page_title: Network of International Christian Schools
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Network of International Christian Schools / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Front view of NICS International Headquarters
context_page_description: The Network of International Christian Schools is an organization that consists of 15 schools in 13 countries in Asia, Africa, South America, Europe and includes an online school in North America. There are plans in the works for more schools in the near future.
context_section_description: In 1983, Joe Hale, his wife Ann, and some other missionaries formed Liberty Christian School (International Christian 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 three NICS schools in South Korea with a total enrollment of over 1200 students.
  It quickly became apparent that the need for international schools, particularly Christian ones, was present in many countries beyond Korea. Schools perpetuating the same approach soon appeared in other countries and 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, a suburb of Memphis, where it is today.  After operating out of the Southaven municipal building for several years, the current location (3790 Goodman Rd. E.) was secured and occupied in the fall of 2007.
  The home office is housed in four buildings on 9.5 acres (38,000 m²). There are plans for additional buildings to be built, which will also be used as a conference and training facility. The home office houses 25 employees, as well as the offices of NorthStar International Academy, the online school.  Joe Hale serves as the president of NICS and works out of the home office, or international headquarters.
  The peak enrollment of all 18 NICS schools at the time during the 2018-19 school year was over 4700 students. There are over 800 teachers serving the 15 schools throughout the organization.
caption: Front view of the entrance to the Network of International Christian Schools headquarters
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