our identity
Every great school offers excellent programs, dedicated educators, and meaningful opportunities. What makes a school extraordinary, however, is the strength of its relationships, and the commitment to ensuring that every student is known, challenged, and supported to thrive.
At ISB, we believe the strongest schools are built on strong relationships.
What makes our community special is not any one program, facility, or achievement. It is the way we come together around a shared purpose: to know every student, challenge them to reach high, and provide the support they need to thrive.
That belief is reflected in a simple promise: high expectations, high support. We want students to be ambitious without feeling overwhelmed; to pursue excellence while protecting their wellbeing; and to grow as scholars, artists, athletes, leaders, friends, and compassionate global citizens. At ISB, achievement and joy are not competing priorities. They strengthen one another.
We are proud to be deeply rooted in Beijing and connected to the world. For more than four and a half decades, ISB has grown and evolved alongside this extraordinary city, bringing together families and educators with different cultures, languages, experiences, perspectives, and ways of learning.
Those differences enrich our community. Belonging does not mean becoming the same. It means being welcomed, known, valued, and able to contribute as yourself.
As a non-profit school, our resources are reinvested in the people, programs, and experiences that help students flourish. We recruit exceptional educators, invest in their continued growth, and give them the time, tools, and trust to respond to the needs and potential of every learner. The result is a learning environment that is rigorous, creative, joyful, and alive with possibility.
We also understand that a great school never stands still. We honor the trust and traditions built over generations while continuing to listen, learn, and evolve. Our responsibility is not simply to prepare students for the future, but to help them shape it with curiosity, resilience, kindness, and care for the world around them.
This is Dragon Spirit: the courage to take on challenges, the compassion to support one another, the confidence to pursue excellence, and the understanding that we are strongest when we move forward together.
Whether you are discovering ISB for the first time or returning to a community that has long been part of your life, I invite you to experience it for yourself. Walk through our classrooms, studios, theaters, sports fields, and gathering spaces. More importantly, meet our students and educators.
You will discover a community where people are known, learning is both challenging and joyful, and every Dragon is encouraged to pursue their highest aspirations.
Welcome to ISB.
Trevor Laboski
ISB - Head of School
dragon spirit
Dragon Spirit embodies joy, challenge, togetherness, and success, the core pillars of our educational philosophy. We have a commitment to diversity, intentional design, and providing robust support so students and staff are socially and emotionally thriving. Our students enjoy a vibrant school experience in which they can pursue their passions and achieve impressive outcomes. Our Dragon Spirit is shared by students, staff, parents, and alumni and unites us as global citizens in Beijing and around the world. Enrolling at ISB provides an excellent education for your children and lifelong membership of the school’s community for the whole family.
As you delve deeper into what makes ISB one of the world’s best international schools, you’ll discover that our pursuit of excellence is rooted in nurturing this spirit across our dynamic community, delivering world-class educational outcomes and ensuring a supportive and enriching environment for all.
our mission and vision
Our tradition of excellence
ISB was the first international school in Beijing and today is recognized as a leading learning community. In its earliest stages, our school was made up of eight students and two certified teachers in the hallway of a diplomatic apartment compound. In 1980, amid the growth of other diplomatic communities, the U.S. Embassy joined with the British, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand embassies and formally founded ISB.
We are proud of the community we have become over the past 40+ years, built on the firm foundations put in place by those administrators, faculty, staff, students, and parents who have been part of our school over the last four decades. Our commitment is to continue this legacy to ensure we provide excellent learning and opportunities for our students in the years to come.
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accreditations and memberships
The accreditation process has long been recognized in international school circles as a highly effective means of initiating and maintaining school improvement and demonstrating alignment with a set of publicly stated standards. ISB is currently accredited by the following external organizations, and has earned globally recognized memberships and alliances that enrich our community and learning environment.
