Thank you for your interest in KAIS, the new International school in Tokyo designed specifically for returnees and international students. We are the only Junior and Senior High school in Japan designed specifically with Kikokushijo in mind, and as such, we are uniquely aware of their gifted abilities, special needs, and educational hurdles. We invite and open our school to a student body composed primarily of returnees, bicultural students, native English-speaking students, and special needs students. We also invite Japanese students with exceptional English abilities, who are planning to attend university abroad. Moreover, we are willing to work with lower level students who are willing to work hard. Our program allows any type of motivated student to succeed, and support is offered to students with English difficulties. We have an outstanding faculty and staff completely composed of teachers who have been working with the Tokyo multicultural and returnee community for years, and have designed a program which we are confident will enable our students not only to excel in their education, but to succeed in their future intellectual, creative, and personal endeavors. We, along with our sister school, Kikokushijo Academy, have been providing the highest-standards of English education to the Tokyo International community for years, and we strive to create a curriculum that prepares both our junior high school and high school students with the skills they need to succeed.
Kikokushijo Academy International School provides a fully-accredited diverse, intensive, and specialized curriculum in English to motivated university-oriented students. Accredited through our partner school, Laurel Springs High School in California, USA, our students complete a dual program and graduate with a high school Diploma from California, enabling them to easily pursue university education anywhere in the world. Our curriculum is supplemented by our own programs specifically designed for students who may want to attend university abroad: SAT Test preparation class, Eiken program, specialized Kikokushijo-oriented writing program, College Admissions Essay workshops, and a wide range of Honors (advanced) classes.
KAIS provides one MacBook computer per student, creating a technically literate, modern, and creative student body. In addition, our Creative Electives will bring out the creativity and ideas in our students, allowing them to pursue projects from film/video to poetry writing workshops to photography and music. Students can propose their own projects and class schedules and work at their own pace. This level of individualized study allows each student to thrive at the level that is right for them. In many schools, large class sizes prevent many students from feeling included; often, the highest level students and the lowest level students are left out of the learning process. At KAIS, no student will be pushed or left behind as a result of large classes. We combine traditional lectures with personalized lab time which allows each student to complete their courses at the pace that best suits them. It is possible at KAIS, for a highly-motivated student to graduate high school in as little as 2 years. Simultaneously, we provide support for students who need a lot of guidance, aiding them on their road to graduation, even if it takes 6 years.
All of these programs, together with our top-notch facilities will help our students gain admission to the universities of their dreams, as well as gain the insight and analytical skill necessary to excel in whatever pursuits they choose after graduation. We invite you to further explore our exciting new school and inquire about our individualized programs, tailored to your student. Our school and teachers operate with the highest standard of academic integrity, and our program is designed to pass on these ideals to our students. Please do not hesitate to contact our admissions office if you have any questions or would like to arrange a visit to our Daitabashi campus. We are confident that our school will help your child thrive in the international community.
Thank you again for considering Kikokushijo Academy International School.
Kikokushijo Academy International School strives to create a learning environment and educational community centered around the individual. We implore our students daily to create, on an academic, physical, social, and creative basis, as we believe that this creation is the root of both educational and personal growth. We incorporate this philosophy into our school by creating an environment and curriculum in which students themselves control many aspects of their learning environment under the mentorship of our unparalleled teachers, choose their own electives, work at their own pace, undertake multi-term projects, and take responsibility for their education. KAIS is located in Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo. We are a 3-minute walk from Jiyugaoka station. Please click HERE for the Map to KA International School.| First Semester: | [18 weeks] September 4th - January 25th (Winter Vacation: December 21st - January 11th) |
| Second Semester: | [18 weeks] January 29th - June 13th |
Charles Knudsen - Principal
Charles Knudsen has been living and teaching in Japan for over eight years. He served as the Head of Curriculum Development of the returnee program at Shibuya Junior and Senior High School (Shibu Shibu) until April, 2005. Mr. Knudsen is the author of an English language text, Stranger than Fiction, published by Naundo. Mr. Knudsen is the father of two boys, Leo and Andy, and resides in Tokyo. In his spare time, Mr. Knudsen enjoys playing the piano and reading. Mr. Knudsen is also the principal at Kikokushijo Academy.
Jonathan Yaffe - Vice-Principal
Jonathan Yaffe was raised in California, where his interests were often confounded between literature and science. He is a graduate of one of the top universities in the U.S., the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive education. Jonathan is also a published poet, founded the UC Berkeley Poetry Slam, and has competed in many international poetry competitions. Mr. Yaffe has been a teacher of English literature in Japan, The United States, and Colombia. He was most recently the Academic Coordinator and a teacher at Kikokushijo Academy. In his free time, he enjoys writing about food.
Tommy House - Junior High School Coordinator
Tommy House was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He studied at Southern Illinois University, where he majored in Secondary English Education. Mr. House taught at a local high school in rural southern Illinois before moving to Tokyo three years ago. He enjoys designing multidisciplinary curriculum and is an avid baseball player.
Joshua Barry - Academic Coordinator
Joshua Barry was born and raised in Seattle, Washington where he studied literature at Western Washington University. Mr. Barry has more than seven years of experience teaching returnees at various language learning centers in Japan. Mr. Barry has taught at numerous schools throughout Japan, including Tokyo University of Agriculture and Shoyo High school. In his spare time, Mr. Barry enjoys reading and traveling around Japan. Mr. Barry is also the Vice-Principal at Kikokushijo Academy.
Alison Bell – Teacher
Alison is originally from Canterbury, in the South-East of England. She is a graduate of the University of Oxford, one of the world's top-three universities, where she read Japanology and Japanese literature. Whilst at Oxford, Alison spent one year studying at Kanazawa University, and since she is well versed in Japanese, she likes to spend her free time reading classical Japanese literature. Her other hobbies include shopping, watching films, and visiting art galleries. Although she has a great fondness for Japanese culture, like most English people, she is highly knowledgeable when it comes to the subject of tea. Aside from teaching, Alison has previously worked with children as a volunteer-assistant for local youth-theatre productions.
Joe-Joe Moran-Douglas - Head Teacher
Joe-Joe Moran-Douglas was born and raised in England. Having acquired a high level of ability in French and Spanish, he matriculated into the University of Oxford and graduated with a degree in Japanese Studies and Classical East Asian Literature. During this time, Joe-Joe spent one year at Tokyo's Sophia University as a Japanese Government Scholar where he focused on language study. In addition, Joe-Joe has had articles published in the UK's top selling newspaper, 'The Sun'. In his free time, Joe-Joe enjoys reading and making music.
Thomas Lee - Teacher/Literature Programs
Thomas Lee was born and raised in Canada. He attended McMaster University where he studied child development, memory, and learning. Thomas has worked for the John Lee Learning Center in Canada teaching children of all ages. Mr. Lee also has five years of experience teaching and tutoring children in Japan. Mr. Lee speaks several languages, including French and Korean. He is in training to become a World Chess Champion.