Officially opened by a small group of expatriate parents on October 14, 1992 with five students, ranging from Grades One to Five. The inception of the school was the product of parents wanting to provide a quality education for their children and also enrich their children's education with Chinese language and culture. An American-based curriculum was adopted by the school to meet the high expectations set by the three founding families. A founding member of the school, Shamala Holoch, very effectively took on the role of the school's first administrator for two consecutive years and was instrumental in creating a stable foundation for the school. A certified educator from America, Celia Kim Gibson served as the Head Teacher of The Nanjing International School from 1992 to 1997 and created a quality educational environment based on high standards and sound educational practice on which the school became known for. At the schools inception, a Board of Directors was composed of area businessmen, and an appointed parent board member; the Director of the NIS school board was the acting Co-Director of the Johns-Hopkins University - Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. These included Alan M. Wachman, William Fredrick Rope, and Gene Dorris. Also, of great importance to the schools' success was the assistance given by Milo Manley, Deputy American Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Center, who helped with the accreditation process with the Nanjing Local Government Authorities. Accreditation with the Nanjing local government took many years, requiring patience and resolve. Representatives from The Johns-Hopkins Center and NIS board were able to use their honed Chinese Language abilities to at last obtain local accreditation from the local authorities in 1996 with the assistance of Jan Holoch, Heiko Lubben, Bernard and Daria Weber, Milo Manley, Alan Wachman, and Bill Rope. After three years in rented rooms at the Nanjing Foreign Language School, the enrollment at the Nanjing International School had expanded requiring more space than the two classrooms could offer at the NFLS. NIS board members approved the renovation of two buildings belonging to, and on the property of, the Dingshan Bingguan hotel. Six rooms were converted into classrooms to accommodate primary/nursery, elementary and middle school students. In 1996, there were four middle school students, approximately twenty elementary students, and a fluctuating enrollment of around twenty primary/nursery students. Pre-Kindergarten was located in their own separate building and Kindergarten through grade six was located in a self-contained building with classrooms and offices. Nanjing International School in-listed the assistance of local Chinese teachers in the specialists areas of Chinese Language, Physical Education, Chinese Music/Dance and Art at the onset of the school and provided a well-rounded and culturally rich curriculum. Between 1997 and 2004, NIS renovated more and more rented facilities at the Shangri-La. The school grew from 35 to 300 students in this time. In 2004, NIS moved to its own purpose-built premises in Xianlin College and University Town, on the outskirts of Nanjing.
Education technology Technology is ubiquitous at NIS with one to one programs throughout the school supported by the Apple Shop and Macquarium support team. Sports facilities The Sports facilities contains two full sports halls, a full astro turf soccer pitch, 400m running track, and a 25m swimming pool and additional toddlers pool. IB Diploma students IB Diploma students in Grades 11 & 12 have their own private area in which to either study or spend down time with friends. Nanjing International School, a member of ACAMIS, is located at Xianlin College and University Town, northeast of the city of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. The total area of the purpose-built campus is 70,000m2. ;Located next to Xuezelu ;Indoor facilities include:
