History

Established in 1956, Bandung Alliance International School (BAIS), one of Indonesia's oldest international schools, has equipped its students to be ready for life's challenges throughout its fifty year history. BAIS provides a quality Christian and professional education which prepares students for the challenges of the 21st century by allowing them to realize their full God-given potential.

Since 1995 BAIS' operation has been managed by the Network of International Christian Schools (NICS) which is based in the United States. NICS currently operates international schools in over sixteen countries providing expertise in administration and recruitment of personnel among many other things. The mission of NICS is to establish a worldwide network of international Christian schools staffed by qualified Christian educators, instilling in each student a Biblical worldview in an environment of academic excellence and respect for people of all cultures and religions.

Excellence in International Education

BAIS operates as a private non-profit school to serve the international community and provides quality education in the traditions of classic, conservative ethics and values. The school ministers to the whole person; therefore, its program is directed toward individual development and enrichment in the following areas: intellectual, physical, moral, spiritual, and social. The program incorporates Biblical principles as the basis for citizenship training, character development, personal values, and ethics. Parents consistently report the reason for choosing BAIS for their children is due to the atmosphere of strong values and academic integrity being stressed.

BAIS is one of only thirteen international schools in Indonesia which are fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The WASC accreditation process involves a comprehensive examination of all aspects of education to ensure that the curriculum, teachers, classrooms, administration, and safety procedures are up-to-date and of the highest standards. BAIS is the only WASC accredited international school in Indonesia that is also accredited with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) .

BAIS offers an American philosophy of education to international children from pre-school through grade twelve. All classes are taught in the English language. Most BAIS students graduate with top scores on standardized tests, allowing them to further their education at leading universities all over the world. A full-time guidance counselor with a background in college preparation offers individualized attention to each graduating student in order to facilitate the process of transition into the world of university education.

At BAIS, small class sizes allow for individualized attention from highly qualified teachers, the majority being fully certified from their country of origin. BAIS teachers are not only qualified by their professional credentials, but also serve as models of Christian character for the students. Its dedicated teachers spend many hours outside of the normal school day in order to participate in the facilitation of extra-curricular activities, and to further their own education through graduate studies and educator conferences.

Many programs at BAIS enrich the learning experience of the multicultural community of students who originate from thirteen different countries. For students whose mother tongue is not English, BAIS offers English as a Second Language (ESL) program which is tailored to the student's individual abilities. BAIS currently offers sports programs in basketball, volleyball, soccer, and swimming in which these teams successfully compete in the city of Bandung and in various tournaments throughout Indonesia. The technological capabilities of computer and science laboratories are updated regularly. Students also have the chance to display their creative and critical thinking abilities during science fairs and fine arts festivals. Students are given the opportunity to participate in the “Week Without Walls” program, which allows students to creatively demonstrate Biblical love outside the walls of the school through a variety of community service activities. Students of BAIS participate in programs such as reading buddies which facilitate the learning process through peer relationships.

Current Situation

Our campus facility is divided into two sections – the upper and the lower campus. The lower campus has been rented from the C&MA and the contract will expire in July 15, 2008 with an option to extend the lease for an unlimited time. The upper campus is being rented from a private owner until June 30, 2010. BAIS has been notified by the owner of the upper campus that the lease will not be extended beyond 2010. Besides serving as a sports field, the upper campus is used for preschool, kindergarten, specials classes, and a medical clinic. This means that there will no longer be any available space for these programs to continue. The administration of BAIS has thoroughly researched the possibility of leasing or buying adjacent property and none is available that is affordable.

At the current location, utilities have been maximally expanded for water, electric, and phone. BAIS has been informed that no further expansion of these utilities will be permitted for the school. During the ACSI/WASC accreditation process, it was observed that many of our classrooms are being utilized beyond their maximum potential. This year international students have been turned away due to lack of space in certain grades. Specials classes in sciences, language arts, and fine arts, cannot be added due to a limitation in classroom space availability. Clearly our current location is not supporting the further development of the school and its programs. Then, to complicate this issue even further, the possibility of losing half of the campus will even further compromise the school's ability to offer quality programs.

New Campus Benefit

The benefits realized by the creation of new campus are too numerous to list in a document of this size and only a few of them have been mentioned below:

• Relocating to a new campus will provide for better stewardship of educational funds.
• All capital improvements will become BAIS assets rather than the current situation where all improvements become the property of the land owner.
• New purpose-built facilities will provide classroom space that is sufficient and will provide immediate space for 350 students and will easily allow for further expansion of the school.
• An auditorium which can seat all students comfortably will be designed to provide an acoustically aesthetic environment for the visual and performing arts programs.
• Athletic programs will be enhanced by the presence of new facilities on campus including a soccer field, basketball/tennis courts, and a future swimming pool.
• A cafeteria with sufficient seating will provide for the efficient delivery of meals on campus.
• Technological facilities will be enhanced with the creation of a media center for computer and internet services.
• A teacher resource center and lounge will provide for better collaboration among teachers.
• Science laboratories will be designed especially for chemistry and biology.
• Sufficient space would be available for the creation of new specialty programs in sciences, language arts, fine arts, ESL, and others.

Relocation to Kota Baru Parahyangan

BAIS is in the process of procuring a beautiful plot of land which is very flat and measures 30,268m 2 . The price of the plot is much less expensive than any others that were investigated during the process of searching. KBP can offer more than adequate utilities to our campus such as electric, water, and phone service. All of these factors and many more make KBP an ideal location for the campus of BAIS.

Capital Campaign