Our Mission

Shanghai American School inspires in all students:

A lifelong passion for learning
A commitment to act with integrity and compassion
The courage to live their dreams

Our Learning Goals

A Shanghai American School education equips students to transfer their knowledge and skills beyond the classroom, in authentic settings, over a lifetime.

CRITICAL THINKERS - SAS students are critical thinkers who develop ideas and construct arguments by questioning, evaluating, synthesizing, and considering perspective. SAS students…

Consider multiple approaches and perspectives to evaluate decisions
Ask relevant, discerning questions to stimulate reflection
Evaluate evidence and sources to support arguments and conclusions
Synthesize and apply new understanding to a variety of contexts
SKILLFUL COMMUNICATORS - SAS students are skillful communicators who advocate for self, others, and ideas in more than one language by listening, responding, and articulating through multiple media. SAS students…

Use appropriate listening skills to integrate information across contexts
Respond to emotions in self and in others
Articulate ideas with exceptional clarity
Select an appropriate medium/a to communicate with an audience
EFFECTIVE COLLABORATORS - SAS students are effective collaborators who help teams innovate outcomes to achieve a goal by holding themselves and others accountable, contributing in productive ways, and sustaining respectful interactions. SAS students…

Hold themselves and others accountable for team agreements
Build on the perspectives and contributions of others
Develop and implement appropriate strategies to manage interactions
CREATIVE LEARNERS - SAS students are creative learners who engage their imaginations to generate novel ideas, demonstrate flexible thinking, evaluate approaches, and take action. SAS students….

Use their imagination to generate novel ideas
Demonstrate flexible thinking
Use strategies to evaluate the creative process
Execute ideas with exceptional clarity and effectiveness
ETHICAL GLOBAL CITIZENS - SAS students are ethical global citizens who take action based on informed decisions filtered through empathy, integrity, sustainability, and social justice. SAS students…

Acknowledge and respect perspectives and cultures with consideration and care
Take action with sincerity and honesty
Make decisions and take actions to impact sustainability significantly
Engage in authentic opportunities to impact others positively

Our Learning Principles

Imagine a community of integrity and compassion where all learners are:

Empowered to make choices about how they reach clearly defined learning goals;
Engaged in collaboration to solve authentic problems;
Safe to take intellectual risks while persevering through challenges;
Supported with modeling, differentiation, specific feedback, and opportunities for reflection and revision;
Passionate, intrinsically motivated, and inspired to action.
This is learning at Shanghai American School.

Our Values

We believe that:

• Embracing diversity enriches individuals and communities
• Acts of compassion and generosity of spirit create a better world
• When individuals take responsibility for their own decisions, they are empowered to make positive impact
• Each individual has intrinsic value and the potential to contribute to society
• Collaboration is key to overcoming complex challenges and achieving common goals
• Integrity is the foundation of enduring relationships, quality institutions and well-functioning communities
• As global citizens we have a duty to care for the earth and its inhabitants to ensure the well-being of humankind
• Creativity, critical thinking and a lifelong passion for learning are essential to personal fulfillment and to meet the challenges of the future.

Faculty

Or “Tuesday” or “Friday.” Occasionally, even “Monday.” The fact is, every day at SAS is filled with engaging and inspiring learning. And our faculty are the ones who make it happen. We attract and retain leading educators who share and embody the school's Mission, creating a passion for lifelong learning – every day at SAS.

Stability

Our faculty stay at SAS for 6.3 years on average. International school teachers by nature like exploring the world; when they get to SAS, they hit the pause button for a while.

Continuous Learning

100% of SAS faculty are engaged in professional learning. Part of our Mission is to inspire lifelong learning in our students. Our faculty not only teach it, they practice it.

International

Our faculty have taught in 78 countries. “American” is our middle name. But the experience our teachers bring to SAS is very international.

Well Resourced

There are 364 faculty members at SAS, which assures proper attention and support for each student.

Expertise

Over 77% of our faculty arrive at SAS already having earned post-graduate degrees. 272 of our faculty members hold Master’s degrees.

Dedication

Faculty members stay almost three times longer than their original contract. It’s just hard to beat an inspiring environment in a dynamic city filled with intellectually curious students.