so proud to be part of it!
• Submitted by parent on April 25, 2023
  We love ISB. This school is amazing in every way from the thoughtful education, language immersion program, and supportive community. There are so many unique opportunities for students to develop into critical thinkers, lifelong learners, and leaders.
• Submitted by parent on April 17, 2023
  This is a lovely old school with a small community and family-oriented vibe. The building is homely, full of tradition, history and balances this beautifully with modern technology and a mix of teaching styles. The classrooms and facilities are clean, up-to-date and comfortable for children and staff, and the surrounding neighborhood is charming. However, there are two main issues with this school. The children are not prepared for the real world at all; they are molly-coddled, spoiled and entitled. They never accept the word ‘No’ and feel everything is negotiable and they are accountable for nothing. There is no structure and students walk around doing as they please, ignoring boundaries and rules. The person in charge of discipline uses students as leverage against teachers to compete rather than to teach the child right and wrong. This creates a lot of stress for teachers, some of whom are subjected to daily put-downs and personal insults from 12 year old students. The senior administration either turn a blind eye or punish the teacher rather than backing them. This is such a shame as dedicated teachers will end up leaving and going elsewhere.
• Submitted by parent on February 06, 2023
  While the target language programs are amazing, there are some significant flaws with this school: 1. Questionable hiring practices -- four times in the past two years, the school has spent time and resources to interview external candidates for several leadership positions. In the end, the school hired all internal candidates for the open positions. It makes me feel that the school is opposed or afraid of external candidates that could bring new and fresh ideas and approaches. 2. English program is very weak. Huge problems with staff retention. Many of the English teachers are new and/or have never taught before. Given their model, students have very limited exposure to English up until fourth grade. If the teacher is inexperienced or unqualified that means an even greater setback. Students' English skills are nowhere comparable to those of their peers in other schools. 3. Unresponsive administration--Administration tends to be dismissive of families' concerns. Numerous parents have informed me of concerns falling on deaf ears by both the Head of School and division leaders (Director of Preschool/Lower School, etc.)
• Submitted by parent on October 09, 2022
  ISB was not originally on our list of schools to look at for middle school, but then a friend recommended it and by the time we were done looking it felt like a hidden gem for us. My daughter started 6th grade last year (21-22) in the French language acquisition track. There was a good mix of kids who had been there for a while and new. I was also nervous that as a kid coming in with a new language it would not be what she expected, but she has really enjoyed the French program and learn more than I ever would have expected in her first year. Now in 7th she is settled and happy. We have been happy with all of her teachers. There is also a wide variety of things for her to try outside of her classes from school plays to student council to sports. It is a place where she has been able to do the kind of exploration I hoped for her in middle school.
• Submitted by parent on September 23, 2022
  We have had a wonderful experience at ISB. Our daughter is in the Spanish program. She wakes up happy to go to school every day, has friends and brings back all kinds of knowledge. As for us, her parents, we feel so welcomed by the school. From all the new family events the school held to build community with new families to the weekly school wide newsletter with tons of information, to the amazing Parent Association committees, we can't believe our good luck to be able to attend such a wonderful, welcoming school. Additionally, I am thrilled with both the level and thoughtfulness of the education my daughter receives as well as the number of special she is offered. She gets PE, music, science and library weekly!
• Submitted by parent on August 07, 2022
  I found the teachers in this school to have their favorites, and if you weren’t one of them, good luck to you and your child. My child was accused of bullying other children and made to feel like they didn’t fit in.Any display of insecurity with the French language resulted in being overlooked and missing out on learning opportunities.The sense of community is the one thing we appreciated, but any learning difference was near impossible to work with because behaviorally their is little to no tolerance for anything that falls outside the norm.
• Submitted by other on January 29, 2020
  This is a school where "international" and "unique" are definitely a reality. I visited the school and hope to see my children grow and become great world citizens. "GLOBAL Curriculum" is key for us.
• Submitted by parent on December 06, 2019
  Administration is uncaring and unprofessional, the atmosphere is very fake and righteous and the curriculum is very spotty. I would not recommend the school to anyone.
• Submitted by parent on September 23, 2019
  My son and daughter, who've been at ISB for 7 years between them, love their school, and we love the community too. Beyond the outstanding language learning, they truly learn how to think critically and develop their own intellectual curiosity. They have great professional development for teachers and also engaging parent education-- parents and kids can opt to get together to discuss books, films, and challenging topics like diversity and technology in our lives. This is a school for open-minded people who care about others and have an outward-looking perspective, people who want to take in multiple points of view.
• Submitted by parent on September 23, 2019
  2 of our children have attended ISB from pre-school through 8th grade. At all levels, they had an excellent education. They are fluent in French and almost fluent in spanish. They were taught to think critically and creatively and make connections across subject areas and to truly love learning. They were also taught how to be good humans. The teachers and parents at ISB are amazing. It is a true community where everyone is supportive. Even now that our older child has graduated, we remain close to our ISB parent friends. Our now high schooler is attending a top NYC public school and was excellently prepared by ISB.
• Submitted by parent on September 23, 2019
  Our experience has been excellent. Our son has been at ISB for 5 years and we could not have imagined such an amazing learning environment. We have friends whose children have left to go to a different middle school and they instantly miss the environment and teaching style of ISB.
• Submitted by parent on September 23, 2019
  We have been at ISB for 8 years and we love the language immersion and IB curriculum. Our children are completely fluent in English, French and soon will be fluent in Spanish.
• Submitted by parent on September 13, 2019
  We were completely disappointed with the leadership at this school. We found out that they do not observe teachers to help them get better. I have walked into the building several times to see students running up and down the hallways and seeing teachers on their computers in the classroom while students are working on a worksheet. There are too many people working here without formal teacher training.
• Submitted by parent on August 06, 2019
  We were unhappy with their performance and felt that the Lower School administration was truly incompetent. Don't take our word for it, look what teachers are saying about the school on Glassdoor.com, it's enlightening.
• Submitted by parent on June 21, 2019
  Our son has been at ISB since Pre-K and he is well prepared to move on to high school. The academics are strong and the ISB community is absolutely incredible. Wonderful teachers who care, amazing staff, parents you want to spend time with and kids who are just delightful - smart, funny, kind, humble and with incredible social skills.
• Submitted by parent on April 12, 2019
  We carefully looked for a school that would foster strong values, academics and language acquisition for our child. We felt that ISB embraced these elements and were delighted to become part of the community. However it became clear after a while that the school wasn't as invested in their students as they depicted it on their website. There was very little supervision at recess which lead to children getting hurt. Even though teachers development amounted to 7 days a year, issues were poorly dealt with in the classroom and left unresolved. The curriculum was very patchy (no History for instance and an Art program that was clearly underdeveloped). Finally, the class sizes kept getting smaller and smaller (like a class of 8 in the higher grades) which seemed too claustrophobic for growing children. We feel that the tuition prices are inflated and did not provide a better learning environment for our child. We wanted to love the school but it turned out to be a disappointing experience.
• Submitted by parent on April 03, 2019
  We won't be back at ISB because we were very bothered by the dishonesty we witnessed on many levels. We felt like our family did not matter to them because we were not giving money to their constant fundraisers. We even received an email from them one year, after I had lost my job and our family was struggling financially, pointing out that we gave less money than the previous year to their campaign. We felt that it was very insensitive and started questioning their process. Once we looked at everything in depth, we were shocked by how often they were ignoring parents and issues.
• Submitted by parent on February 24, 2019
  Overall, we love ISB and can't imagine sending our child anywhere else. The community is filled with people that we enjoy interacting with inside and outside of school including students, teachers, staff, administrators, and board members. Not only is our child benefiting from the excellent education, but we benefit from the community. The language immersion paired with the IB curriculum is a winning combination in our minds. We didn't set out to send our child to a private school, but feel that ISB is worth the cost.

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