Our History

The International School of Monterey opened in the fall of 2001. The stated goal was to offer an international education to primary, middle, and high school students (K-12). Furthermore, the expectation was to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) program to our 11 th and 12 th graders. The IB program is one of the most respected and demanding educational programs in the world.

In its first year of operation, ISM offered classes from kindergarten to fourth grade (K-4), adding a class each year thereafter. Now a K-8 school, ISM has thrived and rapidly built itself an admirable reputation, evidenced in the following accomplishments:

• Highest CST test scores in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District

• Waiting list larger than actual number of students enrolled

• The first public international school in the world

• Only public school achieving candidacy status for joint accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Council of International Schools

• Named one of eleven “model charter schools” by the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction

• Recipient of dissemination grant, which requires the sharing of our successful model with other public schools

• Thousands of volunteer hours performed by families, students, staff, and board members
  

School Song