Education
KIS is an educational institution, first and foremost. Education is what we do, and we seek to do it well. A KIS education is valued in and of itself, but also for its ability to help students find their way into appropriate higher education and vocations.
KIS is a boarding school. Our residential program is built on the presumption that students learn from their whole experience in community: in the classroom, on the playing field, in activities, on field trips and in the dorms and that teachers teach not just in the classroom, but provide learning models and opportunities for students in all these arenas.
KIS is a naturally enriched boarding environment requiring special commitment from its staff and students. Staff is required to devote time to activities and to individual students far beyond commitments in a day school. Students are required to take every aspect of their lives in the community seriously as part of their total learning experience leading to a greater sense of independence as individuals.
KIS recognizes that living away from family can be emotionally and psychologically challenging for students and provides counseling access, peer and adult mentors for every student to make the transition more comfortable.
KIS foundation long range planning document, Design '94, Philosophy and Objectives, defines specific objectives which underpin its philosophy of education.
KIS General Objectives
KIS strives to be a healthy microcosm of global societies within its community. It recognizes and encourages the distinctive differences in persons, nations and cultures, and at the same time affirms the unity of humankind. Students and staff learn together in theory and practice how to bridge differences between themselves and others, which is the essence of peacemaking.
KIS Specific Objectives
- Give each student the opportunity and freedom for the fullest possible development as a whole person - academically, spiritually, emotionally, morally, socially, and physically
- Provide a creative, high quality, academic program with a curriculum which values learning as an end in itself and also meets the requirements of colleges and universities worldwide
- Explore and adopt independent curriculum designs which facilitate learning in this setting. Where possible, the school is a center for sharing appropriate educational models and designs with other schools in India Provide a cultural and social environment within which students and staff are helped to:
- Develop respect for the dignity and worth of others as fellow human beings
- Develop greater appreciation for cultural traditions, both one's own and others and learn critically to discern the strengths and weaknesses in each of them
- Contribute actively and responsibly to the whole life of the community and participate in its mission
- Develop a concern among staff and students for global issues such as human effects of the environment, distribution of natural resources, the dynamics of poverty, issues of development and colonialism, and identification of social and political forces that contribute to justice and peace
- Promote particular awareness and understanding of the cultures, societies, and peoples of Tamil Nadu, India and South Asia
- Encourage the spiritual development of each member of the community, to promote spiritual understanding among the religions of the world and to present Jesus Christ and his teachings as the foundation stone for achieving all KIS objectives
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