Kakegawa International Christian School (Kakegawa City, Shizuoka)

Website: http://www.kicschool.net/
Address:625-1 Tonbe, Kakegawa-shi, Shizuoka-ken, 436-0224  
Phone: (0537)24-3614 Email:  kics@bostrom.ecnet.jp

Kakegawa International Christian School is a new church school established in 2008 that grew out of the homeschooling expertise of the Bostrom family who extended their experience in homeschooling their 13 children – to include other children. The school is laudably particularly welcoming and accepting of “futoko” children or “school refusers”. KICS also not surprisingly, offers homeschool support for families who homeschool.

The school offers a full Japanese, English, or bilingual school program, including K5 (kindergarten), elementary, junior high, and highschool courses. The curriculum combines public school textbooks with additional materials to broaden students’ outlooks on life. KICS is a member of ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International), which is officially recognized by the Japanese government.  As of 2008, there are 26 Christian schools in Japan that are members of ACSI.

The school goal:
*  To foster a love of learning in children and young people, and to strengthen parent/child relationships. KICSchool recognizes and respects the uniqueness of each student.
Teaching / learning style:
*  Students learn to follow their curiosity, to think creatively, and to work both independently and cooperatively with others. Students study at their own pace, with guidance from qualified teachers. They believe that a “one size fits all” education style does not suit all students.
* The benefits of a small class room (1 – 10 students) create personalized help for each student, and a comfortable, friendly environment for learning. Each child is given support and encouragement to become his or her own unique self
No entrance examination is required. Students may enroll anytime during year. The school is especially welcoming and accepting of futouko (school refuser/drop out) children.

Bob Jones University materials are used for the school. Japanese public school texts are used alongside of BJU ones.

KIS very likely offers the most reasonable tuition rates ever seen of an international school in Japan and discounts are available for single parents. See details below (sourced from their website):

K5 (K−5 Class)　Tuesday – Friday 9:00 to 12:45
《Regular》   ￥18,000／month x 12   <OR>
《Church Member》¥14,000/month x 12
K5 (K−5 Class)　Tuesday – Friday 9:00 to 3:00
《Regular》   ￥24,000／month x 12     <OR>
《Church Member》¥20,000/month x 12
• Includes ALL school supplies and utilities.
• Lunch is ￥200 per meal.
Elementary/Junior High/High School    9:00 to 3:00
《Entrance Fee》  ￥50,000
《Regular》　￥40,000／month x 12　<OR>
《Church Member》　￥30,000／month x 12
• Includes ALL school supplies, utilities, and monthly field trip costs.
• Lunch is ￥250 per meal.
《Student Insurance》￥2,000／year
(Tuition discounts are available for families with low income, two or more students enrolled in KICSchool, and for single parents)
• DELICIOUS buffet lunch 4 days a week Tue. to Fri. (Monday is bento day)
• English textbooks are from BJU (www.bjupress.com)
• Japanese textbooks are from public schools (high school from CLARK/Hamamatsu with WEB support) supplemented with BJU Japanese curriculum.
• ESL curriculum used for transition into English
• High school diploma and transcripts provided for U.S. or Japan college applications.

“Greetings from Kakegawa-shi, Shizuoka-ken.  We are in our second year at Kakegawa International Christian School, a member of ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International).  Our school is unique in that we have both American and Japanese teachers, and offer either Japanese, English, or bilingual programs, grades kindergarten through 12th grade.  KICS or KICSchool also offers homeschool support through Kakegawa Homeschool Support. Website: www.kicschool.net”

Cheryl Bostrom, School Principal

Update*
School tuition and other rates have changed in the past 2 years (we have moved to a new, larger building). Please check our school website for the new fees. Thank you 🙂 Cheryl
http://www.kicschool.net/TUITION.html

11 thoughts on “Kakegawa International Christian School (Kakegawa City, Shizuoka)”

  1. We are currently in the process of applying for NPO status for our school through the local city hall. Things are looking positive, and the mayor and his wife are backing us up. They are also hoping we will be allowed to rent a local elementary school building that is empty as of this year due to the dwindling population. In the process I am having to write PAGES of documents on Japan and homeschooling (focusing on the school). If anyone could make use of these writings, I’d be happy to send them in WORD document file. Let me know 🙂

    Blessings,
    Cheryl

    2. We were turned down flat because of being a Christian school, and offered the school if we’d remove the word “Christian” from our school name, so kindly turned down the offer, rather disappointing. Now up to 40 students and 9 teachers and growing, although our facilities are rather crowded. Students and teachers are happy, and learning, so that is what counts 🙂 Most high school graduates have gone on to college!

  2. Hello Cheryl, I came across your school whilst doing a search for a sister school. Your school sounds refreshingly different from most Japanese schools.We are a Lutheran school in semi-rural South Australia, and a candidate school for International Baccalaureate. We are presently offering PYP and will soon offer MYP in Semester 2 this year. Naturally IB schools have a global focus and cross cultural understandings are deemed very important. Of course Christianity is also central to our whole being, and this pervades all of our curriculum. If you are at all interested in a sister school link please email me to the address below. We would like our students to have reciprocal email, leading to some Skype contact and eventually to a homestay opportunity in each of our communities.

    1. Dear Trish, my apologies, I just noticed this message. Our school situation is small, so not sure we would be able/have time to do much extra in this area. Students are already writing penpal letters with a school in California. I can ask them. Many are ESL students and have limited English writing abilities. Let me know if you’d still like me to ask them. Our families are mostly low income ,and cannot afford overseas trip, sorry.

      Cheryl Bostrom

  4. I and my brother are planning to enroll for the upcoming school year. We finished high school in the Philippines but there is no senior high in ph so technically we only finished ten years of basic education. My brother and I are really frustrated about this so we are looking for a school that can give us a senior high school diploma after a year or two; in addition, we are wondering if your school will teach us japanese in a more advanced way because we really want to have a broader knowledge in nihongo.

      1. To “Shiena,” we are happy to talk with you about our school. It is small (50 students). We have had a number of Filipino students at our school (presently as well), some attending to finish their last year or two of high school for a “12 year” high school diploma. We do have requirements for graduation which must be met. Our school (www.kicschool.net) is a member of ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International), and although we are are not accredited, we have had Filipino students graduate from here and attend college in the Philippines (also Japan, and the USA). They have entrance exams that must be passed of course. KICS is way out in the country though, so if you are in Tokyo or a big city it is too far away. We do have Japanese classes, starting at beginner level, or wherever your level is in Nihongo. Our teachers are great and do an amazing job with a limited number of resources/space. Contact us if you are interested. Legally, a US high school can give a high school diploma as long as minimum requirements are met, and the student is no older than 23 years of age. We have had several graduate at 19 🙂 As a Christian school we do have strict rules for school and daily life, including online activities, Facebook, etc. We have expelled students in the past who had bad attitudes or refused to obey rules, respect teachers, etc. Email us if you have any questions. kics@bostrom.ecnet.jp

    2. To “Shiena,” we are happy to talk with you about our school. It is small (50 students). We have had a number of Filipino students at our school (presently as well), some attending to finish their last year or two of high school for a “12 year” high school diploma. We do have requirements for graduation which must be met. Our school (www.kicschool.net) is a member of ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International), and although we are are not accredited, we have had Filipino students graduate from here and attend college in the Philippines (also Japan, and the USA). They have entrance exams that must be passed of course. KICS is way out in the country though, so if you are in Tokyo or a big city it is too far away. We do have Japanese classes, starting at beginner level, or wherever your level is in Nihongo. Our teachers are great and do an amazing job with a limited number of resources/space. Contact us if you are interested. Legally, a US high school can give a high school diploma as long as minimum requirements are met, and the student is no older than 23 years of age. We have had several graduate at 19 🙂 As a Christian school we do have strict rules for school and daily life, including online activities, Facebook, etc. We have expelled students in the past who had bad attitudes or refused to obey rules, respect teachers, etc. Email us if you have any questions. kics@bostrom.ecnet.jp

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