Network of International Christian Schools - History of NICS

History of NICS

In 1983, Joe Hale along with his wife Ann and some other missionaries formed a school in South Korea. They initially anticipated that this school would educate about 30 students, but on the school’s inaugural day 83 students arrived for classes. The school continued to grow, and currently there are 3 different NICS schools in South Korea with a total enrollment of over 1000 students.

It quickly became apparent that the need for international schools, particularly those of a Christian nature, was present in many countries beyond Korea, and schools perpetuating the same approach soon appeared in other countries, and eventually on other continents. The vast growth of the initial schools was such that the Network of International Christian Schools (NICS) was born in 1991 and a home office was established in Memphis, TN to facilitate the operations and staffing of the schools. In 1992, NICS became an incorporated independent mission agency. In 2001 the home office was moved to Southaven, MS, where it is currently located. After operating out of the Southaven municipal building for several years, the current location was secured and occupied in the fall of 2007. The home office is housed in three buildings on 9.5 acres (38,000 m2), and there are future plans for additional buildings to be built, which will be used as a conference and training facility. The home office currently houses 20 employees, as well as the offices of NorthStar International Academy, the online school. Joe Hale serves as the president of NICS, and now works out of the home office, or international headquarters. The peak enrollment of all 17 NICS schools during the 2009-10 school year was over 3600 students. There are over 500 teachers serving the 17 schools throughout the organization.