FAQ

54 teachers, 28 in elementary and 26 teachers in middle school?

All teachers have degree and teaching certification from their country of origin. 48% have advanced degrees.

Teachers have at least 4 years prior teaching experience before joining Nishimachi.

1:7

9 years is the average tenure of faculty members.

20

The campus is located in central Tokyo.

The school is comprised of six buildings:

a) Matsukata House, Ushiba Memorial gymnasium/auditorium, kindergarten building, primary building housing grades 1-2 and upper elementary/middle school building housing grades 3-9.

b) Matsukata House was the original family residence of Nishimachi’s founder Tane Matsukata and is used as an administrative center. 

c) The sixth building is the “Yashiro Media Center”.

d) Two other buildings are located in Nishimachi's outdoor education center, Camp Rioichiro Arai. It is located in Kazuno in Gunma Prefecture, 150 kilometers northwest of Tokyo. 

School-Wide network infrastructure allows for "Connected Learning", where every student at Nishimachi has access to a digital device as well as a stable of shared devices. Our Connected Learning program enables us to maximize student learning in the Elementary School classroom and further expands our ability to deliver critical Digital Literacy, Digital Citizenship and Digital Leadership skills to all students.

• A nurse is on the school premises every day from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  The nurse is responsible for:
  • Attending to minor injuries and illnesses that occur at school
  • Dispensing medication when necessary
  • Maintaining annual height and weight records
  • Conducting regular vision and hearing screenings, scoliosis screening and lice checks

In order to assure adequate campus security, the school works in conjunction with an independent security company and the local authorities to oversee general supervision of the internal and surrounding external school environment.

We have a well developed plan in case of emergency that would allow us to ensure our students' safety. The buildings are reinforced concrete and built to earth quake standards. The Matsukata House which was built in 1921, had major reinforcement work to meet the seismic standards for safety in 2008. There are helmets and fire hoods in each of the classrooms. 

• The majority of classrooms and learning/playing areas have direct telephone access.
• For emergency contact with staff and students the school operates a public address system, which can be activated from the front office or by remote control.
• The front office, school nurse, and the community liaison officer can access local emergency services.
• At least one emergency evacuation/lock down, fire or earthquake drill is practiced each term.

Nishimachi was founded 1949 by the late Tané Matsukata, a Japanese national, who after the second world war had returned to Japan after seventeen years in the United States, where she received her education as a librarian. Miss Matsukata found Japan very badly scarred from the war while the slow process of rebuilding the country had begun. It was apparent to her that there was moral rebuilding to be done as well. In discussions with friends, who were mothers, she began to realize the important role that education would play in the reconstruction of Japan after the war and as a result started the school with four students who lived locally.

1. Nishimachi International School is, legally, a school foundation (gakko hojin) and is recognized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as a foundation with seven directors and fifteen trustees. Its purpose is to carry out "educational undertakings designed to teach Japanese and foreign children the cultural values and skills necessary to become persons with international perspective." Its Articles of Endowment identify the authorities and responsibilities of Advisors, a Board of Trustees, Statutory Auditors, and a Board of Directors.

2. The Board of Directors consists of seven persons, of whom one is the Headmaster, three are elected by the Board of Trustees, two are elected by the Directors who were themselves elected by Trustees, and one Director-Trustee elected jointly by the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees.

3. The Board of Directors hire and evaluate the Head of School and husband the Foundation's assets and direct their use for education. They meet periodically to monitor the operation of the school, determine policies, and set long-term objectives

The school is jointly accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Council of International Schools (CIS). The accreditation is based on a yearlong self-study and the report of a visiting evaluation team, thereby providing a "stamp of approval," as well as a means to systematically evaluate the total school operation by involving the faculty, staff, students, and community. It also provides a common international evaluation criteria link with schools in the United States, in Asia and the Pacific as well as schools in Australia and Europe.