In December 2020, two special schools, dedicated to an inquiry-based bilingual and international education, came together to begin the process of a merger as one Silicon Valley International School (INTL). The individual and shared histories of both Silicon Valley International School and Alto International School paved the way for this powerful partnership and merger.

This merger was many years in the making. In 1993, Alto International School, at the time named Deutsch-Amerikanische Schule San Francisco (DAS), approached INTL, at the time named International School of the Peninsula (ISTP), to discuss how both schools could benefit from multicultural and multilingual synergies. In 1998, DAS reached out again to discuss the possibility of a merger. While both schools’ values and missions aligned, the lack of space prohibited a successful merger at that time. 

Over the years, it became increasingly clear that a union would mutually benefit both schools. In 2019, the schools met again to formally discuss a merger, with the original intent of first merging the high school and then merging the remaining divisions over the following years. However, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic compelled a more expedited merger. After much strategic planning and work, the two schools merged together in less than a year, creating the premier bilingual International Baccalaureate (IB) World School on the West Coast, and the only IB continuum school in the Bay Area. 

INTL offers Chinese, French, and German language programs for Preschool through 12th grades, as well as an Upper School Language Acquisition program (for students with no prior bilingual education experience), and the full continuum of the International Baccalaureate.