“We are incredibly proud to commemorate this important moment in our school’s history and to honor the generations of students, faculty and staff who shaped JIS into the warm and inclusive community it is today,” said JIS Head of School  Maya Nelson.

JIS’s story began on Sept. 1, 1951, when United Nations workers established makeshift classrooms in the garage of their Jakarta home. The International School of Djakarta officially opened with three teachers and eight students, ranging in age from 3 to 10.

As the school community grew, JIS acquired land in Pattimura, Kebayoran Baru, in 1952. The Pattimura campus opened in 1953, offering nursery and kindergarten classes as well as grades 1 to 6. Continued demand eventually led to the development of the Cilandak campus for older students on 10 hectares of land in South Jakarta.

The school’s subsequent names reflected its evolving identity. It became the Joint Embassy School in recognition of support from the embassies of Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Yugoslavia, then later became Jakarta International School and ultimately adopted its current name, Jakarta Intercultural School.

In 1991, growing elementary enrollment led to the opening of Pondok Indah Elementary, known within the community as PIE, adjacent to the Cilandak campus. In 2018, PIE introduced a dedicated Early Years Center, designed to support the development of JIS’s youngest learners.

Today, JIS serves more than 2,200 students from Early Years through Grade 12, representing approximately 70 nationalities across three campuses.

At the High School level, students can pursue individualized academic pathways through the International Baccalaureate (IB) or the Advanced Placement (AP) Capstone diploma programs.

“While our campuses and learning tools have changed, we remain guided by the same commitment to meaningful, future-focused learning that places students at the center of everything we do,” Nelson said.

That commitment extends beyond the classroom. JIS Peduli, the schoolwide service arm, supports student-created initiatives addressing social, educational, health and community needs. The JIS Learning Center offers specialized, individualized learning designed to help students participate meaningfully in school and community life.

The anniversary has brought together generations of JIS Dragons, with alumni traveling from around the world to reconnect in Jakarta and Bali, including alumni from the late 1960s who witnessed the school’s early development at Pattimura.

Throughout the year, JIS is honoring this milestone through community events, creative showcases, alumni activities and commemorative initiatives celebrating the school’s history and its continuing connection to Indonesia.`

“Years and even decades from now, we hope future generations of JIS Dragons will look back on this moment with pride, just as we do today,” Nelson said.

“It is a profound privilege to build on this legacy, strengthen our culture of open-minded curiosity and meaningful learning and continue preparing students to be ‘Best for the World’.”

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