Hillcrest International School is located in Papua, Indonesia, on the top of a grassy plateau overlooking Lake Sentani and shadowed by Mt. Cyclops. Though close to the capital of Papua, Jayapura, the HIS campus is spacious and isolated from the traffic of everyday life.

Despite its rural surroundings, the school is equipped with the modern technology that's available to most first-world schools. The faculty is multicultural: American, Canadian, Australian, French, British, Korean, and Indonesian teachers and administrators come together to create a diverse academic and social mosaic. Students come from nations scattered across the globe, and, combined with the distinctive staff, create a culture of their own. Caught between contrasting worlds—city and jungle, advanced and developing—HIS provides a dynamic educational experience.

Hillcrest International is a private Christian school, sponsored and governed by a consortium of the major protestant missions in Papua. The Christian foundation of HIS is reflected in the mission of the school: to provide the children of missionaries and other expatriates, along with Indonesian and international students, with a Biblically-based education which will enable them to thrive in all aspects of life. With this in mind, teachers look for ways to enrich students’ relationships with the Lord and approach all subjects from a Christian viewpoint. Because not all students are of the same denomination—or even Christian—the openness towards Christianity and theological viewpoints encourages students to learn what they believe and why.

The Curriculum:
The curriculum used at HIS is based on U.S. models and uses English as the language of instruction. To help students who come from non-English-speaking countries, the school provides ESL help and (when staff is available) a daily class in the student's mother tongue. Bible classes are mandatory for all grades.

Accreditation:
Hillcrest International School is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), California, and is a member of the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools (EARCOS) and the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).

Campus:
Meandering over the top of a grassy hill, the HIS campus coexists with nature. Classrooms and open-air hallways surround courtyards splashed with foliage and dotted with thatch pondok huts provide an environment conducive to studying, relaxing, and having fun.

Looking north from the campus is a picturesque waterfall coming down the side of Mt. Cyclops—a towering, tree-covered 7,000' mountain. Below the falls is a winding river in a narrow valley of gardens and villages separating the school and the next hill. The view is breathtaking.