ABOUT SIEF

OUR STORY

Founded in 2016, Scuola Italiana Enrico Fermi International School was created by a small group of Italian professional women, who wanted to combine the excellence of the Italian school model with the best of the American scholastic experience to serve the growing international community.

We INSPIRE our students to explore both their creativity and curiosity, challenging them to become independent thinkers.

We DEVELOP a Reggio Emilia inspired education that is based on a core of fundamental values and principles.

We CREATE a learning environment that assists in developing critical thinking skills.

We SUPPORT a bilingual, full-immersion education program in which Italian is the primary language, setting a foundation for understanding and navigating many cultures.

We BUILD a robust curriculum suite through academic competencies as well as self-identity, development of social skills, and social emotional learning.

OUR MISSION

At Scuola Italiana Enrico Fermi (SIEF) International School, our outstanding, inquiry-based Reggio Emilia inspired approach combines immersion in the Italian language and culture with a robust academic and social curriculum that is attentive to the learning needs of children. SIEF provides a unique educational experience that prepares children for success in a global, multicultural world. As the first Italian American International school in the greater Chicago area, SIEF opened its early childhood education program with full day preschool in September of 2016. In 2018, SIEF initiated its first kindergarten class. Scuola Italiana Enrico Fermi continues to expand, working toward the goal of PreK3 through 8th grade. SIEF currently offers PreK3 through 1st grade, and has quintupled in size since opening.

SIEF also offers multiple community enrichment classes in Italian language, culture, and Reggio-based play for infants through 8 year olds.