Founders’ vision

Empowering every child to forge their own future.

One of the questions I get asked the most is ‘How?’.

How has a school founded by our family risen to the status of perennially inhabiting the top 10 IB schools in the world?

How do we compete against the top globally established and franchised schools?

Before I talk about the ‘how’, please allow me to first focus on the ‘why’.

I wonder which event from 1997 remains in your memory. Perhaps, the tragic passing of Princess Diana, the historic return of Steve Jobs to Apple, or the publishing of the very first Harry Potter novel.

However, for our family, 1997 marked the opening of our school. A school whose establishment stemmed from a single, unforgettable incident.

We once witnessed a young boy in tears, bullied because of the color of his skin, asking, "Why is my skin color different from everyone else's?"

In Japan at that time, international school options were limited and, for children facing difficulties due to differences in culture, language, or race, the options for an education where their diversity was celebrated and welcomed in society were scarce.

These words struck us deeply and made us acutely aware of the urgent need for an environment where every child could be respected and can learn in safety and peace. We wanted to provide a welcoming, nurturing and compassionate community for every child, from every background.

It was from this deep desire that KIST was born and, to this day, influences each decision we make for our school community.

However, as we continued to grow our school community, we realized that merely providing a "safe haven" was not enough.

One day, a student shared this with us:

"My goal for the future is to support my family, no matter what happens. Yet the barrier to this is that I need to go to a good university in order to get a well-paying job. If I can't do that, there are doors that will forever remain closed to my family and I.’

These words posed a profound question to us. How do we ensure that the education we provide unlocks those doors for all our students, regardless of their family’s background.

This realization marked a turning point. KIST moved forward with a new mission: to provide an education that equips all students with the advanced knowledge and skills they need to carve out their own futures, within an environment that wholeheartedly supports this growth.

It is the provision of this education that remains at the heart of our family’s school community.

To return to my initial questions, I believe that I have answered the ‘Why’. So please allow me to return to the ‘How’.

Today, through the International Baccalaureate (IB) education, we aim to foster individuals who achieve academic excellence, possess a strong moral compass, and grow into people who can positively contribute to the world.

We believe that academic potential can only be truly realized once a child realizes their potential to positively change the world through the education they receive.

In a world where cruelty, indifference, and discrimination can gain instant infamy, our school is focused on the relentless pursuit of fostering a community composed of individuals who will serve as beacons of hope for a bright future for the world. Children whose moral character sets them apart from their peers, even before we begin to foster academic excellence.

If I return to the crying boy from my earlier story, we want to nurture children that comfort that boy, display empathy towards his plight, and change the world so that neither he nor others have to experience the same sense of exclusion.

We aim to achieve this by welcoming the following people to our community

• Students who show passion for learning, possess compassion, and proactively seek to make the world a better place in collaboration with the rest of the community.
• Students who can grow to their fullest potential within our curriculum and are able to take their raw ability and nurture it by making the most of every single learning opportunity offered to them.
• Students who are not passive, but who possess an inquisitive mind, a curiosity to form their own questions, and the passion to gain a deeper understanding of the world.
• Exceptional teaching staff, who wish to teach in a focused, disruption free learning environment. These staff should want their legacy to be that they nurtured and developed the future leaders of our world.
• Understanding, cooperative and thoughtful parents who are fully aligned with their children’s own proactive attitude toward learning and encourage independent efforts toward their future goals.
• Community members who have compassion, respect, and take responsibility for their impact others, and grow together through collaboration

This has been my vision, and the vision of my family, for nearly 30 years. This vision will continue to serve as the catalyst to empower our school community for 30 more, and beyond.

If this aligns with your family’s vision, then we would welcome you to join us and help contribute towards a more empathetic, compassionate, and tolerant world.