Now in our twenty fourth year of operation as an elementary charter school, ISM has grown to an outstanding K-8 educational institution and Monterey County's first IB World School. From our home on the Manzanita School site in Seaside, we serve 426 students from our surrounding Monterey County communities. 

From 2008-2023, ISM has been accredited by the Council of International Schools—the first public charter school among 420 CIS-accredited schools in the world and the only public school among 10 in the United States. CIS accreditation recognizes that our school has “achieved high standards of professional performance in international education and has a commitment to its continuing improvement.”

Also fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, ISM teaches toward our vision of “a world of understanding” through academic commitments to internationalism and understanding; a broad-based curriculum that includes the arts, physical education, and Spanish beginning in kindergarten; and an inquiry-based-instruction model that fosters student curiosity, initiative, and lifelong learning skills.

ISM runs a middle school MUN club for students in grades 6-8.  In the club students explore various global issues currently part of the United Nations Global Agenda for Sustainability, how to research those topics from the prospective of their 'adopted' country, and develop the confidence to speak and debate with their peers to reach consensus on these complex issues.

The club meets once a week. Semester 1 focuses on general MUN skill development. Semester 2 focuses on ISMMUN conference preparation, culminating is the International School of Monterey's Middle School Conference.