Our History
THE FOUNDING OF THIS INSTITUTION DATES BACK TO 1924!
Cebu International School is a private secular institution offering an Early Years (EY) through Grade 12 international education. CIS is a non-stock, non-profit, self-sustaining corporation, governed by a Board of Trustees elected solely from the parent body.
“The Mission of CIS is to create a collaborative, challenging, and nurturing school environment that involves community members, in order to provide a contemporary international education, which develops students’ unique potential to contribute to a better world.”
Cebu International School was founded in 1924 as the Cebu American School and grew from a multi-level tutorial 5-room schoolhouse to an EY through 12 school by 1986. CIS is a day and boarding school that offers a complete international curriculum, taught with qualified and experienced international and national faculty, using English as the language of instruction. The school year commences in early August and ends in early June.
The original school was situated in Gorordo Avenue, Lahug, Cebu City and in 1973 moved to Banilad, a 2.3-hectare lot leased from the provincial government. In 2000 CIS moved to its new, permanent, purpose-built 3.2-hectare campus in the leafy suburb of Pit-os. The campus includes 3.2 hectares of land, with 7,500 square meters of instructional space which includes classrooms, laboratories, art rooms, a maker-space room, music rooms, a canteen, offices, two gymnasiums, a full-sized grass sports field, and a new 40-bed Student Residence that opened in August 2022. There is also a 150-slot car park, all located within a secure, walled compound that is guarded 24/7.
Cebu International School obtained authorization to implement the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (DP) in October 1999, the Primary Years Programme (PYP) in 2014, and the Middle Years Programme (MYP) in 2021, making CIS the only school in the Philippines to offer the IB Continuum.
In February of 2003, the school was honored to receive the Republic Act 9190 from the Philippines Government, giving CIS full recognition as an educational institution, international in character. CIS is the only school in the Visayas region with this recognition. Republic Act 9190 further resulted in the revision of the school’s By-laws, stipulating that the school would be governed by a ten-member Board of Trustees who are elected from within the school’s parent community.
Cebu International School is proud to have been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) since 1996.
Cebu International has also been a member of the Council of International Schools (CIS) since 1998, attaining and maintaining international accreditation status since May 2008.
The fact that Cebu International School is the only school in the Philippines that is authorized by the IB (International Baccalaureate) to offer the PYP, MYP, and DP, and accredited by both the CIS (Council of International Schools) and WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) means that we hold a unique position within the spectrum of premium, quality education offerings in the Philippines.