Asociación Escuelas Lincoln

Lincoln School's Educational Philosophy

At the heart of Lincoln School's identity is a clearly articulated mission: "We inspire and challenge all of our learners to be kind and ethical members of a global community. We empower them to develop into self-aware, confident, innovative, and collaborative change-agents committed to honoring diversity and enhancing their world."

This mission is not merely aspirational language — it shapes the school's curriculum design, assessment approach, and community culture. The language of "change-agents" signals an active, outward-looking model of education in which students are not passive recipients of knowledge but co-creators of a better world.

Core Values in Practice

The school's six officially published core values — Open, Fair, Reflective, Compassionate, Resilient, and Integrity — are woven into classroom practice and community life. These values align closely with the IB Learner Profile attributes, reinforcing the school's dual commitment to US-accredited rigour and international-mindedness.

Lincoln also explicitly promotes JEDI principles — Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion — in its foundational documents. This positions the school not just as an academic institution but as a community intentionally grappling with issues of equity and global justice.

Inquiry-Based Learning

Pedagogically, Lincoln employs an inquiry-based approach consistent with both the IB philosophy and progressive North American educational models. Students are encouraged to ask questions, investigate real-world problems, and apply knowledge across disciplines. Technology is described as integral to this approach, with the school's Fab Lab, robotics programme, and computing resources reinforcing a culture of experimentation and innovation.

Bilingual Identity

The school's bilingual English-Spanish model reflects its unique position as an American international school embedded in Argentine society. Rather than treating Spanish as a peripheral add-on, Lincoln integrates both languages into the lived experience of students, producing graduates who are genuinely bicultural — capable of navigating US university systems and Argentine cultural life with equal confidence.

This philosophy makes Lincoln distinct among South American international schools: it is neither purely expatriate-facing nor fully local, but genuinely bridging both worlds.

A History of Growth and International Ambition

Origins (1936)

Lincoln School was established in 1936 in La Lucila, a leafy suburb on the northern outskirts of Buenos Aires, along the banks of the Río de la Plata. Its founding purpose was to provide quality American-style education to the children of US expatriates and internationally mobile families living in Argentina — a community that had grown substantially in the early twentieth century as US business and diplomatic interests in South America expanded.

From the outset, the school combined US educational standards with an awareness of its Argentine context, a dual identity that would come to define its character across the decades.

Growth Through the 20th Century

Through the mid-twentieth century, Lincoln established itself as the go-to institution for expatriate families in Buenos Aires. It developed a campus of 9 hectares, eventually including sports fields, a swimming pool, science laboratories, arts facilities, and a performing arts theatre — infrastructure that reflects decades of sustained investment.

The school attracted families connected to the US Embassy, major multinational corporations, and international organisations, giving it a cosmopolitan student body that mirrored Buenos Aires's own international character.

IB Authorisation (1993)

A pivotal milestone came on 1 April 1993, when Lincoln became an authorised IB World School, adding the IB Diploma Programme to its existing US-accredited curriculum. This move signalled the school's ambition to benchmark itself against global academic standards and broadened its appeal to non-US international families seeking internationally recognised credentials.

Present Day

Today, Lincoln School enrols approximately 815 students from over 45 nationalities across Pre-K through Grade 12. It offers a trilateral academic pathway: a US-accredited high school diploma, the Argentine bachillerato, and the IB Diploma. The school reports an IB pass rate of approximately 86%, reflecting strong academic outcomes. With 105 full-time faculty and an average class size of 18, it maintains the intimate scale that has always been central to its identity.

A Genuinely International Student Body

Lincoln School is officially home to students representing 45 or more nationalities, according to the school's own published figures. With approximately 815 students enrolled, this means the average Lincoln classroom brings together children from dramatically different cultural, linguistic, and national backgrounds — a richness rarely found even among top international schools globally.

Who Attends Lincoln?

Historical data from a detailed school profile suggests the student body breaks down roughly as follows:

• ~24% US nationals (the school's founding constituency)
• ~20% Argentine nationals (locally-based families)
• ~56% students from 47+ other countries

This profile means that the majority of students — approximately 80% — come from outside Argentina, giving Lincoln a genuinely expatriate-international character. However, the significant Argentine cohort (20%) ensures the school is not isolated from the local culture, and graduates typically leave with strong roots in both their home country and Argentina.

Diplomat and Corporate Families

Lincoln has long served as the school of choice for families attached to embassies, multinational corporations, and international organisations based in Buenos Aires. Argentina's status as a major Latin American economy and diplomatic hub means that Lincoln's community regularly includes the children of ambassadors, international executives, NGO workers, and development professionals — a social environment that naturally cultivates cross-cultural empathy and global awareness.

Community Values

The school's JEDI framework (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) reflects a deliberate institutional commitment to making this diversity a learning opportunity rather than merely a demographic fact. Community events, multilingual initiatives, and service-learning projects are designed to draw on the richness of different backgrounds and perspectives.

Parent Engagement

An unusual feature of Lincoln's community model is that families receiving financial support are asked to volunteer in areas where they feel most qualified — a practice that deepens parent investment in the school and reinforces the sense that Lincoln is a genuine community of stakeholders rather than a service provider.

Academic Culture at Lincoln School

A Unique Triple Pathway

Few schools anywhere in the world offer what Lincoln School does: three simultaneous graduation pathways — the US-accredited high school diploma, the Argentine bachillerato, and the IB Diploma Programme. This is not merely a marketing distinction; it shapes the entire academic culture of the school.

Students in the upper school must navigate the demands of multiple credentialing systems, developing the academic flexibility and rigour that comes from working across different intellectual frameworks. The IB Diploma, authorised since 1993, sits at the apex of this structure and is available to students who choose to pursue it alongside or instead of the US diploma pathway.

IB Results

The school reports an IB Diploma pass rate of approximately 86%, broadly in line with the IB global average. While Lincoln does not publish detailed subject-level results or average point scores publicly, this figure suggests a solid and consistent academic programme.

Bilingual Instruction

All core academic instruction is delivered primarily in English, with Spanish integrated across the curriculum as a genuine second language of learning rather than simply a foreign language class. This bilingual model means students exit Lincoln fluent in both English and Spanish — a significant advantage for university and career pathways in both North America and Latin America.

Assessment and Expectations

The school uses North American grading conventions alongside IB assessment frameworks, creating a dual-lens approach to academic progress. Students are assessed through both formative classroom work and the formal IB external examinations in upper school.

Class Size and Staff Ratio

With an average class size of 18 students and approximately 105 full-time faculty serving 815 students, Lincoln maintains a student-teacher ratio of roughly 8:1. This intimate scale supports the kind of personalised, discussion-rich learning environment that the school's inquiry-based philosophy demands.

Technology Integration

The school describes itself as "technology-infused", with a Fab Lab (makerspace), science laboratories across three disciplines, computer labs, and a robotics programme all forming part of the standard academic offering. This STEM infrastructure complements the humanistic IB curriculum to produce well-rounded graduates.

Admissions at Lincoln School

A Family-Centred Approach

Lincoln School describes itself as a family-oriented community, and this philosophy is baked into its admissions structure. The school explicitly prioritises siblings of current students when places are limited, ensuring that families can keep their children together at one school throughout their Buenos Aires posting or residency.

Rolling Admissions

Unlike many selective international schools that operate fixed annual intake windows, Lincoln accepts applications year-round on a rolling basis. This makes practical sense given its primary constituency — expatriate and internationally mobile families — who may be relocated to Buenos Aires at any point in the academic year and need to enrol children quickly.

When classes reach capacity, applicants are placed on a waitlist ranked by the date their complete application was submitted, ensuring transparency and fairness in the queuing process.

English Proficiency Requirements

Since English is the primary language of instruction, Lincoln requires evidence of English language readiness for applicants beyond the early years. For Grades 6–12, this typically involves sitting the WIDA MODEL assessment, which measures English language proficiency across listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Results inform both admissions decisions and any EAL support provision the school may put in place for newly enrolled students.

For younger grades, English readiness is assessed more informally, and the school's WIDA/ELL programme provides structured support for students who join with limited English.

What Admissions Looks For

Admissions decisions are guided by:

• Age-appropriate readiness (e.g. K4 entrants must turn 4 by September 30)
• English proficiency (WIDA MODEL for upper grades)
• Prior academic records and teacher/counsellor references
• Sibling status (priority factor)

The school does not publish acceptance rate data, but the combination of rolling admissions, modest total enrolment (~815 students), and international demand suggests a moderately selective profile.

Financial Accessibility

For families who cannot afford the full USD-denominated fees — which range from approximately USD 14,990 to USD 30,960 annually — Lincoln operates a need-based financial support and scholarship programme administered by the Board. Families receiving support are typically asked to contribute volunteer hours in areas of their expertise, reinforcing community bonds.