The Network of International Christian Schools (NICS) is an organization that consists of 15 schools in 13 countries in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and includes an

online school An online school (virtual school or e-school or cyber-school) teaches students entirely or primarily online or through the Internet. It has been defined as "education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are se ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. There are plans in the works for more schools in the near future.

History

In 1983, Joe Hale, his wife Ann, and some other missionaries formed Liberty Christian School ( International Christian School) in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. They initially anticipated that this school would educate about 30 students, but on the school’s inaugural day 83 students arrived for classes. The school continued to grow, and currently there are three NICS schools in South Korea with a total enrollment of over 1200 students. It quickly became apparent that the need for

international schools An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body a ...

, particularly Christian ones, was present in many countries beyond Korea. Schools perpetuating the same approach soon appeared in other countries and on other continents. The vast growth of the initial schools was such that the Network of International Christian Schools (NICS) was born in 1991 and a home office was established in

Memphis, TN Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-most ...

to facilitate the operations and staffing of the schools.“A Trip Abroad Changed His Life Forever,” ''Desoto Times Today'' In 1992, NICS became an incorporated independent mission agency. In 2001 the home office was moved to Southaven, MS, a suburb of Memphis, where it is today. After operating out of the Southaven municipal building for several years, the current location (3790 Goodman Rd. E.) was secured and occupied in the fall of 2007. The home office is housed in four buildings on . There are plans for additional buildings to be built, which will also be used as a conference and training facility. The home office houses 25 employees, as well as the offices of NorthStar International Academy, the online school. Joe Hale serves as the president of NICS and works out of the home office, or international headquarters. Future plans also include the building of a stateside international school. The peak enrollment of all NICS schools at the time during the 2020-21 school year is over 5000 students. There are over 800 teachers serving the 15 schools throughout the organization.

List of schools

Bandung Alliance Intercultural School Bandung Alliance Intercultural School (BAIS) is in Kota Baru Parahyangan, a development on the outskirts of Bandung, Indonesia. It has been a member of the Network of International Christian Schools since 1995. Fully accredited through WASC and ACS ...

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

International Christian Academy of Nagoya The International Christian Academy of Nagoya (ICAN; ja, 一般財団法人インターナショナル・クリスチャン・アカデミー名古屋) was an international school that was located in the city of Nagakute, a suburb of Nagoya, Aich ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(closed) *

West Nairobi School West Nairobi School (WNS) is a Christian international school in Karen, Nairobi, Kenya using a North American curriculum. It opened in Kilimani Kilimani is a mixed-use commercial and residential neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi. Locatio ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

* International Community School,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Yongsan International School Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS) is a kindergarten (age 5) to 12th grade college-preparatory private international school, operated under a joint agreement between the Korea Foreign Schools Foundation and the Network of International ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

International Christian School, Uijeongbu The International Christian School of Uijeongbu ( ko, 국제 크리스쳔학교), or ICSU, is a Christian international school founded in 1983 in Uijeongbu, South Korea. It is operated by the administration and is accredited by NICS, ACSI, Kor ...

Prishtina High School The Mission Prishtina High Schoolprepares students to be responsible citizens and active learners. Prishtina High School provides an American-style education in Kosovo. The school is located in thMatiqanregion of Prishtina. Classes first began o ...

Prishtina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

(Oasis School) *

International School An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body a ...

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

(Oasis School)

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Network of International Christian Schools website
01 Christian schools International school associations