Head of School, Alumni Parent ’22 & ’25
Joe Santos is a true bilingual and a genuine citizen of the world, a native Spanish-speaking British citizen, born and raised in Gibraltar and educated in English. He holds a BSc Honours degree in Zoology at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and a PGCE (Postgraduate General Certificate of Education) from Christchurch College, Canterbury. In addition, he has an MA in Educational Management from the University of Bath.
Joe embodies the adventurous spirit that is at the core of ISB’s mission and values. He has lived and worked as a teacher and school leader all around the world, in England, in Mexico, in China, in Brazil, and in Spain. Over the course of his career in education, he has been a staunch advocate for the International Baccalaureate and its emphasis on critical thinking and fostering a global perspective in order to understand the world and our place in it. Grounded in his background as a science teacher, Joe follows the research and data behind bilingualism and multilingualism, the multitudinous studies that have shown that language learning physically alters the brain, increasing cognitive function and positively impacting people throughout their lives.
Prior to joining ISB, Joe held a variety of teaching and leadership roles at international schools across the globe. At Greengates School in Mexico City, he served as an IB Diploma Programme Biology teacher and also worked as an IB Examiner and Moderator. He then joined Beijing BISS International School as its first IB Diploma Coordinator, where he also taught Diploma Programme Biology and Chemistry and Middle Years Programme Science. At the American School of Rio de Janeiro, Joe served as IB Diploma Coordinator before becoming Principal of the High School, while continuing to teach IB Biology and Theory of Knowledge. He later joined the Benjamin Franklin International School in Barcelona, where he held a senior leadership role overseeing the middle and high school divisions.
Joe joined ISB in 2013 as Director of Middle School and was appointed Head of School in 2017. As a leader, he is enthusiastic, approachable, and hands-on; his door is always open to students, families, faculty, and staff. Joe continues to teach a Middle School Marine Biology elective in the Middle School, he enjoys accompanying students on field trips, he has been known to visit the ISB Library to read books in Spanish to our Preschoolers or make a surprise performance at the Lower School talent show, and he can often be found tending to the campus’s planters and pollinator gardens. He is the proud parent of two alumni from the International School of Brooklyn Classes of 2022 and 2025.
