Welcome to Beacon Hill International School
An inclusive, globally oriented school with Spanish and Mandarin immersion.
OUR SCHOOL VALUES
I am Safe. I am Kind. I am Responsible.
WHAT MAKES BHIS AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL?
Language immersion
Literacy and writing are taught in English. Math, science, and integrated literacy are taught in Mandarin or Spanish, depending on your child’s program.
Families from around the world
Our families and students have backgrounds from around the world.
English Language Learners
We are proud to have a high population of ELL students. We know that being multilingual is an asset that builds strong academics and community.
Multilingualism is our superpower. At BHIS, every child learns that more than one language means more than one way to understand the world.
A SCHOOL DAY
School hours: 7:55 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.
Early release every Wednesday at 1:10 p.m.
- 7:30Drop-off opens: stay with your child
Please do not leave children unattended until 7:35. One-way loop around the school, with a no-waiting pull-over area on 13th Ave. near the courtyard.
- 7:35Breakfast open
Two sets of back courtyard gates open for breakfast in the cafeteria. If you arrive before 7:35, please supervise your child in the courtyard until a staff member arrives.
- 7:50First bell
School starts at 7:55. Families may wait in the courtyard.
KindergartenParents may walk students in with the teachers. We ask that only kindergarten parents do this.
- 1:10Wednesday dismissal
Early release every Wednesday. Pickup is in the same places as at 2:25.
- 2:25School ends
Grades 1 to 5 meet families on the upper field in labeled areas.
KindergartenFamilies meet students at the side door off Hill Street (Launch entrance).
Late pickupIf you are more than 10 minutes late for pickup, your child waits in the front office.
OUR BUILDING
An open-concept school
Our open-concept building is designed to foster teacher collaboration and student community. With few walls and doors, teachers can work together and teach across ages, and classrooms are grouped into Pods. Students typically move from their “homeroom” morning pod to their afternoon pod before lunch.
Voice levels in the halls and classrooms: 1 Silence, 2 Whisper, 3 Group work, 4 Outside voice, 5 Emergency voice.
Pods
- K Pod
- Kindergarten and 1st grade
- A Pod
- K/1 Mandarin and Spanish immersion
- B Pod
- 2nd and 3rd grade
- C Pod
- 4th/5th Spanish and Mandarin immersion
- D Pod
- 4th and 5th grade
- E Pod
- 2nd/3rd Spanish and Mandarin immersion
VISITING THE SCHOOL
Doors stay locked during the school day
All school doors are locked from 8:00 a.m. to 2:25 p.m., or until 1:10 p.m. on Wednesdays. All visitors enter through the front door at the main office. Staff and students are not allowed to open doors for visitors.
Please do not ask students or teachers to let you in through other doors of the building. It is against school policy.
- Ring the bell by the front doors on 14th Ave. South and say who you are.
- Sign in at the front office and wear a visitor badge if you are staying.
- Sign out at the front office when you leave the building.
SCHOOL MEALS
Free meals for every student
Every Seattle Public Schools student has access to free school meals, regardless of family income or school attended.
Meal schedule
- Breakfast
- 7:30 to 7:55 a.m.
- Lunch, K and 1st grade
- 10:45 a.m.
- Lunch, 2nd and 3rd grade
- 11:15 a.m.
- Lunch, 4th and 5th grade
- 11:45 a.m.
Every family should complete the CNEEB application
Free meals are available to all SPS students, but every family is encouraged to complete the Child Nutrition Eligibility and Education Benefit application (CNEEB). Family responses help schools receive important funding and resources, and the application may qualify students for additional educational benefits. Families who do not wish to provide income information may select the “Decline Benefits” option.
HEALTH CENTER
Odessa Brown’s School Based Health Center
Odessa Brown’s School Based Health Center is a clinic at BHIS where students can receive preventative care from a licensed Nurse Practitioner. The clinic also has a licensed Mental Health Therapist and a Clinic Care Coordinator. They provide wellness checks, immunizations, physicals, and visits when your student is not feeling well.
What the clinic offers
Community outreach: help with insurance, appointments, prescriptions, and outside resources.
Medical care: primary care, physical exams and sports physicals, lab testing and immunizations, and care for chronic illnesses like asthma.
Mental health: individual and group therapy for children, and group therapy for parents.
Before your visit
You do not have to change your primary care doctor or clinic to use the school clinic.
Students need to be registered, with signed documents, before they can be seen.