Greetings and welcome to Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro website.
We are proud to be the first accredited American international school in Rio de Janeiro. For more than 86 years we have worked with thousands of expatriate and Brazilian families seeking a world-class American international education that equips their children with the qualifications, skills and attitudes required to be happy and successful wherever their path in life takes them. Each year our students are accepted to the world’s best universities, becoming part of an interconnected EARJ alumni community that spans the globe.
However, an EARJ education is not just a passport to life after school. At EARJ we believe in the value of each day in a young person’s life and educational journey. EARJ is a happy school, a characteristic that is profoundly important to us. We want each day to be happy and successful for each child, full of wonderful memories that sustain them as they grow, and from which they learn as they work through the challenges and opportunities of childhood into adulthood.
We look forward to welcoming your family here at EARJ.
Dr. Nigel J. Winnard
Head of School
Meet our Head of School
Dr. Winnard is proud to call himself a career educator: it is all he has ever wanted to do. For over 30 years, his passion has been to look for ways to help young people learn what they need to know and be able to be successful in the world. Dr. Nigel began his career as a High School English teacher in the UK before heading overseas to Bahrain, to the Philippines and then to São Paulo where he took up a curriculum director position at St. Paul’s School.
Three years later, adventure called and he was appointed as founding Head of Khartoum International Community School, the first IB World School in Sudan. It was a country that was to be home for Dr. Nigel and his family for the next twelve years. His educational background draws on both UK and US systems. He holds a BA (Hons) in English & European Literature from Essex University in the UK, and an MA in Educational Administration from Michigan State University in the US. In addition, he holds a doctorate in Education from the University of Southern California. Dr. Nigel is honored to be the Head of Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro.