Teacher
This school exists to enrich the family who runs it and their close associates at the expense of the students and their families. Before joining the school as faculty or family, please ask the school the following reasonable questions and ask for a response in writing:
1) What are the educational qualifications of the KIST director? How was this position determined?
2) Who are the family members in the KIST management staff and do they hold accreditation for their positions? Were they interviewed and assessed to be the most qualified candidates for their positions?
3) What bonuses are received by the members of the directors family members and how do they compare to the bonuses received by non-family staff?
4) What were the CIS and IB recommendations made to the school on the last visits and what actions were taken to address these concerns?
5) What is the condition of the secondary school building as assessed by the local Koto-ku government?
6) Over the past two decades, what fundraising activities have taken place to facilitate the construction of a new building? What is the total of collected funds? How much has been spent on the construction of new and safe facilities?
4 other reviews for K. International School Tokyo - (Reviews aren't verified )
Parent
The value for the money is at a major deficit. While K. International School charges fees similar to those at other International schools in the same area, there are no facilities for sports, drama or any activities other than studying. While this may appeal to some parents of older students, it is detrimental to learning and ignores the whole child/social emotional learning needs of all students. We are moving our child to another school with more opportunities and facilities as soon as possible.
The administration may respond with a "we are building new facilities" line, but like the "Past Teacher" review insinuated here, the school may not want to commit to that in writing. Construction has lagged over a decade and the kids are hurting for it. As there is no transparency as to how money is spent and the administration is fighting an external audit, we do not hold any hope in anything changing. Terrible value for money.
↳ Reply from K. International School Tokyo 
Parent
Our daughter has been at KIST for over 9 years now and has benefited immensely from the support that she has been provided by her teachers and from the support programs in place at the school. Academic expectations are clear, performance against them is measured regularly and efforts are made to support students before it is too late.
KIST prioritizes academics and that is attractive to us as a family. As university admission is becoming more and more competitive, we are confident that the excellent education she will have upon completion of the IB Diploma at KIST will give her access to top-tier universities.
The secondary building and the gym are old, but students have ample opportunities to participate in athletic and academic curricular activities.
I have read reviews that criticize the school for holding families and students accountable for their learning. As a parent, I ... read full review
↳ Reply from K. International School Tokyo 
Parent
An academic focus school.
Con1: Grading process
School applies a bell curve to force-grade students into higher or standard grade subject courses for final year exit exams - no choice. (This helps ensure the school achieves higher ave ratings which it evidently does achieve - benefits school mostly not the children).
This grading starts from an early age (10-11) grade 6 (MYP) onward (specifically science subjects).
Issue 1: This pre-defines and so limits career options from an early age (10-11) since certain universities require science subjects to pass on the higher grade.
Issue 2: This has an undue early age morale confidence hit on kids at 10-11 y.o. (read why below)
Issue 2: This grading process, separate from the assessment process, appears flawed. External past year UK SAT test papers are used to grade (Diagnostic test) of which ~60% of the papers content is not cove... read full review
↳ Reply from K. International School Tokyo 
Student
All they do is the filter through students. They just kick the dumb ones out and keep the smart ones. Not a good option for your children.