EABH, the only American School in the State of Minas Gerais, was founded in 1956 by a group of missionary parents and businessmen, with the intention of providing educational programs in the American tradition, in the English language, for Brazilian children and other children of any nationality. The school became a private, non-profit school owned by the Association of Parents.
One of our main objectives is to provide an educational program to facilitate transfer from and into schools in the United States, Brazil, and other countries. In the beginning, classes were held in a Brazilian school, and Calvert correspondence courses were used, supervised by mothers. As the school began to grow, a formal grade school was organized under the guidance of three qualified teachers.
Correspondence courses were replaced by a curriculum based on American textbooks. By 1964, the number of children in Grades 1 through 8 had grown to 39. In 1966, the school became an official member of the American Schools of South America. In 1968, a high school program was organized, a kindergarten started, and the staff was enlarged to include teachers of Portuguese and a Brazilian secretary.
Another important addition was a professional administrator. Brazilian and international teachers were added to the staff and new courses were offered. By 1969, enrollment had increased to 99 students. In 1975 the school was accredited by AdvancED, an organization that recognizes the school as American and allows it to give the American Diploma to its students. In 1993 the school became an authorized Brazilian school, giving to the seniors the Brazilian Diploma.
A grade 1-11 program was offered with correspondence courses for the American senior year and now our school offers a full international curriculum for pre-k to grade 12 program with both the Brazilian and the American diplomas. In 2008 EABH became a member of a world class educational organization with the authorization for the Primary Years Programme (PYP) from the International Baccalaureate (IB) Organization. Soon after, EABH received authorization for the Middle Years Programme (MYP), making us the first institution in Minas Gerais to become an IB World School offering a continuous program.
And today, EABH offers one of the finest educational experiences in Latin America and awards three diplomas, the Brazilian, the American, and the AP Capstone diplomas.
