"Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think."
- Albert Einstein
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ABOUT US
Our mission is to ignite and nurture confidence, curiosity, and creativity.
We are a highly engaged, reflective, courageous, and diverse community of student and adult learners. Together, we are committed to becoming our best selves intellectually, socially, emotionally, and physically.
Our vision is to prepare students for a future that is impossible to know but not impossible to shape.
We develop within each member of our community the mindset, toolset, and skillset needed to engage meaningfully and purposefully with the world around us. Together, we are committed to issues of social justice, equity, and sustainability.
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Our promise is to empower each student to:
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Know themselves: This includes having a positive sense of self, owning their strengths and challenges in academic and nonacademic areas, and having the skills, knowledge, and habits needed for continual growth.
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Find and exercise their voice: We believe that each child has a unique and important voice. We help each child find their voice and develop appropriate strategies to advocate for themselves and for others.
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Seek to understand multiple perspectives: From solving a math problem to addressing a global crisis, our students learn to think critically and consider different perspectives when approaching any topic.
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Take meaningful action: Our students are not simply consumers of knowledge, they are engaged, empowered, and empathetic individuals with the strength of character and the strength of voice to make a difference in the world.
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OUR STAFF
Our team is a collection of exceptional individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Teaching today involves more than simply disseminating knowledge. Our learning guides are curators of experiences, coaches who help students observe and reflect, facilitators who develop responsibility and agency, advocates who celebrate and challenge each student, and team players who engage with other guides, students, families, and external partners.
Above all else, our learning guides are professional learners.
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Chris Bezsylko, Head of School
George Tsatsos, Business Manager
Sharon Wu, Elementary Learning Guide
Cristian Arriaga, Physical Education Learning Guide & Extended Day Director
Hsin-Ling Tsai, Mandarin Learning Guide
Devika Silva, Elementary Learning Guide
Kito McKinney, Elementary Learning Guide
Sean O'Connor, Elementary Learning Guide
Sogolon Best, Mathematics Learning Guide
OUR LEADERSHIP
The Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is the governing body of the School. The board establishes broad goals and overall school policies and appoints and evaluates the head of school. The board delegates school program management to the head of school, and once policy has been established, does not interfere with the daily operation of the school. Therefore, it directs all inquiries to the head of school and their administration and staff.
Tuolin Chen Maria Velez
Steve Collins Tamar Posner
Scott Buchholz
MORE ABOUT US
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Land Acknowledgement
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As a diverse community of learners committed to issues of equity, social justice, and sustainability we express our deep appreciation and gratitude to the Ohlone people, the original inhabitants of the land where we now gather. The Ohlone people have never ceded, lost, or forgotten their responsibilities as caretakers of this land, as well as all the people who reside in their traditional territory.
We hold two things in our hearts and in our minds. First, there is a long and unfortunate history of colonialism, exclusion, environmental piracy, and prejudice that has impacted who and how we live on the land today. Second, today we live, work, learn, and play on the lands of people with a long history of advocacy, community, resistance, and sustainability. We embrace and honor both their spirit and their wisdom.
Our Location & Facilities
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Conveniently located off the 101, our home at the Cubberly Center in Palo Alto offers a host of amenities. With two full size gymnasiums, an indoor pavilion, a theatre, multiple sports fields, tennis courts, and green spaces, we have all the advantages of a large school. In addition to the facilities, there are dance studios, martial arts centers, makerspaces, and art studios at the Cubberly Center. We are also a short walk away from Mitchell Park Community Center.
With a commitment to outdoor education and sustainability, our learning experiences frequently take place off campus. Our location is ideal for exploring the Baylands, local farms and gardens, the mountains, and even local beaches.
Diversity & Inclusion
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As a diverse and inclusive community, we firmly believe that our differences make us stronger and that we are better together. Our commitment to inclusion creates an environment where children and adults alike are free to be their authentic selves. Our location allows us greater access to engage with the broader community, which in turn helps us cultivate the empathy and drive to work toward equity.
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We believe that in order for children to fully engage in their communities, they must possess strong local, cultural and global competence. To that end, we learn from and enrich ourselves with multiple perspectives and welcome people of any country of origin, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender expression, gender identity, physical appearance, race, religious choice, family structure, sex, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.
Our Founding Story
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Imagination Lab School was founded in 2018 by Jingjing Xu, Yinuo Li, and Chris Bezsylko. Jingjing, Yinuo, and Chris were together at AltSchool Palo Alto where Chris was the founding head of school and Jingjing and Yinuo were parents. Over time, Yinuo founded ETU School in Beijing and AltSchool announced it was closing it's campuses. These three realized that there was a need for an innovative lab school in Silicon Valley and their combined efforts led them to start Imagination Lab School.
Over the years, ILS and ETU have collaborated to provide professional development in the areas of Project Based Learning and Social & Emotional Learning, and they created a Global Exchange Program for students and educators.​
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ILS looks forward to building partnerships with other schools and organizations that are committed to empowering students to be their best selves.