Shanghai, China Report of what it's like to live there - 07/09/10
Personal Experiences from Shanghai, China
School Name:
Shanghai American School
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
parent
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
2,3,5,6
3. During what years were you affiliated with this school?
2006-2008
4. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
Working at the U.S. Consulate
Admissions & Welcome:
1. Are the admissions and placement procedures clearly stated to prospective families, either on the school website or through other means of communication?
F--all kinds of odd things go on regarding admissions and even though they have an agreement with the Dept. of State, they do their best to discourage us from applying. We should have taken the hint and gone somewhere else.
2. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
D
Administration & School Procedures:
1. Describe the general climate of the grade level that you teach or your child attends:
This is the most competitive elementary school I have ever experienced. The vast majority of the students have never lived in America and most are Korean. The school believes that 4 hours of homework a night is a good idea for 5th graders.
2. For the following attributes, down to the next blank box, grade your experience at the school on a scale of A (excellent) to F (unacceptable/terrible) and provide comments:<br><br>Overall fair and equitable treatment of all students and families:
D
3. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
Almost non-existent. I went to a parent teacher conference and tried to raise a serious concern and was told it was not the time or place to raise it.
4. Services for gifted students who need academic challenge and students with learning difficulties:
C
5. Availability and variety of after-school activities for various ages:
C
6. Maintenance of appropriately high standards for all students:
D
7. Homework assigned (quality, quantity):
F for both, poor quality with WAY too much quantity. They used an Austrailian spelling book that assumed a much higher level of life in Australia than we had causing much internet searching. Now that Google has left China, I don't know how students will manage.
8. Administration-parent communication:
Non-existent until there is a major problem. Only when I threatened to contact the Office of Overseas Schools about a serious bullying incident that involved my 3rd grader actually being injured did the principal pay attention and contact me.
9. Teacher-student communication:
Lots, if you count yelling as communication
10. Academics, answer the following questions "yes" or "no" with an explanation if appropriate:<br><br>Are there any classes or subjects where students are not appropriately challenged?
No.
11. Does your child receive any special-needs assistance or instruction at this school? If yes, what types? Who provides services and where:
No. The school does not admit children with special needs if they can help it. If you hide the problem, as many Asian parents do, there is counseling available, but no classroom aides or integrated therapies.
12. Do you believe the special-needs assistance is appropriate and fills your needs? Explain:
No. I would never recommend that special needs children be subjected to the environment at SAS. Shanghai Community International School and Dulwich College are both much more accomodating.
13. Does the gifted and talented program meet the needs of students? Please explain:
No.
14. Does the school offer a wide variety of elective or non-core classes such as art, music, and drama?
Great electives and fabulous facilities.
15. Please describe any classes or programs that you believe are missing:
Although the school claims to have an anti-bullying policy, bullying is common and pervasive. Non-Asian kids are often the target and are singled out by both kids and teachers for taunting.
16. Are there academic requirements such as trips or other activities that cost money in addition to school fees?
Lots and lots of extra fees including several hundred dollars to send your kid on China Alive which is an overnight to different cities in China.
17. What activities do you feel are missing?
None that I can think of.
18. Have your children participated in the activities offered? If no, please indicate why:
No, they only allow older kids to ride on the late bus and the school is very far from most living areas.
19. Does the school provide appropriate assistance to new students?
No. We moved in 6 weeks after the beginning of the year and my 5th grader got no support and was even ridiculed in front of the class by the teacher for not knowing what was going on in a book they read before she arrived.
20. Please describe any problem areas or challenges in social interaction at the school:
See the above. Racism at the school is a big problem among both parents and children.
Academics & Resources:
1. What personal or academic counseling resources are available at this school? Is there a dedicated college counselor at the school? Is he/she familiar with universities worldwide?
Now this I was impressed with. They have counselors at all levels who are very responsive and helpful.
2. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
A
3. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
A
4. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
B
5. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
25:1 although the school claims it is much lower, there were 25 kids in my daughter's class.
6. Are Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses available in upper grades? If this is an IB school, is the full diploma required of all students?
A
7. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
Not even close. We expected 10-20 minutes per grade level and got one hour per grade level. Have you ever tried to get a 2nd grader to do two hours of homework?
8. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
A
9. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
Yes. They are all native speakers, except the Chinese Language teachers.
10. What services are available for gifted/advanced students at the school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
None, even though she received them in the U.S.
11. What extra-curricular activities (including sports) are available at this school? Have your children participated in these activities? What activities do you feel are missing at the school?
Yes, a great range.
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
No. If you don't live near the school and don't have a driver, it's too difficult.
2. Are there are any problems with exclusionary behavior, cliques, or bullying at this school? Please describe any problems your children may have experienced in this area.
Yes, constantly. If you don't speak Korean, you will have a very limited social circle. The kids bully children in front of the teacher and nothing is done. Complaints to the school go unanswered and there is a "boys will be boys" attitude we found so intolerable, we left and enrolled in Shanghai Community International School which we found to be a much better environment and more culturally diverse.
Overall Impressions:
1. What is the greatest strength of this school?
Only the facilities which are very luxurious. Academically, it's supposed to be good, but I found the instruction generally poor and the grading system favors form over content. As long as your costume is pretty, who cares if your speech is copied straight out of Wikepedia?
2. Greatest challenge?
Getting my kids up every day to go to a school they hated where they had no friends and no support from the teachers.
3. Would you choose this school again? Why?
Never. Not if you paid me. I'd rather home school and for me, that's saying a lot.
