Academic Programs

Escola Americana has a unique educational philosophy focused on critical thinking and encouraging students to become lifelong learners.  Graduates are accepted in top American, international and Brazilian colleges and universities.  To cater to our diverse student body, we  offer three distinct diplomas: (1) the  American Diploma for graduates seeking to go on to higher education in the United States; (2) the International Baccalaureate Diploma, an extremely challenging, two year course of study recognized  by universities worldwide, and (3) the Brazilian Diploma, for students who will pursue undergraduate studies in Brazil.

Preschool

Specialized teachers accompany children’s development and teach them to seek creative solutions to problems and challenges.  In this manner they develop a love of learning and begin the process of becoming responsible and confident global citizens.

Lower School (Preschool through 5th grade)

Our Lower School is a dynamic and caring learning community committed to effective, innovative and research-based teaching methods, an integrated curriculum, and cooperative and respectful relationships among teachers, students and parents.

The curriculum is very “hands-on” and designed to actively involve students in their learning.

Our curriculum encourages children to make connections between the classroom and the world around them. Our highly-qualified faculty and dedicated parents work hand-in-hand to provide strong foundations for life-long learning.

Middle School (6^th   through 8^th  grade)

Adolescence is a time of discovery and growth at the Middle School and the challenging, integrative and exploratory curriculum elicits the best in our students. 

Students play a very important role in creating the Middle School Community.  They participate in a wealth of special projects both inside and outside of the classroom, including activities such as Student Council, Peer Counseling, Leadership Conference, community service projects, sports teams, among other programs.   The Via Sapientia Project is an annual, weeklong academic trip to Porto Seguro (6th), Minas Gerais (7th) and Curitiba (8th), that provides students the opportunity to study Brazil from a multi-disciplinary perspective, to get to know their teachers and make new friends.    

Upper School(9^th   through 12^th  grade)

Upper School students pursue an individualized and challenging academic program that culminates in up to three diplomas – American, Brazilian and International Baccalaureate. Upper School students take a broad variety of courses that ensure that they have exposure to different disciplines and that they develop the skills that they need to excel in college and beyond. The community service component, extra-curricular activities, student government and many clubs encourage students to explore different interests and develop skills outside of the traditional classroom setting.

State Of The Art Teaching Methodologies

Escola Americana’s learning experience prepares students for the demands and challenges of our rapidly changing global world.

Our highly qualified teaching faculty is constantly researching and implementing state of the art teaching methodologies to enrich the learning experience.  Among others, they include:

Ethics and Social Responsibility

Service Learning Program: Creating a Culture of Learning and Caring - Students reflect on and learn from community outreach in the classroom before and after a service learning project is executed.  They work to solve real problems and simultaneously learn about designing programs, developing and executing fundraising strategies and evaluating performance.  Projects include activities such as analyzing carbon footprints and developing recommendations for students to neutralize their carbon emissions, tutoring, clothes and food drives, among others. Above all, our students learn that they can change the world!

Experiential Educational

Our Experiential Education Program Escola  contains five components:  character education, the anatomy of leadership, making educated and informed decisions, community service and outdoor education. Our Experiential Education Program contains five components:  character education, the anatomy of leadership, making educated and informed decisions, community service and outdoor education. The most visible part of the Program consists of the climbing tower and high and low ropes, which are tools that offer students the opportunity to practice teambuilding skills and develop responsibility for themselves and the safety of others.

The MuseOn

The MuseOn is an exploratory learning space that highlights the arts, science, history, math and technology.   It features an Asian-style Shadow Puppet theater; a planetarium; and a six-meter widescreen projection screen.  A different theme is featured every semester.

Let the Cameras Roll

Our Lower, Middle and Upper School produce documentaries and short films which support our broad objectives of teaching students to communicate in many languages and media.