{"id":21969,"date":"2026-07-30T17:31:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T14:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/demo-test-website\/?page_id=21969"},"modified":"2026-08-22T17:07:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T14:07:46","slug":"our-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/our-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"21969\" class=\"elementor elementor-21969\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-844214c e-con e-atomic-element e-flexbox-base e-844214c-0e9e6a4 \" data-id=\"844214c\" data-element_type=\"e-flexbox\" data-e-type=\"e-flexbox\" data-interaction-id=\"844214c\">\n    <div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4143b0f8 e-con e-atomic-element e-flexbox-base e-4143b0f8-555b8c0 \" data-id=\"4143b0f8\" data-element_type=\"e-flexbox\" data-e-type=\"e-flexbox\" data-interaction-id=\"4143b0f8\">\n    \t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f406b5b flex-horizontal-align-default flex-horizontal-align-tablet-default flex-horizontal-align-mobile-default flex-vertical-align-default flex-vertical-align-tablet-default flex-vertical-align-mobile-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f406b5b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-text-editor elementor-clearfix\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\nMEF International School is part of MEF Educational Institutions, one of T\u00fcrkiye&#8217;s leading educational organizations. The vision behind MEF Schools was shaped through an extensive eight-year development process that combined international research, academic expertise, and a commitment to educational excellence.\n<\/p>\n\n<p>\nEducational specialists visited schools across the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, and Japan to study successful educational models firsthand. Their findings were later evaluated by an Academic Advisory Committee of more than 30 university faculty members and experienced educators, who identified the most effective teaching methodologies, learning environments, and curriculum practices from around the world.\n<\/p>\n\n<p>\nThese insights became the foundation of the MEF educational philosophy and inspired the creation of a school community that values academic excellence, inquiry, international-mindedness, and student well-being.\n<\/p>\n\n<p>\nMEF Schools opened in Istanbul in 1996. Building on this strong foundation, MEF International School was established in 1998 to serve the growing international community in T\u00fcrkiye by offering a world-class education in English within a truly multicultural environment.\n<\/p>\n\n<p>\nThe success of the Istanbul campus led to the opening of MEF International School Izmir during the 2004\u20132005 academic year, further expanding the school&#8217;s international presence.\n<\/p>\n\n<p>\nToday, MEF International School Istanbul welcomes students from more than 50 nationalities and continues to provide an internationally recognized education that prepares young people to thrive in universities and communities around the world.\n<\/p>\n\n<!-- READ MORE BUTTON -->\n<button id=\"mefReadMoreBtn\" onclick=\"toggleMefContent()\" style=\"\n    background: none;\n    border: none;\n    padding: 0;\n    margin: 10px 0 20px 0;\n    color: #00529b;\n    font-weight: 600;\n    cursor: pointer;\n    font-size: 15px;\n\">\n    Read More \u2193\n<\/button>\n\n<!-- HIDDEN CONTENT -->\n<div id=\"mefMoreContent\" style=\"display:none;\">\n\n    <h3>MEF International School at a Glance<\/h3>\n\n    <ul>\n        <li>Established in 1998<\/li>\n        <li>Located in Ulus\u2013Ortak\u00f6y, one of Istanbul&#8217;s most desirable residential districts<\/li>\n        <li>Safe and secure campus<\/li>\n        <li>English-medium international education<\/li>\n        <li>Students representing more than 50 nationalities<\/li>\n        <li>Internationally recognized curriculum from Early Years through High School<\/li>\n        <li>A diverse, inclusive, and globally minded learning community<\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n\n    <h3>Ownership<\/h3>\n\n    <p>\n    MEF International School is part of MEF Educational Institutions, founded by Dr. \u0130brahim Ar\u0131kan, one of T\u00fcrkiye&#8217;s leading entrepreneurs and philanthropists.\n    <\/p>\n\n    <p>\n    Dr. Ar\u0131kan is also the founder of Ar\u0131kanl\u0131 Holding, a diversified group of companies, and established one of T\u00fcrkiye&#8217;s first cargo companies. His lifelong commitment to education led to the creation of:\n    <\/p>\n\n    <ul>\n        <li>MEF National Schools<\/li>\n        <li>MEF International Schools<\/li>\n        <li>MEF University<\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n\n    <p>\n    His vision continues to guide MEF&#8217;s commitment to providing innovative, high-quality education that prepares students for success in an interconnected world.\n    <\/p>\n\n    <h3>Memberships &amp; Accreditations<\/h3>\n\n    <p>\n    MEF International School is proud to be recognized by leading international educational organizations, reflecting our commitment to academic excellence and continuous improvement.\n    <\/p>\n\n    <ul>\n        <li>\n            <strong>International Baccalaureate (IB)<\/strong><br>\n            MEF International School is fully authorized to offer:\n            <ul>\n                <li>IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) \u2013 authorized since 2005<\/li>\n                <li>IB Diploma Programme (DP) \u2013 authorized since 1998<\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n        <\/li>\n\n        <li>\n            <strong>Council of International Schools (CIS)<\/strong><br>\n            MEF International School Istanbul has been CIS Accredited since 2010, demonstrating its commitment to high standards in international education, governance, safeguarding, and school improvement.\n        <\/li>\n\n        <li>\n            <strong>New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)<\/strong><br>\n            MEF International School Istanbul has been NEASC Accredited since 2010, recognizing the school&#8217;s quality assurance processes and dedication to continuous institutional development.\n        <\/li>\n\n        <li>\n            <strong>Cambridge Assessment International Education<\/strong><br>\n            MEF International School has been an authorized Cambridge International school since 2006, offering internationally benchmarked academic programs and qualifications.\n        <\/li>\n\n        <li>\n            <strong>Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS)<\/strong><br>\n            MEF International School has been an ECIS member since 2009. Through ECIS, the school benefits from international collaboration, professional learning opportunities, educational research, and a global network dedicated to advancing international education.\n        <\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<script>\nfunction toggleMefContent() {\n    var content = document.getElementById(\"mefMoreContent\");\n    var button = document.getElementById(\"mefReadMoreBtn\");\n\n    if (content.style.display === \"none\") {\n        content.style.display = \"block\";\n        button.innerHTML = \"Read Less \u2191\";\n    } else {\n        content.style.display = \"none\";\n        button.innerHTML = \"Read More \u2193\";\n    }\n}\n<\/script>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4b2f86c6 e-con e-atomic-element e-flexbox-base e-4b2f86c6-e123a7c \" data-id=\"4b2f86c6\" data-element_type=\"e-flexbox\" data-e-type=\"e-flexbox\" data-interaction-id=\"4b2f86c6\">\n    \t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6c99590c flex-horizontal-align-default flex-horizontal-align-tablet-default flex-horizontal-align-mobile-default flex-vertical-align-default flex-vertical-align-tablet-default flex-vertical-align-mobile-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-thegem-custom-menu\" data-id=\"6c99590c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"thegem-custom-menu.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"menu-6c99590c\" class=\"thegem-menu-custom thegem-menu-custom--vertical thegem-menu-custom--left style-hover-background style-hover-animation-fade style-hover-type-background-color style-active-background style-active-type-background-color thegem-menu-custom--clickable submenu-inlicator-alignment-\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"menu-custom-header  main-menu-item\"><span>About Us<\/span><div class=\"separator\"><span><\/span><\/div><\/div><div role=\"navigation\" aria-label=\"menu-6c99590c\"><ul id=\"menu-about-us\" class=\"nav-menu-custom scroll-to-anchor\"><li id=\"menu-item-15469\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-15469 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/our-founder\/\"><span class=\"text\">Our Founder<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-16626\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-16626 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/board-of-governors\/\"><span class=\"text\">Board of Governors<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-22259\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-22259 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/our-story\/\"><span class=\"text\">Our Story<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20319\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20319 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/message-from-the-general-manager\/\"><span class=\"text\">Message from the General Manager<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-22260\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-22260 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/welcoming-message-of-the-head-of-school\/\"><span class=\"text\">Welcoming Message of the Head of School<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-16625\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-16625 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/leadership-team\/\"><span class=\"text\">Leadership Team<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-22582\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-has-children menu-item-parent menu-item-22582 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a><span class=\"text\">Mission, Vision and Values<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a>\n<ul class=\"sub-menu\">\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-18234\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-18234 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/quality-objective-and-policy\/\"><span class=\"text\">Quality Objective and Policy<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-15468\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-15468 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/guiding-statements\/\"><span class=\"text\">Guiding Statements<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-22583\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-has-children menu-item-parent menu-item-22583 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a><span class=\"text\">Our School a Glance<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a>\n<ul class=\"sub-menu\">\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-19953\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-19953 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/school-profile\/\"><span class=\"text\">School Profile<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-15472\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-15472 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/university-acceptances\/\"><span class=\"text\">University Acceptances<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-15463\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-15463 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/accreditations\/\"><span class=\"text\">Accreditations<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-22584\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-has-children menu-item-parent menu-item-22584 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a><span class=\"text\">Policies &#038; Compliance<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a>\n<ul class=\"sub-menu\">\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-19981\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-19981 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/policies\/\"><span class=\"text\">Policies<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-18840\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-18840 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/child-protection\/\"><span class=\"text\">Child Protection<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-22261\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-22261 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/admissions\/protection-of-personal-data\/\"><span class=\"text\">Protection of Personal Data<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-22585\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-has-children menu-item-parent menu-item-22585 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a><span class=\"text\">Innovation &#038; Excellence<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a>\n<ul class=\"sub-menu\">\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-22262\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-22262 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/mef-academy\/\"><span class=\"text\">MEF Academy<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-22263\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-22263 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/ai-at-mef\/\"><span class=\"text\">AI at MEF<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-22264\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-22264 submenu-item default inherit-colors\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/about-us\/mef-ethics\/\"><span class=\"text\">MEF Ethics<i class=\"indicator\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MEF International School is part of MEF Educational Institutions, one of T\u00fcrkiye&#8217;s leading educational organizations. The vision behind MEF Schools&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":14838,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-21969","page","type-page","status-publish"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21969"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22629,"href":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21969\/revisions\/22629"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mefis.k12.tr\/istanbul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}