Yup...otherwise I'd be saying that I'm a poorer teacher than my SAS counterparts !

Right on target ! Because you wouldn't want people to consider that just because the fees in singapore International is about 40% lower than the american international schools, so therefore the quality of education is half as good. But then again, no one really knows the true reality of the quality standards

That's right! Until you get to hear from other parents, or experience it for yourselves! And even then we find ourselves getting our fair share of praises and brickbats...

St Michael,
we really liked Shanghai Singapore International School, and in fact, we almost enrolled our daughter there. The only drawback for us was that there is no Pudong campus. Do you have any plans to open a campus in Pudong? When?

Pudong campus is highly unlikely. The Xuhui campus (just across the Xupu bridge) is already drawing pupils from Pudong, and our boss has just invested plenty of money to build the new campus in Minhang. By the time he thinks of building a campus in Pudong...well...you'll probably have gone back to your home country!

emselst wrote:Another option not mentioned before is Shanghai United Bilingual School (aka Xiehe Bilingual School aka Shanghai United International School) - it is a Chinese school with a International track in Hongqiao and they are talking about opening a campus in Pudong in the next year. They have a low teacher student ratio (9:1) because they have a Chinese native speaker and English native speaker teaching every class. They also offer pullouts for CSL and ESL so the kids have the opportunity to catch up with their peers if they aren't fluent in both or either. It is an IB school. And much lower price than it's big name counterparts.

Hi Emselst,
Pls could you give me more info about the Shanghai United Bilingual School. Do they have a website so that I search it for more details. Thanks a lot.

Shanghai United School Websites are at:

http://suis.xieheedu.com/lms/

and

http://www.xieheedu.com/index.htm

Unfortunately, I have to disagree about Livingston. I thought the small classes, nice environment & reasonable tuition fee was a plus when I registered my kids last Fall but ended up taking them back to the US after only enroled in class for two months bc my son & daughter (7 and 4 at that time)were the only native English speaker among ALL Korean speakers. They had to boot my kids two grade levels up and they learned nothing, infact, fell behind when they entered school back home in CA. I was also told when I first registered at their school that they were accredited by the US bc they used an American curriculum, but was misinformed when I contacted the US accreditation association directly. The staff and teachers are very sweet, though I found that they are very young & inexperienced. During a parent conference, I spoke with my daughter's kinder/1st grade teacher who was a new graduate from the US, she told me she couldn't wait til her contract was up in a year when she had only been in Shanghai for one month! So I expect the turnaround rate of the teaching staff must be often.

On another note, has anyone ever heard of the Xiehe Chinese/International School in Hongqiao???

patriciaychou wrote:On another note, has anyone ever heard of the Xiehe Chinese/International School in Hongqiao???

patriciaychou,
look at the last 5 or so posts, and there is lots of info about Xiehe/Shanghai United Bilingual School/Shanghai United International School

What does SMIC stand for????

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation
The school started as a school for SMIC employees: http://www.smics.com/SmicSchool/mission.htm

Thanks "tnmom" - all these acronyms flying around!!

Thanks "emselst" for the info and I will look into seeing other posts on Xiehe.

montessori school of shanghai is the best to me. I am a mother of a child of 3 years old and my daughter does enjoy her schools in MSS and also I am pretty satisfied with it due to its philosophy and I can tell it is the only authetic montessori school in shanghai. I do appreciate what they offer and this is the best gift I can give to my child I think.

Ok....so where is this montessori school in Pudong?

just a little thought, the schools that charge the highest fees dont always have the best packages for teachers as they may be driven by shareholder input rather than educational input. some schools are run as purely profit making enterprises for large companies with their fingers in many areas of business. as education is a growth industry and large amounts of money can be made in very short spaces of time my advice would be to look for schools that have been around for a long time and have proven track records. it is important to rember that if you are here for short term stays maybe less than 2 years, your children will have to attend a school that will have a curriculum simiar to the next place they will go to allow for continuity otherwise they may end up repeating some things and missing others

patriciaychou wrote:Thanks "emselst" for the info and I will look into seeing other posts on Xiehe.

Just wanted to let you all know we ended up going with Shanghai United Bilingual School (SUIS/SUBS/Xiehe) in Hongqiao (Puxi side), even though it is quite a commute for our daughter. They will be opening a campus on the other side of the river near Jinqiao (Pudong side) next summer. So, one year of bus rides, but I think it is worth it.

For those of you trying to decide which school is right, let me just say a few things from experience (Much more experience than I would have preferred!):

* Try to find a school as close to the working parent's office. Be very open and consider all options (International Schools, Bilingual Schools, Local Schools, and homeschooling). The simpler your life here the better. (I wish ours could have been!)

* After you find your school, THEN choose where to live. In our case, we are all commuting for 9 months before we can move because we did this the other way around.

* Do NOT choose a school based soley on their website. In some cases the websites are very far from true, and in others, the websites don't even show you how good a place really is. You need to GO SEE any school you are considering, and make sure it is during school hours. And talk talk talk to the teachers, students, staff. At Chinese local schools in particular, make sure you are dropping in unannounced to get a real feel for what it is like.

* Question the high prices at the International Schools, and don't be afraid to ask for tuition reductions/ financial aid/ (discounts!) These schools are making a lot of money, and they are not Harvard (no one is leaving with a degree, that's for sure!!)

* As per bilingual schools, be very aware that there are 3 main approaches to a Chinese/English bilingual education:

1. Chinese with ESL (English as a second language) - We didn't want full immersion in the Chinese program because our daughter (a native English speaker) would have 1-2 hours of ESL classes everyday. Of course, one school told us they would move her to a higher class, but then she would have been in English class with children 3+ years older than her - not appropriate for a 1st grader. However, if your child does not speak English OR Chinese, this is probably a good option. ($2000 per year, and less)

2. English with Chinese classes - For us this didn't put enough emphasis on Chinese. We plan to live here for 5+ years, and having Chinese language skills is very important to us. This may be a good option for those students only living here for 1-3 years. But again, only if your on a nice expat package, because these are extremely expensive. ($21,000 and up)

3. 50-50 English and Chinese - for us, this was the best option. In our daughter's school, they have 1 Chinese teacher and 1 English teacher for every class all day. This is really special, and it's at a much lower price than any other schools.. They put a lot of emphasis on creativity, and individual progress... And it's an IB school. Unfortunately, for now, SUIS is the only school quite like it, but I can see that this is definitly the future for schools here in Shanghai. As expat packages thin out, there will be more and more demand for places that offer quality without the ludicrous prices. ($8,000 per year, approx)

: )
Just wanted to say thank you, to all of you on this website that have added opinions, and I hope this info I'm providing is helpful to others too! Please ask questions on this post, rather than sending a message, I'm watching this forum, so I'll see your questions/comments.

Hi, does Shanghai United Bilingual School have a website? I can't seem to find it..

Yes, It's at:

http://suis.xieheedu.com

Can anyone give a comment on Shanghai Singapore International School (SSIS) ?

maba wrote:Can anyone give a comment on Shanghai Singapore International School (SSIS) ?

Uh...what kind of comments are you looking for? The official statements can be found at the website www.ssis.cn. I write on my experiences with the school at my blog www.senseimichael.com.

Thks toogreen. I am checking it out..

deleted.. no longer relevant.

I want to know how about the BISS (PUXI).

there is no comment here on scis (shanghai community international school). anyone out there have kids that attend scis. would love to here some input

My husband will be working in Pudong next year. Could anyone let me know how far the SMIC school is from the more central parts of Pudong? How long does it take to get there by school bus? It looks pretty far out on the map, and pretty isolated. Also, is there a good local kindergarten nearby? I'm not keen to put my 3 year-old in school from 8.30am to 4pm! Thanks in advance.

My daughter attends SCIS Hongqiao campus. This is her first year and she's very happy there, aside from one teenage-girl sort of issue that I hope will soon be resolved. In fact, she would like to stay there until she graduates, but we'll be going back to our home country long before then. It's very international, as are many of the schools, has small classes, enthusiastic teachers, American curriculum, ESOL for non-English speakers, choice of 3 languages at present (Mandarin, French, Spanish), and they are building a new facility next-door to the old one. At present the school goes through 9th grade, but they have been adding a year as each class is promoted. I understand that the Changning campus (elementary only) is well-liked, and has the advantage of being very close to the Jiangsu Lu metro stop.

emselst wrote:

patriciaychou wrote:Thanks "emselst" for the info and I will look into seeing other posts on Xiehe.

Just wanted to let you all know we ended up going with Shanghai United Bilingual School (SUIS/SUBS/Xiehe) in Hongqiao (Puxi side), even though it is quite a commute for our daughter. They will be opening a campus on the other side of the river near Jinqiao (Pudong side) next summer. So, one year of bus rides, but I think it is worth it.

For those of you trying to decide which school is right, let me just say a few things from experience (Much more experience than I would have preferred!):

* Try to find a school as close to the working parent's office. Be very open and consider all options (International Schools, Bilingual Schools, Local Schools, and homeschooling). The simpler your life here the better. (I wish ours could have been!)

* After you find your school, THEN choose where to live. In our case, we are all commuting for 9 months before we can move because we did this the other way around.

* Do NOT choose a school based soley on their website. In some cases the websites are very far from true, and in others, the websites don't even show you how good a place really is. You need to GO SEE any school you are considering, and make sure it is during school hours. And talk talk talk to the teachers, students, staff. At Chinese local schools in particular, make sure you are dropping in unannounced to get a real feel for what it is like.

* Question the high prices at the International Schools, and don't be afraid to ask for tuition reductions/ financial aid/ (discounts!) These schools are making a lot of money, and they are not Harvard (no one is leaving with a degree, that's for sure!!)

* As per bilingual schools, be very aware that there are 3 main approaches to a Chinese/English bilingual education:

1. Chinese with ESL (English as a second language) - We didn't want full immersion in the Chinese program because our daughter (a native English speaker) would have 1-2 hours of ESL classes everyday. Of course, one school told us they would move her to a higher class, but then she would have been in English class with children 3+ years older than her - not appropriate for a 1st grader. However, if your child does not speak English OR Chinese, this is probably a good option. ($2000 per year, and less)

2. English with Chinese classes - For us this didn't put enough emphasis on Chinese. We plan to live here for 5+ years, and having Chinese language skills is very important to us. This may be a good option for those students only living here for 1-3 years. But again, only if your on a nice expat package, because these are extremely expensive. ($21,000 and up)

3. 50-50 English and Chinese - for us, this was the best option. In our daughter's school, they have 1 Chinese teacher and 1 English teacher for every class all day. This is really special, and it's at a much lower price than any other schools.. They put a lot of emphasis on creativity, and individual progress... And it's an IB school. Unfortunately, for now, SUIS is the only school quite like it, but I can see that this is definitly the future for schools here in Shanghai. As expat packages thin out, there will be more and more demand for places that offer quality without the ludicrous prices. ($8,000 per year, approx)

: )
Just wanted to say thank you, to all of you on this website that have added opinions, and I hope this info I'm providing is helpful to others too! Please ask questions on this post, rather than sending a message, I'm watching this forum, so I'll see your questions/comments.

Dear emselst,

How do you feel SUBS(Shanghai United Bilingual School" now? I'm also looking for the school for my kids who are 5years old and 2years old. I'm appreciate to get your comments. Thanks.

Hi I'm reading this very informative blog; and it happens that nobody speaks about RBIS (Rainbow bridge international school), this was first a kindergarten, and a very good one I might say. But since 2004 they also have the elementary school, is not as pricey as the other international schools.I agree is kind of new; but is IN the SHanghai ZOO in gubei hong qiao area, so the emphasis on science is strong. I've been in China for 8 + years teaching; and this school is one that looks promising: Is small if you compare to the other big international schools; but compensate for the effort to have individualized education, it is worth a visit.

Hi. I was wondering which school would be a better choice: SUIS or SMIC? How much of a difference is there regarding the annual tuition of each school? I don't think I can afford the other schools like SAS or SCIS, so it seems (quality wise) the best choices would be these.

Any suggestions?