Graded - the American School of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo

The oldest and largest American school in Brazil, the default choice for the US diplomatic and corporate circuit, with a strong IB Diploma alongside the American high school programme.

Graded was founded in 1920 and now educates around 1,300 students from pre-primary through grade twelve on the José Galante campus. About 62 percent of teachers are foreign hires and average tenure runs around 8.5 years, which is unusually settled for an American international school. NEASC and CIS accredited.

Families speak well of the lower and middle school years, the buddy system, the counselling support, and the breadth of activities. Honest signal in the upper school is more mixed. Some IB families have flagged subjective grading and unevenness across departments, and the older buildings get noted for variable climate control. The fit is strongest for families who want an American framework with a real IB option and a large, settled expat community around them.

Year level	Age	Fee
Lower School (PK3-Grade 5)	3	R$153,816
Upper School (Grades 6-12)	11	R$190,872

Year level

Age

Fee

Lower School (PK3-Grade 5)

R$153,816

Upper School (Grades 6-12)

R$190,872

Item	Age	Fee
Re-enrollment deposit (40% of July tuition - Lower School)		R$5,127
Re-enrollment deposit (40% of July tuition - Upper School)		R$6,362

Item

Age

Fee

Re-enrollment deposit (40% of July tuition - Lower School)

R$5,127

Re-enrollment deposit (40% of July tuition - Upper School)

R$6,362

Reliably listed in Tier 1 international school rankings circulated among teachers, alongside Lincoln Buenos Aires, ASIJ and ISKL.
Teacher comment is consistent: applicants choose Graded despite Sao Paulo, not because of it; safety and security are the city-level reason it slips down some lists.
Parent reviews split by age band: strong consensus on early years and lower secondary, more reserved on upper secondary, where parents transferring in from rigorous overseas schools say the academic stretch can disappoint.
Onboarding gets specific positive mention, including buddy systems, on-campus counselling and a full-time nurse.
City context dominates the practical experience: walking and public transport to school are not realistic, families live within a tight Morumbi/Jardins radius and use private transport.
Internal management has surfaced as a concern in 2025: one thread alleged that under-performing administrators have been moved into director roles rather than exited, citing Brazilian labour law as the reason. This is single-source and unverified.
Reputation as one of Brazil's highest-paying international schools draws strong applicant pools, which feeds the academic reputation parents see.

Reputation tier. Consistently named Tier 1 in teacher community rankings; one of Latin America's best-known international schools.

Onboarding and pastoral. Buddy system, counselling and full-time nurse get specific positive mentions from new families.

Lower vs upper school. Parents praise early and middle years more than the upper school, where stretch sometimes underwhelms families from rigorous prior schools.

Sao Paulo logistics. Walking or public transport to school is not viable; families plan around private transport and a Morumbi-area home.

Administration. One 2025 Reddit post alleged that weak administrators are reassigned rather than exited, citing labour-law constraints. Single-source.

Jane McGee