feedback on Singapore American School

[vicandpat]

Hello,
My husband is threatening to move us to Singapore in a month (!!!?) and I am interested in finding anyone who might know about the Singapore American School - meaning, parent feedback or reputation, not just the website. Anyone with info?
Thank you very much.
Victoria

[sundaymorningstaple]

Have you done a search of this forum? Lots of information here. One strong promoter here is "road.not.taken" who figures that it's the only school worth going to if you are an American.

Lots of other good schools here as well so do a read of this forum while waiting for someone to respond. If you have a specific question it will be more likely to be answered as general questions like your current one have been answered multiple time already.

And yes, it's a very good school. Not something that I'd send my kids to, but a good school none-the-less. If you are only going to be here for a year or two it's probably the best bet but not necessarily if you are going to be here long term like I was.

[Blue Sapphire]

sundaymorningstaple, its good that you mentioned about the long term part. What is your opinion on that?

We are expats here and looking into schools. So far we have only looked at International Schools but also considering any local good schools but dont really know much on that side. We will be here long term.

[road.not.taken]

Hello,
My husband is threatening to move us to Singapore in a month (!!!?) and I am interested in finding anyone who might know about the Singapore American School - meaning, parent feedback or reputation, not just the website. Anyone with info?
Thank you very much.
Victoria

I can probably answer any specific questions you might have you via Private Message (once you've made five posts). I can tell you in general terms the reputation is excellent, considered one of the the best International Schools in the world. The facilities are top notch, its student body is extremely diverse and the focus is on not only academics but community service and character building as well. It is certainly a good fit for our family and has far exceeded our expectations on most counts. There are other options around Singapore including other notable International Schools -- unfortunately most have waiting lists. Good luck.

[vicandpat]

Hello, all.
Thank you so much for your replies. I am extremely distressed right now as my husband's employer has asked him to relocate within a month. We have an entire household to move, and the most important issue to me is my daughter's schooling.
To Sundaymorning Staple, Thank you for the reply! I am wondering why you made a sort of side comment about 'not necessarily [the right school for you]' with regards to long-term versus a couple of years. Why would the length of time influence your view of the school?
To Road.Not.Taken, I was happy to hear about your positive view of the school (actually, any view is valuable to me), I would love to be able to write/chat at some time once I have collected my wits !!! I hope this will take a couple of days and not years! Because the hardest part now will be to find a school, any school, much less the right one, that has a space for her.
It comes down to the fact that I will not move if I cannot find the right school for her! Please note that I am almost hysterical right now.
Thank you and please continue to provide your thoughts!

[sundaymorningstaple]

To Sundaymorning Staple, Thank you for the reply! I am wondering why you made a sort of side comment about 'not necessarily [the right school for you]' with regards to long-term versus a couple of years. Why would the length of time influence your view of the school?

There was absolutely nothing snide about it. I even stated that the SAS is a very good school. I even mention road.not.taken as probably being the strongest stalwart one this forum with that regard.
r.n.t and I don't always see eye-to-eye but I respect her views from her point of view.

From my point of view as a 26 year veteran of Singapore and having raised two of my own children here from birth to adulthood (the youngest is now 18) I sent them through the local education system which has done them absolutely no harm at all. In fact. I reckon it's done them a world of good as well as having them grow up completely bilingual from day one in Kindergarten through their O levels in three Languages, English, Mandarin & singlish. I was here for the long term so it didn't make any sense trying to keep my children in a system that caters for an educational level of the average school in the US when a fair number of US schools are trying to adopt Singapore methods of teaching and textbooks in order to be able to even compete on an international level in Maths & Science.

Sure there are reasons to go the other route. As you will undoubtedly learn from r.n.t. At least you will be able, if you take the time, to make an informed choice. You may also want to do a search for a American/Canadian regular here by the nick of 'boffenl' as she also opted to go the local route instead of the International School route. Each has their distinct advantages and neither has and edge on the other. The balance of power may well be the age of your children as well. If they are teenagers then by all means, keep them out of the local schools as they probably couldn't compete on an age for age level unless they are in the 97th percentile. The balance will be tipped one way or the other by your children's needs in the future in this global marketplace. Hopefully any decision you make will be with 'their' best interests in mind.

Good luck on you difficult move to Singapore - one month is extremely difficult especially with kids in tow.......

[road.not.taken]

SMS, the OP said 'side' comment, not 'snide'. Watch that hair trigger

vicandpat, I would ask your husband's company for an opportunity to come and assess Singapore (housing, schools, etc...) before you make any big decisions.

[vicandpat]

Hi SundayMorningStaple,
Thanks again, and oh, no, I did not want to imply at all that you were being unkind or snide. I even hesitated in how to word my question, but I really did want to understand your underlying thoughts and how you approached the whole process, what your considerations were. I really am stuck, since as you may already have intuited, I know little to nothing about the schools or the school systems or culture at this point.
I really feel that I have almost no time to do the type of research or preparation I would ideally do, and feel I am flying blind. The company has provided a relocation consultant who told us to send an application into the SAS as soon as possible on an 'emergency' basis. One of the requirements was that the child have no special needs or requirements. This disturbed me, as it tells me the school has no interest in assisting special cases or talents for that matter. (My child has no 'special needs' I know of)
I have a real leaning towards a more progressive school that caters to the individual child's personality, small class size, nurturing environment etc. I am feeling this is terribly difficult to find, as the school I have her in here in SF has been very disappointing in this regard. (Looking for automatons who fit the mold, probably kick out kids who test poorly, rather than try different techniques to actually teach).
What I was looking for was for anyone to volunteer thoughts/knowledge about the lay of the land, as I know so many people must already have done a ton of legwork in the school decision.
I have taken your suggestion and started trolling the forum for school info, but I am also terrible at surfing... I will also lookup the member you mentioned, and perhaps will try to continue chatting with R.N.T. I just want to get a better idea of options at this late date. I am starting to feel I am not going to try for an August start, at least my child is in a 'good' school this coming year.
Again, thank you so very much for your responses and advice, it is really helpful and supportive. More soon, I hope!
Victoria

[vicandpat]

R.N.T. Thank you so much for your response, I didn't even realize that SMS might have thought I meant 'snide' rather than 'side' comment! I really would like to hear about experiences and what drove people's processes in choosing a school. I'd also like to hear about what the local buzz is on various education options.
The company has indeed offered a pre-move expedition trip, but I am told SAS's school year begins mid-August which would give us about 4 weeks to tour, review options, get passports for both kids. My younger is 1.5 years old and has never been away from us, and I am really distressed about the long flight, the disruption and schedule shock both kids will have. I simply don't think there is enough time to make best use of a preliminary trip, which is why I am hoping this community can let loose about possibilities.
The facilities at SAS are a big draw for me, but you can't find out about how it really is unless you talk to people who have been there. Going crazy! But I hope to get a hold of myself and get down to business in the next couple of days. Please do share more of your experiences, if possible!?
Best,

[sundaymorningstaple]

I really must get new reading glasses!

Thanks r.n.t. I really saw snide not side this morning. Guess it's time to get a newer pair. Considering my distanct vision is still 20/20 at almost 61, I can no longer figure out what the date is on my watch or for that matter the numerals on the dial.

I though maybe I came across in my normal tactless style and somebody else was calling me out on it.

Sorry.

[road.not.taken]

Sorry.

No worries.

V&P, Take a deep breath. Your 18 month will do fine without you and remember that if you decide to move to Singapore, you'll likely get yourself a part-time or live-in maid, a nice benefit of living in Singapore with small children.

Regarding SAS:

The relocation person gave you incomplete advice, there are plenty of kids with a wide range of special needs at SAS. It doesn't look like a public school in the US though, because parents of children with a broader range of learning differences or physcal difficulties tend to not take expat assignments. There are also other specialized schools in Singapore which cater to more serious difficulties. In the old days (and not so old days), parents had to lie about mild learning difficulties to get their children into any International School in the region.

Definitely a whole child approach with less emphasis on rote learning.

Extra curriculuar activities which broaden the child's experiences are encouraged. While it is difficult to generalize, kids spend more time at scouts, art classes, band, community service and sports after school then additional tutoring.

Foreign language is literally taught in every grade level. My kids take French and Mandarin.

The curriculum is American with an international emphasis. The student body is highly diverse as are the teachers. The goal of the school is to provide an exemplary education not to recreate an average American school in the US.

It is considered academically very strong, but not necessarily a math & science power house. Having said that, my daughter has taken advantage of the advanced math and science classes and still manages to take Art, play a musical instrument and pursue a foreign language.

Class sizes are capped, which is why there are small class sizes and unfortunately a waiting list.

There is a very strong bond between school and parents which you can take advantage of or not. There are dozens and dozens of ways to be involved through volunteering, either with all year jobs or the one-off field trip chaperone, it's totally up to you, but the atmosphere is welcoming. No matter what your skill set, or how much time you have to spare, you are welcome to help out and stay as involved as you wish.

Hope this helps. And just to clarify: I certainly don't think SAS is the only school worth attending if you are American. It happens to be our top choice, by far. I have friends who loved UWC, and other that rave about OFS, the German school, etc... Any expat I know who had kids in the local system pulled them out. Granted, not a large number, but 100%.

[sundaymorningstaple]

It's a shame you don't "know" me. Then it wouldn't be 100% would it.

[daytripper65]

Hello Victoria,

I've only recently made the move to Singapore with my children, so I can't offer much insight into the different school systems. Although I would not recommend the one we chose for our kids, but today is only day 2, so I'm going to give it a chance (not much choice anyway )

What I did want to share was my experience moving here. My husband has been here for the past 5 years, at first 20% of the time, now up to 80%. There are many reasons that factored into my decision and delay to move over here, but when I finally did decide, it took a year in my circumstance (selling a single family house in a crap housing market, buying a multi-family to keep a unit available for us travelling back, selling the car, taking the kids out of a school I loved, etc.) to get things settled enough to leave.

Making this kind of move with kids within a month is possible, but it won't be easy. I know it may not seem enticing to stay back for a year and wait it out, but I just wanted to say that this situation served us well for those years, very well It does take a different kind of attitude at first, but I would not rule it out.

In any case, don't panic. There are schools without waiting lists you can get your daughter into while waiting for one of the more reputable ones (if that's your choice), including some great local schools as mentioned. Look at us, we had 5 years to prepare (there were no waitlists then as I recall, these really crept up on us). We were on the wait list for the UWC, removed their names, chose another school we now regret, and are now back at square one .

Good luck in whatever decisions you make!

[Forks]

chose another school we now regret, and are now back at square one .

what school was that if you dont mind me asking?

[boffenl]

Great thread! Hello again all. I'm the US/Canadian who opted for a local school for my Primary 1/First Grader. I work at a University in the south-west, so going all the way to Woodlands up north for SAS was not an option. We looked at three International Schools and three local schools. I was absolutely stunned by the amazing facilitied at the local schools. My daughter attends Pei Tong Primary school which just opened it's new building--amazing library, computer lab, science lab and math center.

My husband and I are stunned at her math ability and reading level. She also has Mandarin everyday. We made a great choice for our daughter, as we didn't come all the way to Singapore for her to have an "American" experience. For that we would have stayed "home". Her class is on the large size with 27 kids, but my aunt who teaches at a school in Baltimore has a 4th grade class with 29.

So, go check out the schools. It will be difficult to get into a local school now as I think ballotting has finished. Check out the Ministry of Education website (www.moe.sg I think) and click on Primary 1 exercise or something like that. I didn't catch how old your children are, but good luck! We also really liked Learning Vision for kindergarten for our daughter--they have "outlets" islandwide.