Surat Thani is located in the southern part of Thailand, about 70 min South of Bangkok by air.  It is 3 hours East of the Phuket airport by car, and the island of Koh Samui is located 2.5 hours (by car and ferry) off the East coast.

Prior to Covid, there were direct flights from Chengdu, Changsha and Guangzhou.  Now there is a direct flight from Chengdu to Samui Island. We believe that direct flights will resume after Chinese tourists increase.  Visitors can also transit through Bangkok,  or fly to Phuket, Krabi, or Samui Island and drive to Surat Thani.

According to IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company operating a real-time air quality information platform, air quality in Surat Thani is much better than in Chiang Mai and Bangkok with an air quality index of 86 (Surat Thani), 176 (Chiang Mai), and 164 (Bangkok) respectively as of 7 March 2023 (the lower the figure, the better.) According to IQAir, “It has a strong US AQI ranking, coming in consistently with good ratings. In regards to the level of PM2.5 in the air, it falls between both good and moderate classification according to the US Air Quality Index, with "good" ratings requiring a low number between 0 to 12 µg/m³ to be labelled as such.” (https://www.iqair.com/th-en/thailand/surat-thani )

For the academic year 2024/2025, the second year of founding DIS, we offer classes from Grade 1 to Grade 8. 

Over the next five years, the school will open an additional grade each year, adding Grade 9 in 2025-26, Grade 10 in 2026-27, and so on up to Grade 12 by 2028-29. 

The maximum student number per Middle School class is 24 students.   The average size of a High School class would be even smaller.

We believe that an English immersion environment will be best for students’ English language acquisition. Therefore, English will be the main language of communication in classes and on campus in general. Thai or other mother tongues will be honored and supported but will be used in a limited manner on campus.  For example, a teacher may temporarily permit certain students to use Thai in class to clarify new terminology.

Assessment and learning at DIS is not exam-driven.

Students will be regularly assessed against the learning standards with both formative and summative assessments.  Assessments will provide opportunities for the student to demonstrate not only knowledge of academic content and skills but also of conceptual understanding, and the ability to transfer knowledge and skills acquired to real life applications. Assessments will be used to inform the teacher and student of the path for future teaching and learning. Students will be equipped with skills and ownership to manage their own learning journey.

A progress report will be given at the end of quarter one and quarter three and at the end of semester one, indicating the student’s progress toward achieving the learning standards for each course.  A final report for the course will be given at the end of the school year, representing the final status of the student’s achievement of the learning standards of the course.  

Student learning will be broken down into learning units approximately nine weeks in length.  All learning standards for the course will be covered by the end of the year.  Achieving the learning standards in a course will prepare students for the next course in the subject area.

DIS is an “American-style” international school.  The curriculum is designed based on the most robust standards from a variety of countries and states for different subjects (See Curriculum Standards Overview). This is a general practice of many international schools. Education is dynamic in the 21st century thus all across the world, standards are continually being adjusted.  This allows DIS to flexibly select standards worldwide that we believe are up-to-date and match the school's philosophy of learning and the needs of our students.

Furthermore, the Dis learning standards is taken directly with permission from IB schools in East Asia. These schools are some of the highest-performing international schools in East Asia. The only exceptions to this are the Chinese Language standards taken from the HSK curriculum and from experienced Chinese teachers, and the Thai Language, History, and Culture standards that are taken from the Thailand Ministry of Education curriculum.

This approach of selecting standards from different sources is the most common curriculum model in original "international schools," and is the same as the DIS model. It is a true "international curriculum" differing from an American, British, Swedish, Singapore, other national schools, private 'online," and foreign private schools from foreign countries.

International schools using this model have had fantastic educational results with students and alumni.

Students will be prepared to take The College Board’s Advanced Placement exams in grades 11 and 12. Students will be prepared in grades 9 - 10 to take the (PSAT) Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Tests and in grades 11 - 12 to take the (SAT) Scholastic Aptitude Tests.  Students in grades K-10 will be prepared to regularly take the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) tests. As well, the World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) testing suite will be administered regularly for the assessment of English language growth in our identified English Language Learners (ELL).

The school will give official certificates of middle school and high school graduation to those students completing the school approved school graduation requirements.  More importantly, the high school transcript of courses and the accreditation stamp on the transcript will allow graduates to compete for admission to competitive Thailand universities and colleges, universities and colleges worldwide, and especially to the universities and colleges in the USA.

Universities are very familiar with schools like DIS!

The world standard accreditation process that DIS will go through with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) assures universities that DIS has a robust program. WASC is the most common external accrediting agency used by international schools in East Asia.

WASC is completely fine with international schools using a variety of reputable sources for subject standards. As long as the school is externally accredited by a reputable national, provincial, or the USA regional accrediting agency, then universities will not mind which standards are used.

Universities around the world are familiar with evaluating different school systems. For example, British universities are familiar with evaluating American-style transcripts and American "Advanced Placement" (AP) test results.

Parents can be assured that their child graduating from DIS will have the brightest of futures for further studies by following the DIS curricular pathway.

DIS students will be prepared for admission to highly admired Thai and foreign colleges and universities worldwide by their senior year.

However, more importantly, they will not only be accepted, they will be prepared to be very successful students at their college or university.

Most importantly, they will be prepared to be successful lifelong learners and respected and productive adult leaders in society.

The students will have English Language & Literature, English as Second Language (if required), Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, Design & Technology, Physical Education & Health, Fine Arts (including Visual Arts, Music, and Drama), Thai Language, History & Culture, Religion & Ethics (Christian Worldview & Biblical Studies included) and also Mandarin Chinese. In High school, students will have more choices. Apart from Thai and Chinese language classes, all subjects will be conducted in English.

Our foreign teachers are all proficient or native fluent English speaking professionally qualified teachers who have cross-cultural experiences and are passionately committed to serving at DIS. We care and are committed to a holistic learning experience for our students, and we understand teachers play a significant role throughout this learning process.  Therefore, our teachers will be committed to providing not only an outstanding learning experience during the school day but an exemplary co–curricular after school program as well.  We have designed a sophisticated hiring process to ensure our teachers and faculty members are screened for a commitment to sharing our mission: loving our students, and delivering our school mission of developing students who will impact the world with Intelligence, Integrity and Love.

Our students are coming from various countries and nationalities. The majority will be Thai students.  However, currently we have students applying for admission from Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea and we are still in the process of recruiting children of expatriates from overseas living in Thailand as well as overseas countries.
 

Food & Nutrition will not be a stand-alone “core” subject at DIS.  Students will learn about food & nutrition as part of Health Education. It will also be included in the Design & Technology curriculum at every grade level.  The emphasis in these classes will be not only nutrition, cooking, and presentation but Design Theory as well. 

The Food & Nutrition room will support some fun after school co-curricular activities as well as curricular units.  We can also imagine it being used from time to time by homerooms.  DIS values partnerships with the community, so we can imagine the Food & Nutrition room also being used by community members, perhaps on weekends.
 

Within the curriculum, modern P.E. standards are about more than simply learning to play a sport.  They do help develop students’ motor skills but also engage students’ minds in general as they learn strategies behind sports that are similar.  A P.E. teacher might thus use a variety of games, sports, and other activities that are age-appropriate to develop these skills and strategies. Personal Health education is also integrated into the PE curriculum as well. 

After school, co-curricular activities will focus on specific competitive sports, such as football (soccer), volleyball, handball, table tennis, basketball, dodgeball, Takraw, track, and others driven by student interest.
 

Our swimming pool will be built in phase two of our school construction plan. 

Yes, we have uniforms and these will be available for purchase after tuition fees are paid. View DIS uniforms

Monday - Friday, 7:55 am - 3:35 P.M. We have Co-curricular activities after school until 4:50 P.M. every day.

No.  We will collect lunch fees at the start of each semester. As of present, the daily lunch fee costs 100 baht. Students are also welcome to bring their lunch from home.

Parents are welcome to join our Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). We welcome parents to play an active and supportive role in volunteering for some school activities so as to cultivate your children together.  In addition, a parent will be asked to serve on the Headmaster’s Advisory Committee and other parents will be asked to serve on ad hoc WASC accreditation committees and other ad hoc school committees. 

We welcome parents to share their local knowledge and connections with the school, whether that is identifying a special speaker, arranging summer work internships (for older students),  connecting the school with service opportunities in the community, or identifying possible “field trip” destinations.  Parents who wish to offer an after-school activity for students may choose to volunteer to do so.  Note, however, that the school will evaluate each such opportunity to decide whether or not it has sufficient learning value and is sufficiently aligned with DIS core values to merit following up on.  The school will not be driven by parents’ personal special interests but retains the right to decide whether to implement or not implement such opportunities.  

We want parents to feel connected and involved. So each morning before 7:30 am, parents can stay at the school with their children at the covered playground to connect and communicate with other parents and teachers. 

Parents can also support their children and DIS by participating in Parent-Teacher conferences and attending community events such as concerts or recitals.
Your involvement will surely make a difference!
 

Currently, DIS is not a boarding school, but we do provide a Boarding Family program. Students from overseas will be well taken care of by responsible boarding parents providing support, encouragement, counsel, and meeting their daily life needs. (See Boarding Program details) 

The requirement, ESL support will be provided to students who are admitted and in need of further ESL support. Plus, the ESL classes are offered for free! 

DIS will provide the necessary documents for the student to apply for an Education Visa and for a parent to apply for a Guardian Visa to stay with their children.

A Non-O Guardian visa is a type of visa that is specifically for a parent (foreigners) of a foreign child who currently holds or will be applying for an education visa to study at an international school in Thailand. 

The limit for this visa is one Guardian visa per one education visa. As with the education visa for children, the parent can arrive on a 30-day visa exemption or a 60-day tourist visa obtained with a Thai embassy. This visa allows a parent to stay in Thailand legally for a year and can be renewed annually until the child reaches the age of 18 years old.