5 Issues of the annual Kodai Alumni Bulletin / Directory. 1961-81. 

1961

1962

1966

1974

1981

Good condition, no markings, one has previous owners address label on back cover.

Kodaikanal International School (KIS) is a co-educational independent residential school offering education for grades P-12. It is located in Kodaikanal, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India.

The 1960s marked the beginning of a new era in the school's history; a period of revolutionising social changes. In 1960, Herb Krause, whose grand daughter is a Kodai School graduate and a former teacher at the school, took the role of principal after ten years as a teacher. Krause's goal was to open the school up to students of all nationalities and religions – a movement away from the traditional American Christian image the school had had. In 1966, a committee was established to improve the curriculum, staff and instructional material of the school, and it was accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 1968 as a result of the committee's work. A new merit/demerit disciplinary system was introduced as a "supplementary system of discipline and guide to staff members" – a very controversial standardisation of disciplinary consequences.Another major change in the school occurred during this time – nationalism was becoming more and more visible in the world, and the American missionary exodus from India began. This debased the Kodai School community in a way that could not have been expected. The nature of the Kodai School student body needed to change in order to meet enrolment needs and budget realities. Herb Krause began visiting New Delhi, Bangkok and Beirut. Several international companies endowed grants upon the school in return for guaranteed places for students. Consequently, a student body of a more diverse and cosmopolitan background developed.This led to a new debate about religious freedom, having to do with the fundamental mission and purpose of the school. The Kodai School staff were divided into two groups: one supporting a mandatory Christian curriculum, with the other supporting religious freedom. When the new chaplain, Robert Dewey, arrived in 1965, the issue came to a head. Dewey merged the ideals of a Christian school and religious freedom: he once said "creative dialogue is absolutely essential if the school is going to be what it wants to be. It is the only word that I know that suggests educationally and experientially what the school can be and is at its best".Robert Carman ('48) worked with Frank Jayasinghe, the new Director of Development, to produce Project Design, a document which outlined the mission, philosophy, and expectations of students within the school. In 1972, Kodai School was renamed "Kodaikanal International School", and it became the first international school in India. When Jayasinghe took over as Principal in 1973, he continued Krause's campaign for students – enrolment increased from 279 students in 1975 to 475 in 1985.In 1975 KIS became the first school in India to adopt the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. In 1977 the first KIS students sat for the first IB examinations in India. Another significant development was the recognition of the KIS High School Diploma by the All India University Board in 1981 and by a number of individual universities in India.