Press Releases

July 2000

FOR RELEASE THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2000

International School of Monterey is granted Charter

MONTEREY, CA - July 20, 2000 - The International School of Monterey (ISM) announced today that the Charter application of the ISM, submitted to King City Union School District, was approved at the KCUSD Board meeting last night.

This agreement is the result of a two-year effort by local parents that included charter negotiations with many local school districts and the Monterey County Office of Education. The charter has been granted for a K-2.

"We are very excited about this milestone. Now we can move forward to create a school that not only offers a recognized and innovative international curriculum but also is both ethnically and socio-economically diverse," stated Kathryn Poling Krone, ISM Managing Director.

ISM is the first International charter school and joins a network of over 900 schools in more than 100 countries worldwide. As a charter school, ISM combines the open access of a public school with the freedom for innovation allowed by the charter option.

"The next steps include securing a site and fundraising, fundraising, fundraising," said Poling Krone. "We have a matching grant of $200,000 against which we need to raise funds as soon as possible. We know that our effort is important to many in Monterey County and we welcome all community support."

The International School of Monterey was started by a group of parents with the vision of creating a school to educate all students toward becoming conscientious, compassionate and responsible citizens of the world. This is done using a philosophy centered on inquiry-based teaching and utilizes the best educational programs and practices from around the world. More information on ISM is available online at www.ismonterey.org or by calling (831) 372-8621.

For more information reporters may contact:

Kathryn Poling Krone

(831) 624-0648

POLINGKRN@aol.com