Tien Shan International School

What Tien Shan International School does

Tien Shan International School is a private English-medium K-12 institution located in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan, serving approximately 160 students drawn from more than 80 families. Founded in February 1995, the school delivers a blended international curriculum drawing on educational resources from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and the United Kingdom, and operates under an educational license issued by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Commerce in November 2002 and registration as a cooperative NGO dating to 1999.

The school is accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), participates in the Council of American Schools of Central Asia (COASH) since 2015, and is a founding member of the Central Asia Faculty Association (CAFA). It is staffed by 9 volunteer positions and runs a community-based, family-oriented model. The school is currently executing Project Nehemiah 2.0, a facility expansion that adds STEM laboratories, additional classrooms, and a gymnasium to the campus.

Revenues are derived from tuition and fees, which are not publicly disclosed. The customer base is concentrated among expatriate and internationally-mobile families in the Almaty region, distributed across roughly 80 households with no single-family revenue dependency. Pricing structure and contract terms are not disclosed in the source material, leaving the revenue model opaque to external observers.

Name

Tien Shan International School

Legal name

Tien Shan Educational Center

Website

https://tienshanschool.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tien Shan International School is an English-medium K-12 international school in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan, founded in 1995, serving approximately 160 students from 80+ families through a blended international curriculum and a volunteer-staff cooperative model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International K-12 Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

International/Global Curriculum Schools (IB, Cambridge, etc.) (EDAJABAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Language Immersion & Bilingual Private Schools (EDAJABAL)

Keywords

• International school education
• K-12 academic programs
• College preparatory education
• English-medium instruction
• Expatriate family schooling

Headquarters

HQ city

Almaty region

HQ country

Kazakhstan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Educational Services: The school provides transformational, quality, international, English-medium education from Kindergarten through Grade 12, operating on an affordable, cost-effective model. Revenue is generated through tuition and fees for educational services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tien Shan International School provides transformational, English-medium international education from Kindergarten through Grade 12 to approximately 160 students from over 80 families in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan. The curriculum blends resources from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and the United Kingdom, and includes academic, athletic, performing arts, and leadership development components. The school holds ACSI accreditation and offers Academic and Advanced Academic Diploma pathways.

Product overview

Tien Shan International School offers a unified K-12 educational program as a single integrated offering rather than a modular platform. The school provides English-medium academic education from Kindergarten through Grade 12, serving approximately 160 students from diverse backgrounds. The academic program includes Elementary (K-Grade 5/6), Middle School (Grades 6-8), and High School (Grades 9-12), with two diploma options (Academic and Advanced Academic). Beyond academics, the school provides athletics (soccer, basketball, volleyball), music and performing arts (orchestra, choir), various electives, student government, and leadership development. The curriculum combines resources from the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and the UK. All instruction is conducted in English with approximately 175 school days from August to June.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• K-12 Academic Education Program Comprehensive English-medium academic education from Kindergarten through Grade 12, serving approximately 160 students with emphasis on transformational education, critical thinking, and character development, blending resources from the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and the UK.
• Academic Diploma Programs Two high school diploma options: the Academic Diploma requiring 24 Carnegie credits and the Advanced Academic Diploma requiring 27 Carnegie credits, with an optional AP International Diploma available, designed to prepare graduates for universities globally.
• Athletics and Sports Programs Three-season athletic program including soccer, basketball, and volleyball, with varsity, junior varsity, U13, and U9 teams for boys and girls competing against other international schools in Almaty and Central Asia through COASH and CAFA.
• Music and Performing Arts Programs Orchestra and choir programs featuring two major annual concerts (Christmas and Spring), with participation opportunities in the Almaty Honors Music Festival and the ACSI Honors Choir and Strings conference in Europe.
• Electives Program Electives offered to middle and high school students including orchestra, speech, drama, yearbook, TESOL, choir, art, technology/engineering, and teacher/administrative aide roles.
• Student Government and Leadership Development Student government program with over 40% of secondary student body participating each year, complemented by two-year leadership development courses in which over 75% of graduates enroll.

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates accepted to top universities in USA, Canada, South Africa, South Korea, China, Netherlands, Lithuania, Russia, Australia, and Germany
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• COASH (Confederation of Almaty Schools and Headteachers)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Tien Shan has been participating in COASH since 2015, gaining access to athletic competitions and activities with other international schools in Almaty.
• CAFA (Central Asian Federation of Activities, Athletics and Art)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTien Shan was a founding member of CAFA, establishing competitive athletic and artistic opportunities for international schools across Central Asia.
• ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTien Shan holds accreditation through ACSI, providing internationally recognized educational standards and access to conferences like ACSI Honors Choir and Strings.
• Approved Sending OrganizationscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFull-time volunteer staff must be approved by sending organizations from their home countries which provide financial and personal support for educators serving at the school.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• International School of Astana: English-medium K-12 international school in Astana serving expatriate and local families. Operates in the same Central Asian international school market with comparable curriculum and customer base, though in a different city.
• International School of Bishkek (Silk Road): English-medium K-12 international school in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan serving expatriate and local families across Central Asia. Operates in the same broader Central Asian market with similar curriculum and customer profile, but in a different country.
• Nazarbayev Intellectual School: Network of elite K-12 schools across Kazakhstan with English-medium instruction and internationally-oriented curriculum. Targets high-achieving local Kazakh students and competes for the same internationally-minded local family segment.

Direct peers

• Miras International School Almaty: Almaty-based K-12 international school offering IB and Kazakhstani national curriculum tracks in English. Competes for the same expatriate and internationally-minded Kazakh families seeking globally-recognized education credentials.
• Haileybury Almaty: Premium British-curriculum international school in Almaty serving K-12 students from expatriate and affluent local families. Directly competes for the same mid-to-premium family segment with an English-medium international program.
• Quality Schools International (QSI): QSI operates multiple international schools across Central Asia including in Almaty, offering K-12 English-medium education to expatriate and local families. Directly comparable in mission, customer base, and curriculum philosophy, and is a COASH participant alongside Tien Shan.
• British School of Almaty: Almaty-based international school following the British curriculum for K-12 students. Competes directly for English-speaking expatriate families in the Almaty market with a comparable tuition profile.
• Almaty International School (AIS): English-medium K-12 international school in Almaty serving expatriate families. Directly comparable in target customer, instructional language, and program structure; competes in the same admissions funnel.
• Cambridge International School Almaty: Almaty-based international school offering Cambridge curriculum in English from primary through secondary. Direct competitor for the same expatriate and internationally-minded Kazakh family segment with a recognized international framework.

Others

• ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International): Accrediting body and association that provides Tien Shan with international recognition standards and access to events like ACSI Honors Choir and Strings. Not a direct competitor but a closely-linked ecosystem enabler for faith-based international schools.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tien-shan-international-school

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tien Shan International School