History and Development of AITIS
AIT International School was founded within the academic framework of Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) by special agreement with the Thai Ministry of Education, in 1974. At that time, the school was named AIT Child Center, and it offered education for children between the ages of 5 to 12. The President emphasized this in the statement to the Institute’s Trustees in 1975: “The Child Center has an important role in attracting more faculty to live on campus”.
In March 1980, a group of parents started a day-care service for younger children (between 2.5 and 5 years). Later, as the number of children increased, the service was expanded and became known as the Playschool. The Playschool obtained a License in April 1996 and was officially registered as AIT Playschool.
In 1996, the merging of the Playschool and Child Center was recommended and was approved by the AIT President on July 25, 1996. These moves unified and simplified the school management structure and led to improved coordination, both academically and administratively.
Since 2000, the school was known as the AIT Community School (AITCS), and it was divided into Junior School (former Child Center) and Pre-Kindergarten (former Playschool).
On November 4, 2009, the President of AIT gave the school permission to officially use the name AIT International School (AITIS). Today, AITIS is divided into two sections: Pre-Kindergarten and Elementary. Most students are still children of AIT employees and students, but since 2007, the school has increasingly received students from outside the AIT Community.
AIT International School functions within the authority of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). AIT, in turn, functions under a special Asian Institute of Technology Enabling Act, by Royal Command of his Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1967, which was later revised as the Charter of the Asian Institute of Technology. In 2010, AIT gained the status of an international intergovernmental organization.
AIT elementary school was founded within the academic framework of the Institute by special agreement with the Thai Ministry of Education in 1974. At that time, the new school was called AIT Child Center and it offered education for children from the age of 5 to 12 years old. It was emphasized in the statement of the AIT President to the Institutes Trustees in 1975: “The Child Center has an important role in attracting more Faculty to live on campus.”
In March 1980, a group of parents started a day care service for younger children (from 2.5 years to 5 years of age). Later, as the number of children increased, the service was expanded and developed and became known as Playschool. The Playschool obtained a license in April 1996 and was officially registered as AIT Playschool.
In July 1996, the merging of Playschool and Child Center was recommended by the Administrative Evaluation Team and was approved by the AIT President on July 25. This move unified and simplified the school management structure and led to an academically and administratively better coordinated operation. Since 2000, the school was known as AIT Community School (AITCS), and was divided into Junior School (former Child Center) and Pre-Kindergarten (former Playschool).
In autumn 2009, the school’s Curriculum was approved by the Bureau of Academic Studies and Education of Thailand. For the approval process, on the request of the Bureau standards, the name of the school was changed into AIT International School on the cover page of the Curriculum. Moreover, on November 4, 2009, the president of the AIT gave the school permission to officially use the name AIT International School.
Today, our school is divided into three sections: Pre-Kindergarten, Elementary school, and Secondary school. We currently have 323 students, 18 class teachers, 8 subject teachers (Library, ICT, Music, Health and Physical education, ESL, Thai A and Thai B, and Special education/Counselor), 4 assistant teachers in our Elementary school section, and 6 assistants/aids in our Pre-Kindergarten section. Our student and teacher body consists of 24 different nationalities.
Because our school is considered as one unit of AIT, we are able to use the facilities and services available in AIT, such as restaurants and cafes, medical clinic, library, Information Technology and Media and Communication services.
