Like most entrepreneurial ventures, the idea to start a school began by realizing a problem and finding a solution. The desire to open a school was sparked when my granddaughter was attending a government primary school. One afternoon, I went to pick her up and saw about 90 students packed in one room just sitting quietly and listening to the teacher. After seeing this, I wanted my granddaughter and other students in the country to have better quality and well-rounded education that meets international standards. A few months after this realization, one of my friends introduced me to Mr. Scheafer and Miss Win. After discussions and hard work, we managed to open a small school called The International Child Zone (ICZ). This was back in 1998. We only had only 45 students at that time. Mr. Schaefer was the director and Miss Win was the coordinator.
After a year of running as ICZ, we took in new investors and changed the name of the school to Yangon International Educare Center(YIEC). After additional investments, we were able to expand our project. We added a new grade level each year until we reached 12th grade. From various rented locations, we moved to our current campus in the year 2000. In 2006, we graduated our first batch of only 6 students. Our first two batches graduated from YIEC. In school year 2007-2008, the school name was changed to The International School of Myanmar (ISM). This name was suggested by our high school student council at that time to highlight the promise of ISM of providing quality international education to Myanmar youth giving them the opportunity to pursue learning in universities worldwide.
We continue to be very proud to see our students graduate from ISM and further pursue their dreams. Many of our alumni have completed their bachelor’s degrees or masters degrees successfully. I am glad to see this number grow every year, and I am very proud that ISM has been successfully educating students who will become great leaders in the future.
Finally, ISM has grown so much and must continue to do so with greater momentum and energy. To continue to improve its quality, ISM needs constant support from everyone including the board of directors, the leadership team, faculty, support staff, students and parents. We hope and believe that all of us can work together as one to build a stronger ISM.
Daw Khine
Founder of ISM
