KCS Admissions

Kansai Christian School exists to provide a comprehensive education in the English language committed to the biblical Christian worldview. While being particularly instituted for families of missionary children, the school welcomes anyone who meets the entrance requirements and supports the school's mission and philosophy. As a Christian school, KCS strives to maintain a Christian environment for its students and families. For this reason, KCS has created an admissions policy that seeks to clearly communicate the school’s values and expectations to families and prospective students.

The admissions policy at KCS seeks to properly identify and evaluate the attributes of prospective students and their families to determine their best opportunity for success. At the same time, the school uses these indicators to consider the impact each admission may have on the school’s culture, staff, and other students. In a small school, each individual student carries significant influence in the student body, so admissions decisions will be guided by the desire to preserve and enhance the school’s culture and values. Consequently, admissions decisions are highly individualized and will consider the whole student, their family, and the interests of the school.

The KCS School Board will make the final decision on admitting each student based on information gathered through the admissions process. Kansai Christian School makes no distinction in its admission policy on the basis of race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin.

Principles of Admissions

· Supporting Christian missionaries and their need for an education in English

· Communicating clear understanding of expectations between the school and families

· Positioning students for the best opportunity for success

· Preserving the academic, social, and spiritual culture of the school

· Recognizing the limitations of the school’s resources

· Conducting the admissions process consistently and fairly

Typical KCS Students and Families

KCS serves students and families from a wide range of backgrounds. These diverse perspectives are part of what create the rich cultural environment that exists at KCS. While the school welcomes families from all backgrounds, combinations of the following attributes are typical among the families KCS serves:

· Christian families desiring a distinctly Christian education

· Children of expatriate families living and working in Japan

· Families and children of two or more nationalities

· Japanese families who have had, or desire to have significant experience in a foreign country

· Families desiring to have their children prepared for universities and life in an international setting

Admissions Policies and Procedures

The following policies and procedures have been enacted by the KCS board to guide admissions decisions. While the list is not exhaustive, nor must every student necessarily meet all of the criteria listed, each area will be evaluated to determine if admission is appropriate.

Support of the KCS Mission

Parents must express their support for the mission, vision, and philosophy of the school. Even in cases where a family is not Christian, they must express a willingness to support the school’s values (Per board policy, parents are required to sign a statement to this effect during the enrollment process).

English Language

English is the only language of instruction (excepting specific language classes) and the primary language of communication used by the school. Students who enter KCS are expected to be at or near their grade level in English proficiency. Parents who are unable to communicate effectively in English must be willing to use an interpreter/translator as necessary.

Entrance Calendar

To accommodate students whose first language is English, prospective students must be six years old by September 1 of their first grade year. In deference to the Japanese school year, students whose first language is Japanese must be six years old by April 1 of the year they will start first grade. Students entering from Japanese kindergartens may not enter until summer school. Other incoming students with a different first language will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Prior School History

Academic performance, attendance, and patterns of behavior from previous schools may be considered. Parents must be willing to allow KCS access to records from schools their child has previously attended.

Entrance Testing

KCS administers an entrance test to all incoming students in order to establish each prospective student's abilities. Results are used to determine admissions and/or appropriate grade level placement.

School Resources

The impact of admitting any student will be evaluated with regard to the resources at the school’s disposal. This may include staffing levels and expertise, existing grade level cohort size and profile, and limitations of the campus facilities. The school’s programs must have the ability to meet the applicant’s needs while not straining the limited resources of the school.

Student Commitment

In an effort to maintain a positive learning environment and enthusiastic culture, applicants for grades seven through twelve may be asked to affirm a personal desire to attend KCS.

Cohort Limitations

To maintain manageable and effective teacher to student ratios and acceptable Christian to non-Christian ratios, admission to a cohort may be limited. In the event there are multiple qualified applicants for a limited number of openings, children of evangelical missionary families and other Christian families shall be given admission preference. The school will also favor the admission of siblings of admitted students.

Grade Level Placement

The school reserves the right to recommend a different grade level than the grade requested for any or all of the following reasons; student's age, maturity, entrance test scores, and prior school history.

Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities will be evaluated for admissions by the same principles used for any other student. It should be noted that due to limitations in the school’s staffing and/or facilities, it may be determined KCS is not a suitable option for students with certain disabilities.

Admissions Procedure

1) Read Parent/Student Handbook thoroughly.

2) Submit Application Form with Application Fee*.

3) Office personnel will arrange a meeting with the principal to interview the parents and student(s). The entrance test may be administered at that time, or a test date will be scheduled.

4) The Entrance Testing Fee* is due at that time.

5) Application materials and test results will be evaluated by administration. If entrance requirements are met, a recommendation for acceptance will be forwarded to the KCS Board for final approval.

6) Upon notification of acceptance, the Entrance Fee* is to be paid. An Annual Registration form, Enrollment Contract, Emergency Medical and General Permission form, and the Health Evaluation Report (completed by a physician) must be submitted before the admission procedure is complete.

7) Tuition and any other applicable fees will be billed and are due at the beginning of each semester*.

* See the current Tuition and Fee schedule for amounts