Parent's Review of Shanghai Livingston American School in Shanghai, China

What is the name of your child's school? (Please report on one school per survey.)

Shanghai Livingston American School

In what town or city is this school located?

Shanghai

How would you describe this school? (i.e. American, British, International, Local, etc.)

American

What grade levels are represented at this school?

Nursery- 12

How do most children get to school everyday? (bus, train, walk, etc.)

Children use all modes of transport to get to school.

How would you describe the facilities at this school? What extra-curricular activities are available?

The facilities are run down and old. They usually just repaint the rooms in the summer, and only that if the walls look bad. There's basketball and some other sports available for afterschool. There's also some craft classes and random classes that teachers request to teach.

What has this school done to help your child transition from the curriculum in your home country into the curriculum in your new country? Are there programs to prepare your child for repatriation?

The school doesn't adequately prepare children for the future. Most students leave before middle school because the facilities are no where near comparison to other schools in the same price category. And out of the 10-15 graduates from the school, most of them aren't actually qualified for graduation on graduation day. There are not any programs to prepare children for repatriation. There aren't also any programs to help children transition into the country.

How would you describe the social activities available for parents through this school? Are there parent-teacher organizations?

There is a PTA for parents. However, it is not like the PTA in America. Teachers are not involved in the PTA. Parents who are involved in the PTA are scared to give honest opinions for fear of being targeted by the administration. The parents who hold the true power are the ones who speak Chinese and don't discuss issues with the principal. They just talk straight with the owner of the school, who is Taiwanese.

What advice would you give to someone considering enrolling their child in this school?

Look for other schools in the area. The tuition cost of the school doesn't truly reflect how much it cost. The school individually charges for every small thing outside of tuition. My child's first year at the school, we had to pay for uniforms, MAPS testing, field trips, performances, lunch, workbooks, technology fee (internet) and bus. All of these charges started to add up being outside of the actual tuition cost which doesn't seem to include anything.

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