History

In the beginning

Pelangi School, managed by the not-for-profit foundation Yayasan Cahaya Pelangi Bali, was founded in 2006 by two Americans, Dawn and Jennifer, who were married to Indonesians and had young children. These parents wanted to start a school for their mixed heritage children where they could experience a bilingual education, in the place they called home; Ubud. With backgrounds in education and not-for-profit management, they worked to make this dream a reality.  The doors opened for the first ever day of school at Pelangi on the 1st August 2006.  The year began with twelve students attending, but by the end of this time, the student body had grown to forty children.

The original vision

The founders wanted an inclusive school that catered to expatriate, Indonesian and mixed heritage children. Regardless of origin and family circumstance, all children were welcomed. They would feel secure and thrive as individuals. To ensure cultural and economic diversity, the student population was made up of 75% full-tuition-paying children and 25% scholarship recipients.

Reaching milestones

The founders have since moved on, however, two of the original yayasan members, Joanna and Meghan, are still passionate Pelangi board members.

The end of the 2011-2012 school year marked a special turning point for Pelangi. The school as a whole had come full circle with our first class of grade six students graduating and moving on to high school, having been at Pelangi from its inception. These students had not only seen the school grow with them and their needs, but evolve from a small grassy play area with a brick house and a bamboo classroom, to an all-new purpose built campus. It is thanks to donations, community support, and one very generous gift from a parent in 2013 that helped to finance the project to amalgamate our two separate school sites to our current location.

Pelangi today

Pelangi School is a well-respected international standard school with a distinct community feel, providing a high level of education to its multicultural student body. Today with a student population of 200, together with a 60-member team of leading international and Indonesian educators, administrative professionals and operational staff, the original vision remains strong.

We are proud to be a school where the Balinese, Indonesian and expatriate community co-exist together as one family. We also continue to achieve the founders’ goals of supporting the local community through full and partial scholarships.

Thank you to all the students, parents and staff who have supported Pelangi School over the years.