Kodaikanal International School (KIS) is an autonomous, international, residential school located in South India offering education for Grades K-12.
Testimonials. Kodaikanal International School (KIS) produces graduates who are able to face what life has to offer, far beyond the classroom.
With a rich heritage spanning over a century, the KIS educational system is focused towards the individual, excelling in quality education, global diversity and a continuous learning process through a community-based environment. Hear from alumni, current students and parents on what makes KIS, a school the world needs. Parent Testimonials Pooja Shetty Ajay Kirloskar Christian Bosman Student Testimonials Kimberly (Class of 2018) Financial Aid & Scholarships. Financial Aid As a Christian school, KIS has always recognized that it has a responsibility to its broader community and as such, has made provision to support the education of students coming from socio-economic backgrounds that would otherwise prevent them from studying at the school.
To achieve this objective the school budgets a substantial percentage of its financial income and continues to build on an endowment fund to support Financial Aid and Scholarships. You can find out more in our Scholarships section. General guidelines: Admission to Kodaikanal International School is a prerequisite for financial aid.Applying for financial aid is not a guarantee to receiving aid. Criteria for granting Financial Aid The student receiving financial aid shall exhibit the following qualities: KIS Academic Coordinators.
Our greatest strength lies in our commitment to learning together in a diverse and multicultural residential community, that respects the heritage of each individual.
Each of our academic coordinators has a diverse background, a wealth of knowledge, and are qualified to ensuring the success of our students. Barbara Block High School Coordinator Barbara has been at KIS for over 30 years and currently serves as the High School Coordinator. KIS Senior Management Team. Our greatest strength lies in our commitment to learning together in a diverse and multicultural residential community, that respects the heritage of each individual.
The members of our senior management team, each has a diverse background, a wealth of knowledge, and are qualified to ensuring the success of our students. Corleigh “Corey” Stixrud (Class of 1986) Principal Corey is an energetic leader and community-minded individual with over 18 years of professional experience in education. He serves as Principal of KIS, where he attended as a student from 1977 through his graduation in 1986. He returned to KIS in 2012 as Vice Principal and he took up the role of Principal in 2013…Read More Santhosh Cherian Punnoose Academic Vice Principal Santhosh has been the Vice Principal at KIS from October 2017 and leads all the academic programs at the school, the KIS Diploma and International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programs.
Rev. KIS Philosophy. Way back in 1974, our foundation document was created with this goal: “to develop Kodaikanal School into an autonomous, multicultural, multinational, Christian school in mission as a Christian service to children and parents of all communities of Indian and international society, providing an opportunity for a quality education coupled with a specially designed opportunity for deepened spiritual development.”
As you can see, we were a truly international school right from the beginning! However, as our current successor long range planning document, “Design ’94, says: ‘This school is not just an international school that happens to be placed in India. The KIS Difference. We’re a multiple-campus school with world-class facilities to help us provide the very best to our students!
Here’s a rundown of what we have to offer: World-Class Campuses. Introduction to KIS. Welcome to Kodaikanal International School, a unique school with an extraordinary history and tradition spanning well over a hundred years!
Our keen focus on our students, commitment to quality and dedication to continuous improvement empowers our students to handle whatever life may throw at them. Our greatest strength lies in our commitment to community – the crafting together of a shared vision. Kodaikanal International School – A School The World Needs From our establishment in 1901 as an American residential school for the children of missionaries in South India, our many milestones include a number of ‘firsts’ – from when we became the first IB school, first international school in India (and the third in Asia) by adopting the International Baccalaureate Diploma program in 1976 among only nine other schools worldwide; to when we became the first school in India to have its own separate campus for camping and outdoor activities in 1994. Click here to look at the school profile. Giving to KIS. Reunion, Memory, and Memorial Gifts Many KIS classes set special annual giving goals in honor of their reunions.
Church. KIS was the first school in Kodaikanal, and was set up by members of multiple missions from the US and Europe.
Although it is now a non-denominational school, the Christian foundation has always been a priority. Its first church, started in the 1930’s in the absence of any other church into which students could be inducted, began as a ‘junior church’ where students took the primary role in organizing the worship. Church. Council. The KIS Council of Directors is responsible for the overall governance of KIS, setting of strategic KIS direction, review of plans and budgets established by KIS senior management, and monitoring of performance against those plans and budgets.
The Association of KIS KIS is a non-profit company, registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 [CIN: U80301TZ1996NPL006970]. The company is incorporated under a Memorandum of Association. Membership of the association is by invitation and normally for a term of 3 years. Alumni. Kodaikanal International School strives to maintain relations and connections with and amongst its ‘global family.’ As a School we seek to create lifelong relationship with every Alumni in order to advance in our mission of lifetime connectedness and networking between the School and Alumni and between the Alumni themselves.
Alumni office Alumni across the globe help us celebrate the historic partnership they have with KIS. The Alumni office seeks to enhance connectivity with the alumni community. Parents. KIS parents are key members of the KIS family and community. Sharing the perspectives and views of parents allows the teachers and school administration to receive consistent feedback and ideas. “One of the greatest gifts that parents can give their children is education. It is their preparation for the future and the key to success. Staff. For over 100 years, Kodaikanal International School has attracted a diverse and highly qualified staff with its academic reputation, the safety, seclusion and beauty of Kodaikanal and the unusual warmth of its international community life. We continue to attract a caliber of academic staff with which few international schools can compare.
The staff represent a similar richness of cultural diversity to that of the student body, currently drawn from Australia, Bhutan, Canada, France, Germany, India, Hungary, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tibet, UK and USA. Students. We’re a co-educational, international residential school with approximately 420 students from over 23 countries. We take in students from Preschool to grade 12, though residential students are accepted only from grade 3 and up. American and IB curricular programs run in parallel and are taught through the mediums of Elementary, Middle and High School.
Student Achievements We have a ‘holistic’ philosophy of education that is evident from our curriculum. Safety & Security. With emerging security concerns in the country, KIS is taking necessary steps to enhance overall security management in the main campus and all other KIS properties. KIS strives to focus on protecting all students and staff. A security policy has been developed to enable KIS security staff to adhere with fairness and consistency. The policy outlines procedures to be followed during emergency situations on KIS properties. Staff and students are requested to wear their identity cards to ease identification by security staff. Security is provided round-the-clock at the main campus, Ganga campus (K-8 Campus) and all KIS dorms. The safety of our students is taken very seriously, and a solid security network on both campuses ensures maximum effort is made in this regard. Food Services. Residential catering is provided by KIS Food Services, at 2 main dining facilities with equipped with full kitchens, and Gymkhana Snack Bar, an attractive outdoor fast-food counter.
The Food Services team comprises 50 staff, with the expertise to prepare multi-cuisine dishes with vegetarian and non-vegetarian food being prepared in designated kitchen areas. The menu is planned with both variety and nutrition in mind. Special meals can be provided on medical advice. We have a strong Food services team at Kodaikanal International School headed by highly qualified chefs bringing with them their combined international experience of over 40 years.
Student Health. KIS Dispensary, known affectionately as the ‘Dish’, is a 24-bed medical care facility with 24-hour healthcare, and the capacity to conduct outpatient and inpatient treatment, minor procedures and minor surgery. KIS has a full-time doctor and four registered nurses on staff that are available to patients at all times during the semester, and on weekdays during the holidays. Medical bills are incorporated into your annual fees, and we can arrange medical insurance cover on the family’s request. Dish is supported by fully qualified medical and nursing personnel.The KIS school physician and family medicine specialist is assisted by three full time nursing staff and is supported by the nearby Van Allen hospital in Kodaikanal and the internationally renowned specialist hospitals of Vellore and Madurai if necessary.The Dish is situated in a picturesque corner of the campus away from the noise and bustle of everyday school life.
Residential Life. We have 18 student residences accommodating 25-35 students each, living with residential parents. We also own and maintain hundreds of staff residences spread between apartments, duplex ground floor houses and stand-alone residences, as well as a number of rented local houses. Student Support. College Placements. Click here to view the College and University placements for the Class of 2019. Activities. We’re committed to giving each student the opportunity for the fullest possible personal development: academically, spiritually, emotionally, morally, socially and physically.
Social & Environmental Experience. Learning Support. Learning Resources. KIS High School Diploma. KIS High School comprises grades 9-12. As an American high school, all students graduate from KIS with an internationally recognized High School Diploma. Students in grades 9-10 follow the Middle Years Program, with grades 11-12 students working within the IB framework or towards the KIS diploma. IB Diploma & Course. At KIS the IB Diploma Program is optional and fully integrated into the US accredited KIS High School Diploma curriculum delivered to grades 11-12. The IB is a rigorous program which involves studying a minimum of six subjects, three at higher level (HL) and three at standard level (SL).
Examination papers are set by the International Baccalaureate and marked externally. Students must also: Complete at least 100 hours of instruction in an interdisciplinary course called Theory of Knowledge (TOK)Complete an extended essay of 3000-4000 words involving independent research in an IB subjectParticipate in an approved 150 hour program of creative, active and community service activities (CAS or Creativity, Activity and Service) The IB Diploma program model indicates the 6 subject areas from which choice of subjects are made. IB Middle Years Program. IB Primary Years Program.