
International Middle School Academics
In Middle School, the International Track prepares students to be successful in school and to be active, lifelong learners beyond the middle school years.
The International Track program provides middle school students with a rigorous curriculum, inspired by the International Baccalaureate, that promotes meaningful connections between academic learning and real-world application. It provides a framework of learning that encourages students to become creative, critical and reflective thinkers. It fosters the development of skills for communication, intercultural understanding and global engagement—essential qualities for young people who are becoming global leaders.

Semimonthly International Track Presentation & Tour
Your visit will start with a small group presentation and Q&A about the International Track from Nora Smith (Director of IB Curriculum) and is followed by a tour of Ortega, our Middle & High school campus. Learn more about the Lycée's International Track, which does not require prior French knowledge, is powered by the globally renowned International Baccalaureate curriculum, and welcomes students for middle or high school entry.
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Learning and Teaching
In Middle school, International Track students develop their personal understanding, their emerging sense of self and responsibility in their community.
The curriculum consists of 8 groups
- Language acquisition
- Language and literature
- Individuals and societies
- Sciences
- Mathematics
- Arts
- Physical and health education
- Design
Student study is supported by a minimum of 50 hours of instruction per subject group in each academic year.
International Track Math teacher, Ilse Espino Ortega, shares her teaching experience and passion for math. She discusses the importance of the IB unique problem-solving approaches. Her student-centered teaching style focuses on real-world problems, helping students become confident problem solvers and emphasizing the gradual process of building student confidence.

The curriculum focuses on
- Teaching and learning in context.
Students learn best when their learning experiences have context and are connected to their lives and the world that they have experienced. Using global contexts, students explore human identity, global challenges and what it means to be internationally minded. - Language and identity
Students are required to learn at least two languages. Learning to communicate in a variety of ways is fundamental to their development of intercultural understanding and crucial to their identity affirmation. - Conceptual understanding
Concepts are big ideas that have relevance within specific disciplines and across subject areas. Students use concepts as a vehicle to inquire into issues and ideas of personal, local and global significance and examine knowledge holistically. - Approaches to learning(ATL)
A unifying thread throughout all subject groups, approaches to learning provide the foundation for independent learning and encourage the application of their knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Developing and applying these skills help students learn how to learn. - Community engagement
Community engagement is a form of learning in which students engage respectfully and equitably with their communities, utilizing knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. It provides opportunities for learners to engage responsively to opportunities and challenges in and with their communities, and to contribute positively through principled action.
Community engagement is an important way to participate in principled action—the making of responsible choices—across a range of overlapping communities, both locally and globally. Through principled action, sustained inquiry and critical reflection, learners can develop the attributes described by the IB learner profile that are essential for success in future academic pursuits, and for life.
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When we talk about being internationally-minded, it means that we develop and show the qualities described in the Learner Profile. The Learner Profile represents a broad range of human dispositions, capacities and traits that encompass intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth.
These qualities are important throughout the grades. Everyone in the school community, including students, teachers, parents, and school leaders, has a responsibility to follow these qualities and work towards developing them.
Informed by the values described in the Learner Profile, the Lycée International Track program:
- focuses on learners : the student-centered program promote healthy relationships, ethical responsibility and personal challenge
- develops effective approaches to learning and teaching : our program help students to develop the knowledge, dispositions and skills needed for both academic and personal success
- works within global contexts : our program increases understanding of languages and cultures, and explore globally significant ideas and issues
- explores significant content : our program offers a curriculum that is broad and balanced, conceptual and connected.
Assessment
Assessment standards are consistent around the world. In order to maintain the rigor for which the IB is renowned, Lycée uses an assessment model that is criterion-related. Tasks are assessed against established criteria, not against the work of other students.
Typical assessment tasks include open-ended, problem-solving activities and investigations, organized debates, tests and examinations, hands-on experimentation, analysis and reflection.
Community Project
Projects provide students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
In Middle school, International Track students must complete the community project.
The community project encourages students to explore their right and responsibility to implement service as action in the community. Students may complete the community project individually or in small groups.
Projects are conducted independently, giving students an opportunity to produce a truly personal and creative piece of work that stands as a summative review of their ability to conduct independent work.

Outcome
Students who choose the International Track in Middle School and continue their international education in High school are particularly well-prepared to undertake the renowned IB Diploma Program in Gr 11 and 12.
The International Track program also accommodates the national US curriculum requirements allowing students to graduate with their US high school diplomas.
The International Track dual diploma program is a unique asset for students in their applications to universities and colleges worldwide. Lycée had an outstanding track record in preparing students to be able to continue their education in the university of their choice, as 100% of them are accepted in one of their top 3 universities.
The Lycée Is Now a Full IB World School
The Lycée Français de San Francisco has received full IB Diploma Programme authorization — completing its IB continuum and affirming International Bilingualism as its signature, with two rigorous dual-diploma pathways preparing every student for universities and a world that rewards exactly those qualities.

