LCMS World Mission Blog

LCMS World Mission celebrates with the students and staff of Concordia International School Shanghai on the dedication of their new high school facility on Oct. 9. The new 12,000-square-meter, state-of-the-art high school will help Concordia continue to expand its educational opportunities and ministry among students from around the world. Concordia’s full student body, parents, and 70 special guests gathered in its newest gymnasium to celebrate the special day.

Special messages were given during the dedication ceremony by Dr. Fredrick Voigtmann, chairman of Concordia’s Board of Directors; Rev. David Birner, associate executive director of LCMS World Mission; Mr. Christopher Beede, deputy principal officer of the U.S. Consulate; and Mr. Ron Shen, general manager of Jinqiao Group.

Also in attendance were guests from China Construction Bank; the facility’s architect and builder, Perkins Eastman Architects and PAC Group; other Shanghai international schools; and representatives from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod who traveled from Hong Kong, the United States and Vietnam. Other special guests included Dr. Al and Sandy Schmidt, founding head of school and director of admissions, respectively. Dr. Jim Koerschen, Concordia’s current head of school, gave special thanks to Rev. Birner for his advocacy and support of Concordia International School from the beginning. Various students and musical groups shared their enthusiasm by participating in the dedication.

Founded in 1998, Concordia International School Shanghai (CISS) values its roots in the 150-year educational tradition of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. CISS offers expatriate families a Christian education for their children, aged preschool through 12th grade. Lutheran educators are called through LCMS World Mission to teach at CISS. Known for its caring community, CISS is actively involved in providing education to impoverished communities in Yunnan, China, through the Yunnan Education Project, and fostering social responsibility within the Concordia student body. Over the years, CISS’ Yunnan Education Project has worked in conjunction with the Concordia Welfare and Education Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Hong Kong that strives to improve the livelihoods of impoverished rural communities in Asia.

CISS provides the Shanghai expatriate community with a holistic, American-based, college-preparatory education for students preschool through grade 12. Fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, CISS’s community is informed by the school’s Christian character. Technology is fully integrated throughout the learning process with grades 7-12 participating in a one-to-one Macbook program. Sixty percent of CISS’ 1,100-member student body and all overseas-hired staff live within one kilometer of the campus.

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