[2] Nagoya International School was opened in 1964[3] partly in response to the demand for English-language instruction post World War II.

Nagoya International School enrolled 496 students at the start of the 2017/2018 academic year at which time it had 54 full-time faculty members.

At that time, the only option for English-language instruction in the Nagoya area was the small and already crowded Apostolic Christian Academy, a Canadian school.

David Smith, then the director of the Nagoya American Cultural Center, promoted the school and raised money for its launch from private and government sources.

The school leaders negotiated the purchase of land belonging to sixteen rice farmers in Moriyama-ku.

Then Antonin Raymond, who studied under Frank Lloyd Wright, was hired to design a dedicated school building.

The curriculum is built around five essential elements of learning: knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action.

The preschool and kindergarten serves students ages 3–5, and curriculum is based on the Reggio Emilia approach.

[9] Students participate in a number of charitable endeavors include tutoring and building houses for people in the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia.

The NIS Junior Red Cross teaches students to administer first aid and CPR and also to communicate in American Sign language.