Shanghai, China: Shanghai American School: 2023-2024 Fact Sheet

Shanghai American School (SAS) is a prestigious, independent, not-for-profit international school located in Shanghai, China. Founded in 1912, SAS has two campuses and approximately 2,900 students enrolled in PK-12, making it China’s largest and most established international school. The academic year has two semesters extending from mid-August to mid-December and from January to mid-June.

Organization: The board of trustees is comprised of seven SAS parents elected by the Association of Parents, four board-appointed members who are not required to be a parent at SAS, and one representative from the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai. All parents with children enrolled at SAS are automatically members of the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA).

Curriculum: SAS has an American standards-based core curriculum with College Board Advanced Placement (AP) courses, the AP Capstone Program, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in HS. English as an Additional Language support is offered in the mainstream classroom, and technology supports learning in all areas of the curriculum as part of a blended learning model 1-to-1 laptops in MS and HS, and classroom sets of iPads or Laptops in ES. The Chinese language is designed to support the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds, and French and Spanish language options begins in grade 6. SAS has been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges since 1988.

Faculty: In the 2023-2024 school year, SAS has 665 total staff including 389 teachers, 184 of whom are U.S. citizens, 54 host-country nationals, and 151 third-country nationals.

Enrollment: Enrollment in September 2023 was 2,871 students (PreK-grade 5: 1126, grade 6-8: 731, grade 9-12: 1,014) representing 47 countries including 1,294 U.S. citizens. Of the total enrollment, 173 were host-country nationals and 1,404 were third-country nationals.

Facilities: SAS is the only international school in Shanghai where all revenue that comes into the school stays in the school – and it shows in our facilities. The results are two expansive campuses – the Pudong campus utilizes 23 acres; the Puxi campus spreads across 29 acres. Custom-built with university-level facilities that make SAS a popular host for conferences, tournaments, sports leagues, and events, each of our beautiful campuses feature an aquatic center, performing arts center, green screen rooms, recording studio, baseball field, softball field, track, playing fields, black box theaters, a teaching kitchen, training facilities, design studios/maker spaces, playgrounds, multiple libraries that house the largest collection of English language books on the Mainland, cafeterias, lecture spaces, classrooms, and lots of other spaces for dreams to come to life.

Finances: In the 2023-2024 school year, approximately 94 percent of the school’s operational income will be derived from tuition. Annual tuition rates for new students are as follows: PK: ¥ 248,000; KG–grade 5: ¥ 282,200; grades 6-8: ¥ 289,200; grades 9-11: ¥ 307,900 (includes the cost of high school mandatory trips), and grade 12 ¥ 302, 200. The school charges a one-time matriculation fee of ¥28,000 for new students in pre-kindergarten and elementary school and ¥33,000 for new students in middle school and high school. Note that all fees are designated in RMB-USD figures are indicative only.

Special Needs: Review the Special Needs Profile for this school to learn more about their capability to support students with exceptionalities.

This Fact Sheet is intended to provide general information. Prospective users of the schools may wish to inquire further of A/OPR/OS or contact the school directly for more specific and up-to-the-minute information. Information and statistics are current as of September 2023 and are provided by the school.