Section+A+Philosophy

The school
 * Section A: philosophy **
 * 1. What processes are in place to revise the school’s philosophy/mission statement? How do you ensure it is aligned with the IBO mission statement? **

The SAS mission statement was amended in April 2005 and the SAS vision statement was adopted in May 2006. The SAS community, including parents, students, teachers, administration, support staff and board, drafted the core values through the year, the board revised and adopted them in April 2007.

This process involved parents, faculty and staff, administration and board members working together to envision the future of the school, to set priorities to achieve that vision and develop a road map for the immediate future priorities of the community. These groups participated in retreats which involved training and thorough discussion of Shanghai American School's values and goals.

Not only is the SAS mission statement aligned with the IBO mission statement our SAS EAGLES are very aligned with the IB learner profile. The next review of the SAS mission statement will be 2012 and again representation from the IB coordinator and IB teachers will ensure alignment with the IB mission.
 * 2. By what means is the school philosophy/mission statement and the IBO’s mission statement promoted to the whole school community?**

The vision and mission statements are available and accessible in many areas around the school, for example, posters on classroom walls, the curriculum and professional development handbook, the school website, Atlas Rubicon and other school publications. The IB mission statement, and IB learner profile are presented to all IB diploma students during IB retreats and in course guides. There are also posters on key bulletin boards and ToK classrooms. 3. By what means does the school promote international-mindedness throughout the school community? **

International mindedness is promoted by the fact that all students from grades 6-10 have the chance to travel and explore China through our China Alive program. In addition there are numerous international school sponsored trips (eg: Habitat for Humanity, skiing in Europe, language/culture trips)

In addition to the privilege of being able to experience other countries & cultures first hand our students are encouraged to broaden their horizons through our many school sponsored internationally minded clubs such as Amnesty International, Teens Act for Aids, Roots & Shoots, etc. The international mindedness of our students was evident when the representatives of our various HS service clubs grouped together to coordinate school wide relief efforts in response to the recent Haiti Earthquake disaster.

The school hosts an annual International Fair which is a full day community wide event that celebrates the various cultures represented by the students of our school.

In addition we promote international mindedness in our students by inviting colleges from all over the world to visit our campus. This combined with our counselor’s extensive knowledge of international college admissions processes results in our students completing post-secondary education all over the world.


 * The standards and practices **

The numbers 1 to 4 (1=low degree of implementation & 4=high degree of implementation) were used to ease conversation amongst departments. Numbers displayed below are not a numerical average but rather a representation of consensus reached after group discussion. **
 * PLEASE NOTE:

**Standard A1 There is close alignment between the educational beliefs and values of the school and those of the programme.** **Shows satisfactory development**


 * **Practice** || **Degree of Implementation** || **Evidence** ||
 * 1. The school is committed to the principles defined in the IBO mission statement. || 3 || SAS mission statement is evident in countless ways. (Mission statement link below) For example: Thanksgiving holiday dinner, MUN, international festival, SAS mission statement, habitat, China Alive, ToK class, variety of teacher background ||
 * 2. The school is committed to developing in students the qualities, attitudes and characteristics described in the IB learner profile. || 4 || EAGLES, philosophy of activities office, SAS Vision of learning ||
 * 3. There are clear and close connections between the school’s published statements of mission and philosophy, and the beliefs and values of the programme. || 4 || EAGLES very similar to learner profile, mission statement ||
 * 4. The beliefs and values that drive the programme are shared by all sections of the school community (including students, teachers, administrators, members of the governing body and others, as appropriate). || 2.5 || Data showing activity contribution ||
 * 5. The school is committed to continuous improvement. || 4 || PD budget (especially IB, and bringing consultants), high number of teachers with master's degrees (as stated in2009 WASC report, SAS vision for learning, commitment to a one-to-one laptop program, support of teacher Masters Program ||
 * 6. The school promotes student inquiry and the development of critical-thinking skills. || 3 || Science department philosophy, vision and the S of EAGLES, IAs, forensics, MUN ||
 * 7. The school provides a climate that encourages positive innovation in implementing the philosophy of the programme. || 3 || Administrative support/open door policy, technology program, Opportunity for students to create clubs ||
 * 8. The school promotes concurrency of learning for each student. || 4 || Master course list shows IB classes available to grade 11 & 12 students. ||

Strengths:
 * The statement of conclusions**
 * The schools EAGLES are very similar to the IB learner profile and they are promoted K-12.
 * The school supports many extra curricular programs that promote the values of the IB learner profile


 * **Practice in Need of Strengthening** || **Recommendation** ||
 * 1) In addition to increasing the promotion of the SAS EAGLES, the IB students need to be encouraged to see the connection between the EAGLES and the IB learner profile. || * Re instate the reference to EAGLES in HS assemblies
 * Increase the promotion of the EAGLES and celebrate student achievements (ex: certificates) could EAGLE-lympics have a component related to our EAGLES
 * Display the IB learner profile for example posters in lounges/hallways/classrooms
 * During the IB senior & junior retreat connect IB learner profile & EAGLES ||
 * 2) Need to balance perspectives, work load of different courses || * Continue to remind teachers that students have many courses
 * encourage teachers to give due dates as early as possible so students can plan ahead.
 * develop lessons to teach students how to manage their deadlines & time. Use IB year 2 students to advise IB year 1 students
 * quarterly survey of IB students regarding load ||
 * 3) Increase awareness amongst the IB teachers as to the content of the ToK curriculum so they can better integrate it in their class || * teacher training for all IB teachers about ToK
 * try to create a ToK teaching team from a variety of disciplines ||
 * 4) Pressure for high scores may cause us to not focus on the belief of balance || * Investigate the possibility of a 1 year SL course to help students balance.
 * Investigate on-line learning opportunities ||
 * 5) We have lots of strong programs but they are not always cohesive feel ||  ||

**Standard 2A The school promotes international-mindedness on the part of the adults and the students in the school community.** **Shows satisfactory development**

Haiti Earth quake awareness & relief efforts || In addition there are translators on staff to facilitate communication with families as interpreters. ||
 * **Practice** || **Degree of Implementation** || **Evidence** ||
 * 1. The school values and makes productive use of the diversity of cultures and perspectives that exist in the school and in the local, national and global communities to enhance learning. || 3 || International MUNs, Habitat for Humanity, International Fair, lessons within classrooms relative to other cultures, wide range of International college visits ||
 * 2. The school expects and promotes a commitment to international understanding and responsible citizenship on the part of the adults in the school community. || 1 || While this is an unspoken expectation, there are no school policies to that affect ||
 * 3. The school encourages learning that fosters responsible citizenship and international-mindedness. || 4 || * Students can choose from a wide variety of clubs including: Global issues, MUN, Roots & Shoots, H4H. Examples could be brought forward from all of these clubs. Here is a story about how Roots & Shoots promotes responsible citizenship through carbon neutral travel
 * As to responsible citizenship as a school we have a policy to uphold software laws, won't violate copyright, don't tolerate plagiarism, and our sports & travel programs emphasizes that our athletes are ambassadors in the community (China Alive, Sports ethics) ||
 * 4. The school encourages student learning that strengthens the student’s own cultural identity, and celebrates and fosters understanding of different cultures. || 2 ||  ||
 * 5. The school provides students with opportunities for learning about issues that have local, national and global significance, leading to an understanding of human commonalities. || 4 || community service clubs, celebrate local holidays, China Alive travel programs
 * 6. The school develops a climate of open communication and careful expression of ideas, attitudes and feelings. || 4 || * Students feel comfortable to speak up in class,
 * SAS has a communication task force which demonstrates commitment to open communication.
 * There are frequent teas, networking sessions & forums.
 * All assemblies in the HS are student led
 * There are frequent grade level meetings
 * open-door policy with administration & counselors
 * There is a student newspaper, The Echo ||
 * 7. The school provides resources that offer access to different cultures, perspectives and languages. || 3 || School sponsored language trips, Habitat for Humanity ||
 * 8. The school provides a safe, secure and stimulating environment based on understanding and respect. || 4 || * Tolerance is high at SAS as evidence by the open mixing of students in lounge spaces
 * There is a Gay Straight Alliance Club in high school
 * The campus is a safe guarded environment with access only to SAS community members & guests. ||
 * 9. The school attaches importance to language learning through the development of each student’s mother tongue and the acquisition of other languages, including the host country language. || 3 || A huge effort is made to be able to provide instruction in Chinese, our host language, to as many students as possible. This requires a huge number of course offerings to accommodate the many levels of Chinese proficiency as evidenced in the attached Chinese Flow Chart. ||
 * 10. The school supports members of its community for whom the school’s language of instruction is not their mother tongue. || 3 || SAS translates all major publications into Chinese and Korean.
 * 11. Where possible, the school ensures access to global information and recognizes the potential for wider communication through the availability and use of appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT). || 3 || * One to one laptop program was introduced to grades 7-10 in SY 2009-10, by SY 2010-11 we will be a one-one laptop school from grades 6-12.
 * The school has also invested in other technology purchases including upgrading the school wide infrastructure.
 * This years Edge for Excellence Campaign is focused on upgrading our libraries to become 21st century libraries with an improved digital collection ||
 * 12. The school takes advantage of the international network of IB schools teaching the same programme through e-mail or personal exchanges and attendance at conferences and workshops || 3 || * There is great support for teachers to attend conferences & workshops.In addition the head attended the IB heads conference, our counselors have attended the university recognition conference & the coordinator attend the annual regional conference annually. (see appendix 3)
 * SAS participates in a network of Shanghai area coordinators and hosted one of their meetings (minutes from meeting) ||

Strengths:
 * The statement of conclusions**
 * Students have the opportunity to participate in the China Alive program from grades 6-10
 * The international festival is a joyous community wide celebration involving all sectors of the SAS community and extends to the greater Shanghai community
 * SAS students are very interested and aware of global issues therefore participate in MUN, International Habitat for Humanity trips, and sponsor international charity projects


 * ** Practices in need of strengthening ** || ** Proposals for improvement ** ||
 * 1) Increase our use of the diversity of cultures and perspectives within the community || * small international days could be hosted
 * Student “ethnic day” similar to “red day” UN Day for example
 * More celebration of international festival/holidays. These could be a component of assemblies, or we could decorate for festivals ||
 * 2) mother tongue language could be better supported especially for Korean community || * Investigate the need for IB Korean A1 ||

**Supporting documentation for the evaluation of the Diploma program** 1. The current educational philosophy or mission statement of the school, the date of its adoption, a description of the process used for its review, and how it is promoted within the school 2. An up-to-date school brochure and/or prospectus submitted to parents, with clear reference to the place of the Diploma Programme within the school (parents are also directed to our school website)