A child sitting on a green carpet in a classroom with chairs and educational materials, with a long strip of cloth and beads laid out on the floor in the foreground.

Montessori & IB
A Rare Combination

We are honored to be one of very few schools in the world with PK-12 Montessori and IB programming.

The Montessori Method

We are one of the few schools in the world to offer both Montessori and International Baccalaureate (MYP and DP) programming, a rare combination of pedagogies that make VIMSIA stand out.

Montessori education is widely practiced and deeply respected around the world for its enduring impact on learners and communities. 

A Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child's psychological, physical, and social development.

A graduation celebration featuring a young woman in a blue cap and gown holding a flower, and a young girl with a backpack, both smiling. The image includes congratulatory and inspirational text.
Three students observing a laptop screen displaying an image of a spider and working on a chemistry lab project in a classroom.

The IB offers a rigorous and rewarding curriculum that allows students to reflect on and develop their learning, empowering them to become independent thinkers and principled doers.

International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a global leader in international education—developing inquiring, knowledgeable, confident, and caring young people. Our programs empower school-aged students to take ownership in their own learning and help them develop the skills to make a difference and thrive in a world that changes fast.

IB Philosophy

End Session

VIMSIA students have traveled to over 55 countries since the inception of our travel programs in  2007.  Each year students have the opportunity to travel through one of our many VIMSIA Without Borders programs, including: End Session, MMUN, Weizmann Science and Middle East Cultural Trek, and the Spanish Student Exchange Program. 

End Session is a unique adventure in learning created specifically for our PGIA students.  This program has taken our students to over 55 global destinations. We have been 50 degrees North, 40 degrees South, 100 feet underwater and points in between to provide global learning opportunities!

Our many VIMSIA Without Borders programs helps provide funding for our travel programs which include End Session, MMUN, Weizmann Science and Middle East Cultural Trek, the Spanish Student Exchange Program, and the Denmark cultural trip.

Service Learning

Service learning is at the heart of the Peter Gruber International Academy. Our school offers opportunities for students to apply what they learn in the classroom by contributing to the needs of our local and broader community. We are motivated by the commitment to leave a legacy.

Experiential Learning

Both the Montessori and International Baccalaureate pedagogies have a focus on learning by doing, reflecting on work done with the hands.  Whether it is a PGIA design class and their cardboard boat race at Secret Harbor, or a Montessori Primary student tracing sandpaper letters with their finger - our school focuses on the act of learning by doing.  Our classrooms extend to real life in the out of doors and to the outer reaches of the globe.  We touch, we feel, we build, we create, we collaborate, we learn.

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