At a Glance
An International Baccalaureate elementary school with rare French and Spanish immersion — small classes, global mindset, brownstone Brooklyn.
Best suited for
Families who want their elementary-age child genuinely fluent in a second language, value small classes and an internationally minded community, and are prepared for the tuition and an eventual middle school transition.
What stands out
- Full French or Spanish language immersion from preschool, taught by native-speaker educators — children graduate genuinely bilingual in their chosen track.
- Triple accreditation: International Baccalaureate PYP and MYP, plus recognition from both the French and Spanish Ministries of Education — almost unheard of in a single U.S. elementary school.
- A 4.5:1 student-teacher ratio means classes are very small, with intensive individual attention from a large faculty relative to enrollment.
- An inquiry-based IB curriculum that frames learning around big questions and global citizenship rather than rote memorization.
Things to consider
- Tuition runs $40,206 to $52,537 for 2025-26, placing it among the more expensive private elementary options in Brooklyn.
- The school only goes through 5th grade, so families will face a separate middle school search after a relatively short elementary run.
- The application deadline is December 3 — earlier than most NYC private schools — so families need to plan ahead.
- Some parent reviews flag mixed experiences with administration responsiveness and question whether the academic pace is rigorous enough for certain learners.
Identity
A nonsectarian, coed elementary school serving PK through 5th grade with an IB curriculum delivered through full immersion in either French or Spanish. The school holds the unusual distinction of being accredited by both the French and Spanish Ministries of Education as well as the IB's Primary Years and Middle Years Programmes.
Community
The student body is more mixed than many Brooklyn private schools, with a diversity index near 0.71: white families make up a majority, but multiracial and other-race students account for over a quarter of enrollment. The school's internationalist bent draws a range of families, including many with multilingual or cross-cultural households.
Neighborhood
The school sits in an affluent pocket of Brooklyn where the median household income approaches $140,000 and roughly two-thirds of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The surrounding Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill blocks are dense with young families, brownstones, parks, and the family-run shops and cafés along Court and Smith Streets.
Smith-9 Sts (F, G) is about a five-minute walk and Carroll St (F, G) about seven minutes; both stations put Manhattan and the rest of Brooklyn within a single F or G train ride.
Notable Programs
What Parents Are Saying
Generally positive reviews praise the small class sizes, supportive community, effective language immersion program, and engaged teachers. Some concerns are noted about administration responsiveness and academic rigor. The ratings are 4.5 out of 5 across 10 parent reviews and 3.7 out of 5 across 30 parent reviews.
Synthesized from public parent reviews · Apr 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN yet on Motley. It's a private school serving grades Pre-K to 5 in Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill-Gowanus-Red Hook.
- What grades does INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN serve?
- INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN?
- INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN runs its own private admissions process — typically an application, a visit, and sometimes testing.
- Is INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN public, charter, or private?
- INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN is a private school.
- What neighborhood is INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN in?
- INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN is in Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill-Gowanus-Red Hook, Brooklyn.