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La Scuola International School - San Francisco Mission Campus

United States, San Francisco

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The school at a glance
Instructs in Italian, English
Fees $36,100 - 48,150
Ages 5 - 14 years
Type Co-educational
Opened 2002
Bus Service No
Availability Not shared by this school
Academic offering
Curriculum IB (PYP), IB (MYP), Reggio Emilia Approach
Taught languages Italian, English, Spanish
Strengths Languages, Visual and Creative Arts, Service and Sustainability
Clubs Arts and Creative, Cultural and Language, Community and Service
Stages Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle School
Introduction

La Scuola International School in San Francisco is a private day school that operates as an IB World School for the Primary Years Program and the Middle Years Program, and it embraces a Reggio Emilia-inspired approach. The school offers Italian language immersion with English instruction, supported by a Montreal Model grade balance and ongoing Spanish instruction in upper grades. Established in 2002, La Scuola maintains multiple campuses, including the Mission Campus (K–8), the Dogpatch Campus (Preschool), the Silicon Valley Campus (PreK–Elementary), and a Milano, Italy campus; it is recognized by the Italian government as Scuola Paritaria abroad. The Mission Campus is the Americas' first Reggio Emilia-inspired campus, with spaces such as the food atelier, dining room, art, music, and makers ateliers surrounding a central piazza. The environment emphasizes hands-on learning, cross‑grade collaboration, and inquiry through transdisciplinary Units of Inquiry, culminating in the PYP Exhibition and the MYP Community Project for students.

www.lascuolasf.org

3250 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110, United States of America

Vibes and Culture
The school has not added this information
The Essentials

La Scuola International School - San Francisco Mission Campus has instruction in Italian, English.

Location
Mission Campus, 3250 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110; Dogpatch Campus, 728 20th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. The San Francisco campuses are named Mission Campus (K–Grade 8) and Dogpatch Campus (Preschool). A Silicon Valley Campus is located at 2086 Clarke Ave, East Palo Alto, CA 94303, and Milano Campus is in Milan, Italy.

Stages
Preschool (2-5 years); Elementary School (Grades K-5); Middle School (Grades 6-8).

Type
Private, day school; International Baccalaureate World School; Reggio Emilia-inspired; Italian Language Immersion; multi-campus.

Pupil Nationality Mix
International community with families representing many nationalities; over 30 languages spoken on campus; only 17% of families have at least one Italian speaker at home; the majority are not Italian speakers.

Additional learning support
Learning Differences is listed among the school's learning styles.

Country affiliation
Italy (Italian language immersion and cultural roots; listed by the Italian government as a paritarie school abroad).
Diving Deeper
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Fees

Annual tuition at La Scuola International School - San Francisco Mission Campus ranges from USD 36,100 to USD 48,150 for 2026/27.

Application fees

- Sliding-scale (Clarity) application fee: USD 65 (fee to submit the Clarity financial-aid application).
- School application/portal: La Scuola uses the Ravenna application portal for admissions; no separate, fixed school application fee amount is published in the school's public admissions materials.

Tuition fees (San Francisco) — published academic year 2025–2026

- Preschool, Full Day (until 5:30 p.m.; 5-day schedule; lunch and morning & afternoon snacks included): USD 45,150 per year.
- Preschool, Half Day (until 1:00 p.m.; 5-day schedule; lunch and morning snack included): USD 36,100 per year.
- Elementary (Grades K–5; lunch included): USD 46,200 per year.
- Middle School (Grades 6–8; lunch included): USD 48,150 per year. Mission Campus extended-care charges are billed separately from tuition.

Tuition breakdown per term / per year group

- The school publishes the above annual tuition amounts for each program (Preschool full day/half day, Elementary, Middle School) for the 2025–2026 academic year. Specific per-term or per-installment amounts are not stated as fixed figures on the public tuition page; extended-care programs list separate fees (see below).

Billing schedule and payment terms

- Extended-care payments (Mission and Silicon Valley campus extended-care programs) are processed through Clarity and are scheduled over 10 payments beginning in September. Late-pickup penalties apply (base late fee USD 50 after a five-minute grace period; beyond 15 minutes an additional USD 2 per minute; escalated base fee after repeated late pickups).
- The school uses the Ravenna hub to accept and manage applications and uses Clarity for sliding-scale tuition processing; families interact with those systems during admissions and financial-aid processes. Contact information for the Business Office is provided for billing questions.

Boarding fees

- Boarding is not offered. La Scuola operates PreK–Grade 8 campuses in San Francisco (Mission and Dogpatch) and a Silicon Valley campus; programs and schedules are day-school formats.

Other costs and fees (examples and published extras)

- Extended-care / after-school program fees (2025–2026):
- Mission Campus registration options: 5 days/week USD 6,500; 3 days/week USD 4,600; daily drop-in USD 50/day. Late-pickup fees as noted above apply. Payments processed via Clarity over 10 payments starting in September.
- Silicon Valley extended-care registration options: 5 days/week USD 4,600; 3 days/week USD 3,475; daily drop-in USD 40/day. Payments processed via Clarity over 10 payments starting in September.
- School merchandise / uniforms / spiritwear and ancillary items: La Scuola Mercato (the parent-run school store) sells spiritwear, yearbooks and other items; prices vary by item and are purchased separately through the school store (Il Mercato / shoplascuola.com).
- Enrichment, camps and special programs: seasonal camp and enrichment program fees are charged separately (registration and per-program fees apply). Extended-care and enrichment have their own registration and billing processes.

Refund information

- The school's publicly available admissions and tuition materials do not publish a general, consolidated tuition refund or withdrawal policy for the academic year materials accessible to the public. For specific refund or withdrawal terms applicable to an enrollment contract, extended-care registration, or particular program, families are directed to contact the school's admissions or business office directly.

Fee payment options

- Extended-care payments and sliding-scale processing are handled through Clarity. Clarity-supported payment methods commonly include ACH (bank transfer), debit card, credit card, and wire transfer; credit-card transactions may incur standard processing fees. (Clarity is the platform La Scuola identifies for processing these payments.)
- School store purchases are processed via the school store (Il Mercato) checkout system (shop platform).

Contact for billing or program-specific fee questions: business.office@lascuolasf.org (Business Office) and admissions@lascuolasf.org (Admissions).
Academics

La Scuola International School - San Francisco Mission Campus teaches IB (PYP), IB (MYP), Reggio Emilia Approach for students aged 5 to 14.

Curriculum
IB Primary Years Program (PYP) for Elementary (K-5) and IB Middle Years Program (MYP) for Middle School (6-8). The school integrates the Reggio Emilia Approach with the IB framework. Language of instruction is Italian and English with a Montreal Model balance by grade: K-1 approximately 80% Italian / 20% English; Grade 2 approximately 70% Italian / 30% English; Grades 3-5 approximately 50% Italian / 50% English; Grades 6-8 approximately 30% Italian / 70% English. Spanish is taught in Grades 4-5. The curriculum uses transdisciplinary Units of Inquiry, culminates in the PYP Exhibition, and aligns with the Italian National Curriculum; the school is an IB World School for both PYP and MYP.

Higher Education Progression
Graduates have attended high schools in San Francisco and beyond, including the International School of San Francisco, University High School, Lick-Wilmerding High School, The Urban School, Drew School, Saint Ignatius, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, Lowell High School, Mission High School, and others. The first graduating class of 2020 is attending universities such as Georgetown University, Pratt Institute, University of Southern California, Loyola Marymount University, UC Santa Cruz, University College Dublin, University College London, and Bocconi University in Milan.
Wellbeing
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Parent Experience
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Facilities
The school has not added this information
Extra-Curricular Activities
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Languages
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Reputation
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Admissions

Admissions
Apply to La Scuola International School. Sign up for an account with Ravenna to manage the application, register for campus tours and events, and view admissions decisions. Through Ravenna you can schedule a in-person tour or join a virtual event, and you can submit an application through Ravenna by January 15, 2026; enrollment decisions are sent in March 2026. Admissions are organized by grade level: Preschool process (ages Piccoli 2-3, Grandi 3-4, Grandissimi 4-5); Kindergarten process (age 5+ by September 1, 2026); Grades 1-5 process; Grades 6-8 process. Students are not required to speak Italian to enroll in preschool, kindergarten, grade 1, or grade 6; Grades 2-5 and Grades 7-8 are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Middle School instruction is primarily in English with 6 hours of language instruction per 6-day rotation, split 4 hours/2 hours between the second language and the third language (Italian or Spanish). Admissions events include Open Houses, Campus Tours, and Parent Education Series; see Tours & Events for details. The three La Scuola campuses include Mission (K–8) and Dogpatch (Preschool) in San Francisco, Silicon Valley (PreK–Elementary), and Milano (Italy). Sliding Scale Tuition is described separately; see Tuition & Affordability for details.

Scholarships
Sliding Scale Tuition Grants are awarded to families based on demonstrated financial need as determined by the Clarity application and the La Scuola Tuition Committee. The Clarity application is used to assess financial need, and the process is designed to include a $65 submission fee. Sliding scale tuition is available for Grandi (3-4 years old), Grandissimi (4-5 years old), and Kindergarten through Grade 8; there are no merit-based awards. Award determinations are made after reviewing the Clarity application and the school's budget, and awards are not guaranteed due to limited funds. The deadline for completing the sliding scale tuition application and submitting supporting documents is January 21, 2026 for current families and February 1, 2026 for prospective families. Award letters are mailed with enrollment contracts. Questions about sliding scale tuition can be directed to Nichole Leon, Director of Admissions, SST & DEIB, at nichole.leon@lascuolasf.org. The school is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and does not receive state or federal funding.
School Events
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