Enjoy this short video snippet about KA International School from our 2025 Tokyo Expo.
Transcript
We spoke with Maha Sa’di (School Director).
ISTimes Global: (00:00) Hi, I’m here with Maha at the KA International School booth. Maha, welcome to the Expo.
KA International School (Maha): (00:05) Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
School History
ISTimes Global: (00:07) Could you tell me a little bit about your school’s background and history?
KA International School (Maha): (00:11) Yeah, absolutely. Uh, so Kai started uh in 2006 with the high school first. Um, and yeah, we started in a uh small house uh in Chiko. We had very few kids, very few uh grades even. And we, you know, gradually started growing. Uh, in 2014, we opened our elementary and middle school. Um, and um, yeah, we’ve now grown to include all uh grade levels. So we cater to students from age three all the way up to 18. Uh, so the whole uh, yeah, all the grades. Um, yeah, so
ISTimes Global: (00:43) 3 to 18. Wow, that’s quite the range.
KA International School (Maha): (00:44) Yeah, big range. Uh, yeah, but yeah, we’re able to support all of these students and um, yeah, we’ve actually um, now got accredited by the Council of International Schools uh a few months ago. So we’ve got that uh that stamp of accreditation as well. So, uh we’ve grown in all kinds of ways both in terms of enrollment, in terms of size, but also in terms of systems and structures and uh, you know, what we’re able to offer, the quality of what we’re able to offer.
ISTimes Global: (01:09) Congratulations.
KA International School (Maha): (01:10) Thank you so much.
Academic Life
ISTimes Global: (01:11) Can you tell me about academics at your school? What’s learning like at Kais?
KA International School (Maha): (01:15) Yeah, so we follow for the most part uh American common core standards uh for our learning objectives and uh um and you know, just achievement standards in general. Uh, in terms of teaching and learning, um, one of the things that we’ve been working on uh quite a bit is uh making sure that our teaching strategies are um, uh yeah, what we use in the classroom is actually research-based and evidence-based. Uh, so we’ve engaged in a three-year uh process with visible learning. And uh that’s been uh pretty eye-opening. And uh we’re waiting for the results, but we’re hoping to be the first visible learning school in Japan. And uh yeah. Um, and that basically means that we’re using high impact strategies in the classroom that have the highest possible impact on student achievement and learning. So every student that comes to our school is, you know, they deserve to uh go through a full year’s worth of learning wherever they start. Uh and we make sure that whatever we’re doing in the classroom is is supporting them in achieving that.
ISTimes Global: (02:13) Yeah. That sounds great.
KA International School (Maha): (02:14) Thanks.
Extracurricular Activities
ISTimes Global: (02:15) Can you tell me more about how the students get involved in their community outside of the classroom? So more extracurricular types of activities.
KA International School (Maha): (02:22) Yeah, absolutely. So for extracurriculars, we have a couple of things going on. Uh, one thing that we do is uh kind of a break in the middle of the week. So instead of having the five-day uh week, we break away from the main schedule on Wednesdays and we offer an elective day. So the kids get to choose which classes they want to attend. Um, yeah, once at the start of each semester and the teachers also get to choose what classes they want to teach. So it’s a pretty high fun, high engagement day. Uh, the kids love it, it’s their favorite day of the week. They uh really love being uh part of that. Uh they’re kids are also grouped not by age but by interest because they’re all choosing to be together in that particular class. It’s really fun. We offer a menu of different classes including things like bouldering, yoga, cooking, philosophy, robotics, all kinds of things that the kids might be interested in. Uh, we also have after school clubs, um in athletics, so we uh have volleyball, basketball, footsall. Um, and yeah, so the kids are able to flex their, you know, um athletics uh uh muscles as well uh in in that area. Um, yeah, so we offer both both of these things and yeah.
Lasting Memories at KA International School
ISTimes Global: (03:29) Great. As children graduate from Kais, what are some of the memories that you see them leaving your school with?
KA International School (Maha): (03:37) Yeah, that’s a a good question. I think um, the one thing that I think the feeling that they’re left with is the sense of community that we have. Um, we’re a small school, um and so we’re able to build really strong connections with each other. Uh, we get to know the kids really, really well, um and they get to know us really well. We we develop connections on a personal level. Uh, we really individualize the learning experience for the students and I think they’re left with that sense of community, a strong feeling uh of connection with the with each other and with the teachers and just with the whole broader community. Yeah.
ISTimes Global: (04:08) Yeah. That sounds wonderful. Thank you so much for your time, Maha.
KA International School (Maha): (04:10) Thank you. Thank you very much.
About KA International School
- Founded in 2006 as a high school in Chiko
- Expanded to elementary/middle school in 2014
- Accredited by the Council of International Schools
- Serves students ages 3-18 (preschool to high school)
- Follows American Common Core standards
- Uses Visible Learning research-based teaching methods
- Unique Wednesday elective day program (bouldering, yoga, cooking, etc.)
- Strong athletics program (volleyball, basketball, footsall)
- Small school environment fostering a strong community
- Focus on individualized learning and student-teacher connections
- Preparing students for global citizenship and lifelong learning
