Shanghai Expat :: View topic - Excellent and INEXPENSIVE school---from K-12!

Shanghai Expat

Family Life and Kids - Excellent and INEXPENSIVE school---from K-12!

#1VoIPFan - June 24, 2004 - 06:52 PM
Post subject: Excellent and INEXPENSIVE school---from K-12!

Everyone here being an expat parent is very concerned about their kids' schooling. As a mom for 3 kids ages from 4,7, and 15, I found a great school to recommend to everyone who has the worry.

It's SMIC School, yes, it's owned by SMIC, however, it's open to the public. I am not an SMICer, and I found the school through reference, too.

They have kindergarten to high school. The fees are less expensive than SAS, SHS, Concordia, Yew Chung, Chang Ning....at only USD4000+/year. If you have more than two kids, good news! you get 85%(sorry I forgot exactly, please check if you are interested), 75% off for the third one, if you have 5 kids, the fifth one is like FREE! and the discount is taken off from the highest value, btw.

For school curriculum, they have BOTH Chinese and English tracks. The text books they are using for the E-track is from Texan school district(I came from Silicon Valley, CA, guess they should be better than the CA system anyway) Chinese (native) textbooks are using SHA version "S", but will use the experimental version for first grade in the new 2004 school year. Also ESL/CSL are all offered.

Class size is very small compared to other international schools since they were originally only accepting SMIC employee children, in 9/2003 they opened to the public. Just for reference, the 9th grade class has 10 kids. New HS campus is being expanded and the high school will be moving to the new site(next door to old site only) in the new school year.

Spaces in lower grades are more limited, has more competition, and they have very tough/strict enrollment requirement(in HS particularly). School is very conservative, e.g. a Moral Office was established last year to watch the conducts of the kids. Kids are very well-behaved, and as the size of class is small, there are very close links among all the kids.

Teachers for E-track are from USA mostly, dean is from Canada with PhD, Principal(also has PhD degree) is from USA, they are all so nice and kind!

AP classes are also offered, the school is aimed towards preparing the kids to go to good colleges. Also school is very sensitive to parents' concerns, take myself for instance, my son is gifted in math and the school arranged a retired experienced teacher who used to teach in Canada and volunteered to specifically work with my son only in math class, and now he is in 1st grade, but already advance to 3rd grade material! this is something I think not only the local school but most of the international schools can't offer(he went to Ping He in 9/2003 for one semester, and I requested the school for attention on his giftedness on math, I got totally opposite reaction---they told me the material is hard enough for him---the teacher was fully aware of this, couldn't do anything about it)

Only drawback is due to the number of students, there are not many clubs or societies in HS, they have drama, creative writing, guitar, jazz, basketball, journalism...and a great school ROCK band(my daughter is in it!) Very Happy

However, they go out and play with Concordia basketball team, sponsored and organized a Rock for Chairty concert gather all the bands from international schools for an orphange, have student newspaper...
pretty enough to keep all the kids active and busy and fun.

Since I know it's hard to find a good school here, I really highly recommend SMIC School to you all who are still joggling with decison of choices.

LEt me give you the number and website to contact them:
Tel:021-5895-5500
www.smicschool.com
Principal: theresa_liu@smicschool.com
Admin: stephen_chen@smicschool.com

If you would like to know more, I'd be glad to share, too.

Good luck!

PhatAV8r - June 29, 2004 - 04:48 PM
Post subject:

web address is not working, maybe their server is down for the summer.

#1VoIPFan - July 01, 2004 - 10:34 AM
Post subject:

PhatAV8r wrote:

web address is not working, maybe their server is down for the summer.

Confirmed from the school, the website is:

www.smics.com/SmicSchool/welcome.htm
school is still open for the summer, they have summer school programs.

thanks!

lloydrepetto - Aug 01, 2004 - 03:41 PM
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I am looking for "alternative "schools rather than the traditional international schools. We will be moving to Shangahi (from Australia) in november. As I am not familiar with the city of Shanghai yet, how close is this school to the french concession? And how easy is it to get there?

Also, my youngest will be 5 soon, and if we were in Australia he will not be starting school until February. Where would he be placed in a north american system?

I am welcome to any advice??

MoMo - Aug 14, 2004 - 12:32 AM
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This sounds too good to be true! I'm moving to SH in late Sept and hopefully the info is still valid. Any second opinion?
How far is it from Jing An District?
Any more tips, info appreciated!

LoneStar - Aug 29, 2004 - 03:17 AM
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I will be relocating to Shanghai with my family between December 2004 and March 2005. My company will be taking care the key details around the relocation. One thing I have been anable to find is a rating or comparison of the schools. 1VoIPFan you mentioned several in your note including your recommendation to check out the SMIC school, thanks. My wife and I will be in Shanghai in October or November 2004 with a mission to check out schools and find housing. Any recommendations on finding school information? Based on the notes I am assuming this kind of information is fragmented, right?

mrperegrino - Aug 29, 2004 - 10:24 AM
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Thanks for this posting! This a great option, I plan on visiting Monday to check it out. A Few of you asked about how far from Jing'An and French Concession. I live in the Jing'An district, fairly close the subway. Based on the schools map, they are not too far from the Zhang Jiang subway station... about a 20 minute ride from Jing'An, and with the transfer at People's Square, about 30 min from the French Concession area (Depending on which station you start at).

I have a 8yr old daughter enrolling in Ping He (She is really excited about the boarding school prospect), But for my 13 yr old son, Ping He's internation program only extends to the 6th grade. We've been in China for a year now, and his chinese is getting pretty good, so we planned on him going to a Chinese international school and getting tutored after school. With the maney we save in tuition (the Chinese school is 6,000 RMB a year) we can afford a full time tutor. Well, that the idea anyway. I'm going to check out SMIC as a (badly needed) backup plan.

One more thought on our 'international' schools. My son has made some expat friends this summer here in Shanghai, these kids have been here a few years and they attend these expensive expat schools... But they only know enough chinese to tell the taxi driver where to take them. We plan on being here a couple more years, and I want to make sure my kids can speak the language.

#1VoIPFan - Sep 01, 2004 - 07:15 PM
Post subject:

The SMIC Private School and Kindergarten
No. 3, Lane 19, Qing-Tong Road
Pudong New Area, Shanghai 201203
(T): 86-21-5895-5500 x282
(F): 86-21-5895-7828
information@smicschool.com

It's close to Zhang Jiang HiTech Park off Long Dong Blvd(the one leads to airport).
School also provides school bus for both pudong and puxi. Fare is RMB650+- each month.

I am glad the posting has been helpful. I know how it feels to be here with kids.

The school has been expanded and the faculty has been increased, the credential has been great. Check it out.

It is based on the American curriculum, and also one Chinese session every day. This way, you don't lose track with the old school system, and get Chinese implementation---a combination of Int'l and Local. I am making this sound 2good2betrue again?! Check it out.
mrpereqrino, my son was in Ping He last year, too, do I know you? he was in class 1(the commuter class), Ms. Zhou's class, what's yours?(PM to me, I guess this shouldn't be discussed right here)

mrperegrino - Sep 02, 2004 - 12:22 AM
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My daughter is just starting Pinghe this year, boarding full time. She really likes it, I think we'll keep her there at least for this semester. I was thinking of SMIC for my 13 year old son, but he decided he liked the local Chinese Internation School. there are only 7 other kids in his class, and the teacher and some of the kids know enough english to help while he continues to work on his chinese. We really feel he'll get the most out of being in China this way, and after looking through the text book, there'll be no problem with him behind!

MoMo - Sep 04, 2004 - 07:58 PM
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Hi #1Vo,
I have checked with the school and was told that they no longer have the school bus services but run shuttle instead. I don't know what's the difference but anyway all the vehicles are full by now. Is there a car pool system? Just for my interest, how long does the shuttle service take from the school to Jing An area?
Thanks!

#1VoIPFan - Sep 08, 2004 - 06:12 PM
Post subject:

Here is what I got from the school:

Our school currently engages a shuttle van vendor to run the transportation services for the school. Previously, they offered 5 pick-up points per route but after revision, they designed routes based on where the students live instead. So, with regard to the question about the duration the shuttle van service takes to travel to the Jing An area, this really depends on the number of students who live in that area. Please note that registration for the shuttle van services is closed for this fall semester.

Before the implementation of the current shuttle van services, many parents used to car pool to school. However, with this system in place, there isn't really a car pool system anymore.

For your reference please.

Thank you.

Best Regards,
Admissions and Administration Office
The SMIC Private School (Elementary Division)

#1VoIPFan - Sep 08, 2004 - 06:21 PM
Post subject:

LoneStar wrote:

Depending on what shcool systems you are looking for. there are British, American, French, German, etc... international schools to check out for. How old are your kids? and are they Chinese literate? when are you going back? these are all the factors to take into account, too. But, don't worry, there are a lot like you here! We'll all be helping!

LoneStar - Sep 08, 2004 - 08:35 PM
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1VOIPFan,

We are Americans and will be living in Shanghai for 3 to 5 years before returning to the US. We have an 8 year old daughter that is English speaking only and my wife is a middle school teacher with 20 year of experince in the US system. My office is very close to the International Trade Center just off Yanan Lu and Zhongshan Xi Lu.

I know this restricts our options and thus are concerns to keep my daughter on grade level while she gets a chance to experince a great opportunity.

nicklar - Sep 27, 2004 - 09:46 PM
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Lone Star, both Yew Chung and Shanghai Rego Schools are Chinese owned and run very good Mandarin programs. Both are quite close to where you will be based. However they are also right up there as far as costs go. Your wife should pick up as much substitute teaching as she can handle, if not a full time job. If it's the latter you can probably negotiate something on fees.

bliss - Sep 27, 2004 - 11:30 PM
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First of all, I would highly praise SMIC for taking the lead to bring down the excessive high school fees in the International schools scene in Shanghai as they charge a very reasonable fees of about US$4K a year for their employees and to the public at large.
My daughter was enrolled to a 20K per year school which is not value for monies at all ! These 20KUSD/yr schools eg SAS & YCIS schools also found incidences of students caught with drugs off school.
My daughter's name was not recorded in the class list for more than 1 year in YCIS and for more than a month she has not collected her YCIS school uniform in full. She missed her class for day 1 last year and this year too due to admin error(twice) and the principal donot put a damn and accusing the parent for too pushy and put blame on us on transport matter which our daughter did not take since day 1. It is ridiculous to pay so much for such a school with shoddy work top down.
Lastly I hope SMIC can considering expand their school campus to Puxi for the convenience of many expats living in this part of the city. We donot mind to pay more as we know we are paying too much now !! Any other good recommendation please bring forward (Personally I could influence many students from these expensive schools in Puxi). Thanks.

Bliss ..

#1VoIPFan - Sep 28, 2004 - 06:18 PM
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Bliss,

Price is not the only one factor we praise SMIC for.

I think their determination in helping the expat kids reach their education goal and the efforts to accommodate the needs of each child in their school are something I should emphasize.

Firstly, they hire good teachers, and watch not only the kids' grades, but on their "moral education". The school in general is very "unified" and conservative(but who needs kids to be adventurous in this age?). The goals for the parents here are to have the kids' education smooth and continued, in SMIC, parents can be rest assured.

Also, the school listens to parents' needs and concerns---my kid does not eat meat, and they specially arranged for his lunch! This surely has moved me---I guess this won't happen in most of the US schools, either!
In here, I guess parents can really focus on work and the hectic dealing with the transitions for adults, and the kids can really enjoy their China experiences, too!

They have a bigger campus now, and shuttle buses from PuXi to PuDong. FYI.

BTW, happy Moon Festival to you guys!

bliss - Sep 29, 2004 - 04:08 PM
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Hi #1VolPFan,

Thanks for your adv and comments. As parents we want our children to have good and caring teachers in a safe and sound school, so low tuition cost becomes a bonus for parents or company.
Visited SMIC months ago, ashame that the top managment did not update us about their school set up and probably they are focused on business at that time.
This is an excellent reference for future parents who will be coming to Shanghai and looking for a good school for their children. Thanks.

Cheer !

Bliss ..

Rainbowfisch - Feb 23, 2005 - 02:03 PM
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Hi #1HolFan,

Upon your recommandation I have enrolled my children into the SMIC School since we arrived in September last year. The primary school which my daughter is in is excellent in terms of teachers and amount of school work, method of teaching etc. The kindergarten which my son is in is average.

I thought the school bus services are extremely lousy. In order to fit their schedule, my son has to be off kindy an hour earlier and my daughter won't be able to participate in any after school interest classes. What kind of (primary) school live is it when there is no extra curricular activities? Do you know any way of complaining? I am a working mum and simply don't have the time to go all the way to Zhangjiang all the time!

#1VoIPFan - Feb 24, 2005 - 06:28 PM
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Hi Rainbowfisch!
Welcome aboard! what grade is your duaghter in? and which class in kindergarten is your son in? My son is in G2B, and daughter in the middle class. my email is joliu@voipack.com, let's get in touch!

Yes, I do feel the same way as you, too. and I work, too. and I don't live near the campus. as in my first posting, I already mentioned about this short of extra curricular, or outside activities, problem. My oldest daughter is in 10th grade, they don't have a lot of clubs, either.

However, there is possibility we can do to help in this school, as long as we speak, they listen. it won't be a quick fix from them, for sure, but I am confident they will work on it. It may not be time for my oldest daughter, but for my son in the elementary school, I think we can make it!

However, I am a little bit concerned, as the activities are in the campus, and far from my work...

but, still, with more and more kids coming in, I am sure there is hope.

Let's get together and discuss about it.

person - June 28, 2007 - 11:35 AM
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I'm a student at SMIC right now and I actually don't find it that good. First of all, the food is very very bad and most of my classmates don't even eat lunch. However, there is boarding and so you don't have to squeeze into the shuttle bus service. It's a mainly Taiwanese school and quite Christian. There is a Christian youth group that meets every friday night and they have retreats too.

Most of the teachers are very nice and we are placed into Chinese classes accroding to our level. There are CSL classes and normal local classes. There is also a Chinese track but there aren't many activities in-between the two tracks.

Yes, I know the school is less-expensive but we don't have a lot of facilities.

But, at least we have more sports teams now and SMIC is a member of CISSA...

StMichael - June 28, 2007 - 08:04 PM
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person wrote:

First of all, the food is very very bad and most of my classmates don't even eat lunch.

Ha! Oh how I understand! But if your principal eats it, then you jolly well can eat it too, my dear!

yu888 - June 28, 2007 - 08:56 PM
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wow,someone dug up an old thread indeed. though an update on the school situation would probably be very helpful fo the next "incoming class" of expats this summer and fall.

msittig - June 29, 2007 - 12:48 AM
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Even though I teach at the SMIC high school, I don't think I can give as comprehensive (and impressive!) a review as #1VoIPFan. Still, I'll try to give some updates and answer a few of the issues raised later in this thread.

The school is still owned by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Company (SMIC), but still also accepts students from outside the company. The campus was finished this year with the completion of the preschool buildings. We have many unused classrooms but we are filling them quite quickly. Just to give you an idea, this year we had three 7th grade classes with about 20 students each; next year we will probably have four 7th grade classes with 25 students each (the maximum class size). Since this thread was started back in 2004, we have graduated our first two classes of high school seniors who all chose to attend private and public universities in the USA.

Thanks to the mysterious person for commenting. I think he/she has the inside scoop on some of the school's more practical problems. Yes, the Chinese-style cafeteria food is not great. The admin team realizes this and is looking for other options for meals next year. But they are hobbled by the fact that in survey after survey a majority of parents say that they are not willing to pay more for lunches. So go bug your mom and dad to fix you a better lunch Smile

Or wait until you are a senior -- they finally negotiated off-campus lunches for themselves this year.

It's true that our buses leave promptly after the last period, which means that kids who play sports (and our participation rate is near 70% throughout the year) often have to find their own way home. I feel particularly bad for the kids who live in Puxi and have to take the subway home. It's best to live in Century Park, or Jinqiao, I think.

The student body does tend towards Taiwanese because SMIC is a Taiwanese company. But if you look at the passport nationalities represented you will find Taiwanese, Singaporean, ABC, CBC, more and more Koreans, etc. I would guess that other int'l schools in Shanghai face similar student body make-ups. We got feedback from our first wave of alumni that they weren't well prepared to deal with the ethnic diversity that they found in the US, so the idea was floated of adding a seminar in American culture and adapting to life in college to the senior curriculum. Still, I can't emphasize enough that we are modelling the school on an American school, and you can see this both generally and in the details: we teach phonics at the elementary school and have AP classes at the high school, use TI-83 calculators to teach math, play baseball in PE, publish a yearbook and student newspaper, have had a very nice Prom the last two years, and recruit teachers mainly from the US.

Our school also has a lot of Christian students and some staff because the CEO of SMIC is a Christian and he has actively recruited Christians to work for the company and some of the top positions at the school. BUT, there is NO official religious component to the SMIC curriculum, teaching staff is hired without regards to their religious beliefs, and the religion of student applicants is of no consequence when we consider their application. But just like you'll find more Asian countries represented at our International Day, you'll tend to hear about more Christian activities if you ask the students what they are doing on the weekend. It's the religious "culture" that the school floats in.

Somebody mentioned faculty turn-over rate. SMIC deals with this, as does *every* int'l school in Shanghai. SMIC school is now 6 years old, so we do have a core of teachers who have been or are committed to the school for several years and provide continuity for the students. Since turn-over is a fact of life, though, we are continuously looking for teaching candidates from good US universities, prefer local hires who can commit for longer terms, have rewards for teachers who stay a long time, and outstanding welcome and de-briefing programs to acclimate and get feedback from arriving and departing teachers.

SMIC is still a very strong option if you live in Pudong and want a US-style education for your child. Our strong points are value for your money (of course), small class sizes, a dedicated and caring staff, a non-competitive academic atmosphere, high participation rate in sports, a strong PTA, and an student body that continuously amazes me with their hard work, compassion, friendliness and creativity.

The deadline for applying for the next academic year has already passed, but if you have any more questions you can PM me or e-mail our principal, Dr Han. His contact info is listed on the school website (which has changed since it was posted above):

http://smic-school.cn/
http://smic-school.cn/School/about1.htm

Also, if you are looking for a high school teaching job, I think we have filled all position for next year but it never hurts to send in your resume and ask for an interview. I was hired mid-year this way, and 1.5 years later I'm very happy working here at SMIC

(Today was our last day of work; I'll spend this summer prepping for my classes next year -- AP Stats, and regular and honors physics -- as well preparing the official regulations regarding the use of our school's astronomical observatory.)

yu888 - June 29, 2007 - 10:32 AM
Post subject:

Thanks Micah, very very thorough!

jkahv - Sep 05, 2007 - 01:56 AM
Post subject: Moving to Shanghai soon (hopefully!)

Glad I found this website and forum!! I enjoyed reading all the posts on this topic.

The SMIC Private School was recommended by the employer of my husband because it's less expensive. My husband is leaving for Puxi soon. We are from California and our children (in K and 5th grade) attend a public school.

I've heard (online) a lot about SMIC School and think that it should be a good choice for my family. We definitely can't afford a US$20K+/year private school!

My children and I will join my husband in Shanghai when the children are admitted to an international school. I hope this will happen before the second semester begins but I'm concerned about SMIC's long waiting list and the complicated procedural requirements (of all private schools.)

Do you know, for SMIC School,...

1. How long, in average, is the wait? A semester, a year, two years?

2. How difficult is the entrance exam? My children are doing OK at school (the 5th grader is a GATE student) and their standardized test scores are good but I often heard comments about American elementary schools teaching too little. How can I help my children prepare for the interview and the written test for their school application?

3. How did you handle the "Confidential Admissions Survey" that's part of the application package? Did your child's teacher fill the form out and send it directly to the admission office overseas? Did you bring it along when you submit the application in person?

4. Other than the fees that are listed on their website, is there any hidden cost that I should be aware of? Someone told me that a private school's waiting list isn't a concern as long as you have money (which we don't.) Is this the case with SMIC as well? How much a donation and how often are parents expected to give?

Sorry about the long questions! It'd be very helpful if you could share your experience or thought!

Thank you!

speaker - Sep 05, 2007 - 11:35 PM
Post subject:

StMichael wrote:

person wrote:

First of all, the food is very very bad and most of my classmates don't even eat lunch.

Ha! Oh how I understand! But if your principal eats it, then you jolly well can eat it too, my dear!

Really?
You should throughly understand our principal first.
By throughly I don't mean saying a 'hi' to him, I mean knowing him.

I don't get how he became a principal; he can't even speak english properly.

StMichael - Sep 11, 2007 - 11:05 PM
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Hmm...how do you define speaking English properly? The ability to hold an intelligible conversation? Or must he have a Bronx accent, or perhaps use Received Pronunciation or Queen's English? Perhaps I don't know him as well as a member of staff, but I have carried on a conversation longer than a "hi" with him.

As an educator and manager myself, I know of many talented Math teachers or French teachers who cannot speak English "properly" (I suspect that's what you were referring to). If that makes them any less of an educator, then I have nothing to say.

Dextrum - Sep 12, 2007 - 09:57 PM
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I heard a lot about SMIC.they all said its a very good school but also very difficult to get in. is that true? i mean for a 6 years old?

sbergman - Oct 16, 2007 - 10:45 PM
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My children are at SMIC and, overall, we are happy. My kids chose SMIC themselves because they liked that they could take Chinese five days a week and that they would have more exposure to local kids than at some of the international schools. We were pleased that this was the criteria they were using and VERY pleased at the price as we are not here on a package. The bus service was also very welcome.

Overall we have found the teachers to be great. We love the mix of nationalities, that the kids socialize without regard to nationality, and that they don't seem to be status conscious.

My only caveats would be that SMIC has a reputation for assigning more homework than some of the other international schools (I don't know if this is true, in fact). The Christian aspect (noted above) took us by a bit of a surprise. We had been looking forward to a break from the religiousness of where we live and are a little dismayed to be having our children doing Christmas pageants at school. It would have been nice if there had been a little more disclosure of this aspect of the school. The bus schedule has prevented my child from being able to participate in team sports but they are starting activities during the final period of the day which will be nice. My only real complaint would be the SMIC website which is never up-to-date (seems ironic for a school associated with a high tech company) but the school sends home many paper communications.

I think it is an excellent value. (Do be aware that in addition to tuition, you will pay extra for bus service, books, Western lunches, and some activities. Probably about $1500/child over the course of the year.)

jkahv - Oct 17, 2007 - 08:44 AM
Post subject: To: sbergman

May I ask how long your children are in the school bus one way? Do you and family live close to Zhangjian Hi Tech Park where the SMIC school is located?

My husband and I would love to have our children attend SMIC but this school seems very far away. He works in Puxi and we were wondering how bad the commute would be if we choose to live closer to the school IF our kids could get in.

Were your children on their waiting list? I (and many other parents) have heard that it's hard to get in as more and more families are interested in the SMIC School.

Thank you!

sbergman - Oct 17, 2007 - 07:38 PM
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We live close to the Science Museum. My children get on the bus at 7:20 a.m. for school at 8. I thought it would seem long to them but they don't seem to mind - they either sleep or do homework on the way. I know that there is one child on their bus who is coming from Puxi (near Fudan). When we've taken a taxi to school it has taken about 20 minutes (maybe a little more if it was the morning commute).

We were not on a wait list. We applied last January and had no trouble getting in. I'm beginning to wonder why, though, as several people have told us that they'd heard it was hard to get in or that they have children on the waitlist. It could be a little "affirmative action" - our children are native English speakers and their white faces qualify them as minorities at SMIC. Or maybe we just got lucky on the grade slots we needed.

Feel free to PM me if you need more info.

jkahv - Oct 22, 2007 - 11:37 PM
Post subject: TO: sbergman

Thanks again! I plan to visit the SMIC School in late November and ask them about the waitlist (among many other questions.) My children are native English speakers but we don't look Western and their "affirmative action" (if any) may not apply to us Wink

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