Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the ISH

The International School of Havana has been in existence in various forms since 1965.

The school was founded as the Hillside School by Ms. Phyllis Howard Powers M.B.E. with the intention of offering high quality education to the children of foreign diplomats in Havana.

Though it has changed locations and names a number of times, the basic ideas and principles it was founded upon remain the same and have been extended to offer education to children of members of the expatriate business community in Havana as well as the diplomatic community.

We would like to pay a special tribute to our founder Miss Powers, M.B.E., whose initiative, effort, and dedication were the pillars on which our school was established. Miss Powers was born in Great Britain and settled in Havana in the early nineteen fifties. She worked as a teacher in various prestigious schools in Havana until 1961. In October 1965 she started the "Hillside School". Its first premises were a small house that stood on a hill. School materials and equipment were acquired mostly through donations.

In 1974 the structure of the School changed. Several embassies and international representatives set up a committee under whose authority the School was to function. Statutes were written and the School changed its name to "The Foreign Students' School." Miss Powers continued to act as Principal until her retirement in 1982. Her years of dedicated service to the children of the foreign and diplomatic community in Havana were recognised by her decoration as a Member of the British Empire (M.B.E.) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in January 1982. The school recognises Ms. Powers each year in a celebration of Founder's Day.

In 1988 the School underwent further changes and further evolved. It moved to the larger and more accommodating location it now occupies and adopted the name "The International School of Havana."

The school underwent a lengthy process of preparation as it moved towards fulfilling the vision of its Board of Directors, of becoming an accredited International School. The vision was achieved in June 2002 when the Council of International Schools (C.I.S.) granted the school accredited status from the Early Years Programme up to Grade 10.

The school has been accredited from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (N.E.A.S.C.) and the Council of International Schools (C.I.S.).