70 Years of JIS History

70 Years at JIS

2020s: 70 Years of Perseverance and Dragon Power

We started the new decade in an unexpectedly new world. It should have been the start of JIS’s 70th celebration; however, everyone was forced to a standstill after the coronavirus outbreak. School, as we know, was taught now through a computer screen. With our community’s resilience and perseverance, we not only adapted to the situation, we also thrived. New school buildings were built, our seniors had their long-awaited graduation, and many of our students still performed, competed, and showcased their work.

2010s: 60 years later, JIS is strong as ever.

After 60 years, the heart of the school beats in the same way as its first day on September 1 in 1951. In this decade, a few modules on various campuses were re-designed to align with the growing technology of the time and to give students an even better, more globally relevant learning experience. Our current JIS logo was designed in 2010 and JIS Alumni had a chance to see their school once more at a big reunion held in Bali in 2018. 

The 2010s will be remembered as a decade of major physical changes for our school, but the core values of JIS have stayed the same. This was on full display as Dragons around the world rallied to support Justice for the Innocent when members of our community needed us the most.

1990s: 40 years after

Four decades after JIS’s humble beginnings in a house on Jl. Kebon Sirih, the school further evolved in student numbers and campus size. 

Our elementary school saw an influx of new students, which led to the decision to build another elementary campus, Pondok Indah Elementary (PIE). The Middle School moved to the former elementary school building and also increased in size. By the end of the decade, JIS was faced with the host country's political unrest, which led to mandatory evacuations, a graduation ceremony held in Singapore, and students having to say more goodbyes than usual. But after the summer break and also the following years, JIS continued to show its resilience and more students were able to experience this amazing school.

1970s: The Continues Growth and Expansion of JIS

Two decades later, the small elementary school consisting of just two classes grew into a school with grades starting from Kindergarten to Grade 12. The 1970s saw rapid growth at JIS. The school had a significant increase in enrollment, which reflected the progress of industrial development in Indonesia. More and more foreigners arrived to contribute their expertise and aid. So, the need arrived to expand the campus in line with the increase in students. The school has always valued academic excellence, so it was no surprise that the High School started to offer the Advanced Placement (AP) program. JIS obtained formal accreditation in 1973 and in later years, also the International Baccalaureate (IB). JIS became a recognized International School.

1950s: The Early Days

On September 1, 1951, the International School of Djakarta officially opened its doors with three teaching staff and eight children ranging from 3 years to 10 years old. After the first month, the two garage classrooms were already overflowing with too many students. The school was expanded to the “side yard beside the house”. Another four open-shed classrooms were built.

In 1952, the school acquired a plot of land in what was then the outskirts of Jakarta, in Pattimura, Kebayoran Baru. The Stepanek’s had already received notice that they needed to leave their UN house by June 1953. The Pattimura school opened its door after the summer break in 1953, offering nursery and kindergarten classes, as well as grades 1 to 6. The student body had already grown threefold by then.