Taipei American School

Taipei American School

Taipei American School (zh-tpw|t=臺北美國學校|s=台北美國学校|p=Táiběi Měiguó Xuéxiào|w=T'ai-pei Mei-kuo Hsüeh-shiao; abbreviation TAS) is a private international school with a largely American-based curriculum located in Tianmu (T'ien-mu), Shilin District (Shih-lin), Taipei City. Founded in 1949, the school served as a U.S. Department of Defense contract school during the U.S. military presence in the Republic of China from the 1950s to 1970s. Upon the termination of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Republic of China in 1979, TAS was reorganized into a private international school. The school is operated by the Taipei American School Foundation under contract to the American Institute in Taiwan, the United States' quasi-embassy in Taiwan.

Most graduates of TAS go on to attend schools in United States, although some choose to attend schools in other countries. As required by ROC law, the school is only open to students who hold foreign (i.e. non-ROC) passports. The current student body is primarily made up of children of expatriate business people and other foreigners, as well as Taiwanese students holding foreign passports.

Mission

The mission of the Taipei American School is as follows:

History

The first meeting of Taipei American School took place on September 26, 1949 in the basement of Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Zhongshan North Road, with 8 students. This marked the beginning of the "missionary era" where Chinese and American medical missionaries were instrumental in founding TAS and providing it with students. The first class of students included American, European, and Chinese students.

By 1951, the influx of missionaries and businesspeople escaping from mainland China caused enrollment to grow to 120 students. By 1952, TAS was forced to relocate to Nong'an East Road to provide enough space for the growing student population.

In 1953, the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group was established in Taiwan. This brought to the island a large number of U.S. military personnel. Along with these military personnel came their families, including a large number of children needing an American-style education. TAS became the school for the children of the U.S. military personnel. In the summer of 1953, TAS constructed a much larger campus at Chang'an East Road. This marked the beginning of the "military era."

In 1956, TAS graduated its first class of 14 seniors. By then, the Chang'an campus had approximately 50 faculty members and 1,000 students. In 1957, Mr. Wayne Nesbitt served as the first superintendent of the school.

In 1959, TAS purchased a 22 acre (89,000 m²) site in Shilin for a new campus. In March 1960, the kindergarten and lower school moved into a 36 classroom 5-wing complex on the site. The upper school remained at the Chang'an campus until 1967, when the last upper facilities was completed. By 1969, TAS enrollment reached its highest point ever with nearly 3,000 students.

The 1970 to 1977 period has been termed the "labor-intensive industries era." Fact|date=February 2007 Taiwan's transforming economy brought foreign businessmen and overseas Chinese into the local economy, setting the stage for TAS's later transformation even as enrollment shrank dramatically as U.S. military pulled out of Taiwan. By the late seventies, student enrollment dropped to approximately 650 to 700 students. However, within a few years enrollment started to increase again as overseas Chinese with foreign passports arrived in Taiwan searching for first-class American educational facilities for their children. The early eighties marked the start of the "Chinese-American era," where the majority of students were ethnically Chinese and also U.S. citizens. The conditions are still the same now.Fact|date=February 2007

On September 2, 1989, TAS officially relocated to its present campus in Tianmu. To obtain use of the government land in Tianmu, TAS exchanged title to its Shihlin property for a long-term lease on the Tianmu site at a concessionary rent.

The 50th anniversary of Taipei American School was celebrated in 1999. As part of this celebration, TAS published a book documenting the history of the school, "Ties That Bind."

Campus

The current 62,192 square meter campus, completed in 1989, consists of a four story complex with a total floor space of 44,000 square meters. The campus contains the following facilities:
*A main auditorium and a small theater
*A cafeteria with a snack bar, a salad bar, a pizza bar, a baked potato bar, a hot meal line, and a coffee shop by the upper school library.
*Two gymnasiums and an indoor swimming pool
*A dance studio and gymnastics room
*Outdoor basketball courts and outdoor racketball courts
*Outdoor rock climbing wall and confidence course
*Indoor rock climbing room
*2 softball fields
*Indoor and outdoor tennis courts, are sometimes also used for badminton
*A field with artificial turf (installed in 2005)
*Track and field facilities
*5 libraries: lower school, middle school, upper school, Mandarin and audio visual (AV) for a combined total of four floors
*Over 9 separate computer labs.
*There is now also free Wi-Fi around the school

The independently operated Taipei Youth Program Association (TYPA) is located at TAS and uses the campus facilities. The school is located directly across the street from Taipei Japanese School.

Organization

Headed by a 9-member parent-elected Board of Directors and a superintendent, TAS is divided into the Upper, Middle, and Lower Schools. The Lower School is equivalent to an elementary school, separated into pre-kindergarten (known as Kindergarten A), kindergarten, and grades 1 through 5. The Middle School is equivalent to a junior high school, separated into grades 6 through 8. The Upper School is equivalent to a high school, separated into grades 9 through 12.cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/1368.htm|title=Taiwan, Taipei: Taipei American School
accessdate =2006-04-04]

In the 2004-2005 school year, 89.6% of the School's income was derived from tuition and fees. Annual tuition rates are approximately US $12,000-13,000.

Student body

The combined KA-12 school enrollment is approximately 2,200.

TAS abides by the Republic of China Foreign Schools Law, which requires all international schools to only admit students who hold non-ROC passports. In compliance with the law, TAS verifies that each student has a non-ROC passport during the initial application process and during re-registration each spring. As of 2004, approximately 70% of the students hold U.S. passports.

Academics

The Upper School offers 19 Advanced Placement (AP) courses, including Art History, Computer Science, Environmental Science, and Music Theory. Additionally, the school also offers International Baccalaureate (IB) programs for those seeking an IB diploma, providing over 20 IB course offerings.

The curriculum in the lower school (PK-grade 5) is centered around the following 4 goals: to teach the essential basic skills; to develop a desire to learn; to teach toward understanding, self-discipline, and self-respect; and to develop an understanding and respect for people in other cultures. The middle school (grades 6-8) curriculum builds on these goals and provides opportunities for enrichment. The upper school (grades 9-12) offers a highly academic, college preparatory program leading to a TAS U.S. high school diploma or an International Baccalaureate diploma. Almost 100 percent of TAS graduates continue their education at a college or university, the vast majority in the United States. TAS offers support services for mild learning needs.

Blue & Gold

The "Blue & Gold" is the school newspaper. Produced monthly, the newspaper is usually eight A3 full-color pages. The paper also publishes newsletters during IASAS events held at the school, an April Fool's Issue modeled after a respectable publication (TIME, People, etc.), and an issue commemorating the graduation of each class. Previously known as Paws, the Blue & Gold newspaper has won several awards from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA). In 2005, select representatives from the Blue & Gold staff and editorial team attended a conference in Seattle, Washington representing the school, the only delegation from outside the Americas. In the last few years, the Blue & Gold has won numerous awards including Two Best Design Awards (2004 & 2005), Cartooning Award (2005), All-American Award (2003), Pacemaker Finalist (2004), all awarded by the NSPA.

Notable TAS students and alumni

Notable Alumni or Attendees

* Christina Chang, from the class of 1989, actress who appeared in numerous American tv shows including CSI Miami, West Wing, 24, etc. She also appeared in several motion pictures including, Live Free or Die Hard, Random Hearts, etc.
* Nita Ing, Taiwanese executive and the CEO of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation.
* Linda Arrigo, from the class of 1966, is a democracy activist and former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh's ex-wife [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/local/archives/2001/07/01/92259]
* Sylvia Chang, from the class of 1972, Taiwan actress and director who appeared in movies such as "Eat Drink Man Woman" and "The Red Violin" [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/local/archives/2001/07/01/92259]
* Fei Xiang, also known as "Kris Phillips", is a Taiwanese-American singer whose credits include being in the original Broadway cast of "Miss Saigon".
* Takeshi Kaneshiro, from the class of 1992, is a popular Taiwanese/Japanese actor whose films include "Perhaps Love, Returner, House of Flying Daggers", "Turn Left, Turn Right", and "Chungking Express".
* Freya Lim, from the class of 1998, is a popular singer in Taiwan.
* Wilber Pan, from the class of 1999, is a VJ host and singer.
* Ben Williams, from the class of 1999, is Founder and CEO, Firefly Health [http://www.careplace.com]
* Lara Veronin, from the class of 2006, is the lead female vocal in the Taiwanese band Nan Quan Mama, which is directed by Taiwanese singer Jay Chou.
* Edward Lin, from the class of 2006, is so cool, like oh mai gosh!
* Andrew Chou, from the class of 2008, is a member of the Taiwanese group, Machi.

Sports and organizations

Upper School sports teams and groups, whose mascot is the tiger, compete with members of Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS) and local Chinese schools, clubs, and universities. TAS varsity teams include Volleyball, Football, Cross Country, Rugby, Basketball, Tennis, Swimming, Softball, Badminton, and Track and field teams. Non-athletic groups that participate in events with other IASAS schools include dance, debate, drama, forensics (individual events), Model United Nations, leadership, art, and music groups.

Middle school sports teams compete in the TEAMS Championships Tournament each year in volleyball, softball, soccer, and basketball.

Affiliations

TAS is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

TAS is a member of the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools (EARCOS) [http://www.earcos.org/newearcos.html] .

As a member of Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS), TAS participates in competitive sports and cultural exchanges with the following Southeast Asian international schools:

*International School Bangkok - Bangkok, Thailand
*International School of Kuala Lumpur - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*International School Manila - Manila, Philippines
*Jakarta International School - Jakarta, Indonesia
*Singapore American School - Singapore

In the 2007~2008 school year, TAS picked up gold medals in Women's Track and Field, Women's Basketball, and Women's and Men Badminton. It was their fifth straight championship in Badminton, for both men and women.

See also

* Taipei European School
* National Experimental High School
* Dominican International School
* Morrison Academy
* Kaohsiung American School
* American School in Taichung

References

External links

* [http://www.tas.edu.tw Taipei American School official website]
* [http://www.iasas.org Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools official website]
* [http://tiger.tas.edu.tw/board/policies/temp.htm TAS Policies]
* [http://www.tas.edu.tw/podium/default.aspx?t=8516 2007 WASC Report]
*TAS Annual Report: [http://tiger.tas.edu.tw/adm/ar/2005AnnualReport.pdf 2005] , [http://tiger.tas.edu.tw/adm/ar/2004AnnualReport.pdf 2004]
*Guidestar Report, incl. IRS Form 990: [http://www.guidestar.org/pqShowGsReport.do?partner=guidestar&npoId=590033]
* [http://www.typa.org.tw Taipei Youth Program Association]
* [http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/1368.htm U.S. Department of State]
* [http://www.earcos.org/ East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools (EARCOS)]