Chiang Mai International School


Chiang Mai International School is a K-12 International school founded in 1954 in Chiang Mai, Thailand by members of the Church of Christ in Thailand. The school is approved by the Thai Ministry of Education and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
CMIS is an independent, co-educational, non-profit day school offering an English-language, American-sourced education taught from an international perspective.
An article by lifestyle magazine Chiang Mai CityLife states the school's “enrollment is highly competitive and based on a student’s overall grades, their level of English communication and their performance on the mandatory standardized tests.”

History

Missionaries returning to work with the Church of Christ in Thailand after World War II established a school for their children in Chiang Mai. Classes began on June 1, 1954 with eight students. In 1958, construction began on the present campus for the Chiang Mai Children’s Center. CMCC also served as a boarding school, providing children of missionaries a place to live when their parents are away.
A 2010 independent panel investigation by the Presbyterian Church revealed that ministers who served as houseparents at CMCC sexually abused female students.
Student numbers grew as more expatriate families seeking an English-language education for their children moved to Chiang Mai. In 1984, representatives of the Thai Foreign Ministry and the CCT agreed that the formal establishment of an international school in Chiang Mai was a necessary step to achieving the school’s legal status. The school was “the first legally recognized, government-registered international school in Thailand outside of Bangkok.”Classes began in September 1985 for Kindergarten to Grade 8 under the new name “Chiang Mai International School”. High school grades were progressively added from 1992 to 1995.

Campus

The existing buildings on the CMIS campus are as follows: