International School Manila ( abbreviation: ISM) is a private, non-profit, non-sectarian international school located in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1920 as the American School by a group of American and British parents living in Manila, it adopted its present name in 1970. International School Manila is one of six members of the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS).

History

A group of American and British expatriates established the American School, Inc. on June 21, 1920. It was first located at 606

Taft Avenue Taft Avenue ( fil, Abenida Taft; es, Avenida Taft) is a major road in the south of Metro Manila. It passes through three cities in the metropolis: Manila, Pasay and Parañaque. The road was named after the former Governor-General of the Philippin ...

, a loaned church building in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, with eight teachers and fifty students from Grades 1 to 12. It transferred later that year to M.H. Del Pilar Street and in 1922 to

Padre Faura Street Padre Faura Street is an east-west street in downtown Manila, Philippines. It carries traffic one-way westbound from Romualdez Street to Roxas Boulevard. Starting at its eastern terminus at Paco Park in Paco district, the street heads west for a ...

, both also in Manila. The campus was transferred to Donada Street,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 440,656 people. Due to its location j ...

in 1936. It was closed in 1942 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and was reopened by September 1946. The campus was then transferred near Bel-Air,

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

in 1961. In 1970, the American School was renamed to International School Manila (ISM) at the recommendation of the

US Embassy The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...

. In the same year, ISM also became the firs
international school
to receive accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). In 1982, ISM joined the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS). By 2002, the school transferred from Makati to its present location in Bonifacio Global City. The site of the former Makati campus is now occupied by Century City.

Campus and facilities

The ISM campus sits on a site located in Bonifacio Global City,

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in ...

Organization and leadership

The ISM is divided into three departments, each having their own faculty and administration. Its overall administration is headed by the Superintendent.

Curriculum

There are three years of preschool, and twelve years of primary and secondary education. Its

K–12 K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an American English expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States, which is similar to publicly supported school grades ...

standard is based from the American school system. As a result, it has a different implementation of the program from the one proposed by the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. Its Elementary department includes three years of pre-school and kindergarten, as well as the first four grades of grade school. These four years of grade school correspond to the American primary school system. Its Middle School department is from

fifth grade Fifth grade (called Grade 5 in some regions) is a year of education in many nations, and some other regions call it Year 5. In the United States, the fifth grade is the fifth and last year of elementary school in most schools. In other schools, it ...

to eighth grade, equivalent to the last two years of grade school and the first two years high school for the rest of the country. Its high school department is from ninth grade to

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

, corresponding to the last two years of junior high school and both years of senior high school. High school students in the last two years are offered the choice to take the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

curriculum.

Sports

There are numerous sports facilities at the International School Manila. ISM has two artificial football/ rugby fields (one 4G standard) on its campus and one small real grass field. There are 8 rooftop-covered tennis courts, a 10-line climbing wall, 4 sports gymnasiums (HS, MS, ES and PS), a gymnastics floor, 3 swimming pools, a martial arts room, a fitness suite and a weights and cardio facility. ISM plays within the IASAS competition within the 3 seasons of HS sport.

References

External links

International School Manila
{{Bonifacio Global City International schools in Metro Manila International Baccalaureate schools in the Philippines Education in Bonifacio Global City Educational institutions established in 1920 1920 establishments in the Philippines