Western International School of Shanghai Announces Opening

Shanghai’s newest international school is now enrolling for September, 2006

April 10, 2006 (Shanghai) – Western International School of Shanghai (WISS) announces the start of enrollment for classes beginning this September. WISS will open phase I of its campus for Nursery School (half day) through Third Grade for this upcoming 2006-2007 school year.

Lead by Dr. Alfonso Orsini, who earned his Doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University and has served as Principal and International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Coordinator at Newark Academy in Livingston, New Jersey as well as Headmaster at Leysin American School in Switzerland, the school is exploring implementation of the full IB program from Primary Years Program (PYP) to Diploma.

“We love the inquiry approach of the Primary Years Program,” says Orsini, “because we don’t think it is feasible in this day and age to pin your work on any one national curriculum. As inquirers ourselves, we have been researching best practices in places like Finland, Japan, and Hong Kong that perform best in international comparisons. And we have looked closely at literacy programs in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. We want our students to grow and succeed according to global educational standards.” To complement the international best practices foundation, WISS is recruiting extremely experienced and qualified teachers from around the world.

WISS will offer not only an intensive English language program but also a thorough exposure to Chinese language, culture, and society. Admission Director Leslie Tam, an IB diploma earner herself and graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, notes, “International schools are often seen as enclaves isolated from the host community. To insure that our students get a thorough exposure to the language and culture of China, we will adopt the model of two certified teachers – one Western, one Chinese – in every classroom, a model that has been successfully adopted in two way immersion programs throughout the United States and other countries.”

Tam, herself bilingual in English and Chinese, continued, “One of the reasons I am able to work here is due to all those Chinese language classes while growing up in the States. Having a real understanding of both western and Chinese cultures has allowed me to work comfortably in both environments.”

The Board of Directors has enlisted the expertise of a world-class advisory board. Dr. Cheng Yan Davis, Advisory Board Chair, is Vice Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and head of International Programs at the University. Dr. Jerome Murphy, Harold Howe II Professor of Education at Harvard University, was Dean of Harvard’s GSE from 1992-2001. Dr. Rebecca Maynard is University Trustee Professor of Education and Social Policy at U Penn’s GSE. Dr. John DeFlamnis is Head of the Penn Center for Educational Leadership. John Yip is the former Director General of Education in Singapore and founding CEO of the Singapore Institute of Management.

The facilities, located 10 minutes from Hongqiao Airport and convenient to a number of housing villas, were designed by well-known European architectural firm Weimar Architects AG, and cover 80,000 sq. meters of campus, surrounded by a slow-moving river. Spacious 170 sq. meter classrooms in the inaugural building feature state-of-the-art facilities. The finished campus will include three gymnasiums, a fitness room dance studio, a science lab building, swimming pool, track with soccer field, computer labs, music rooms as well as 2d and 3d art studios. Total investment in the school exceeds $30 million USD. Phase II of the campus will include live-in dormitories as the school is expanded to Grade 13.

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Contact information
Western International School of Shanghai
Le Chambord Villas Clubhouse
No. 99, Lian Min Road, 2nd Floor
Xujing Town, Qing Pu District
Shanghai, PRC 201702
Office Phone: 86-21-6976-6388
Office Mobile: 86-136-6189-8631
Fax: 86-21-6976-6833
Email: admission@wiss.cn


Media contact
Adsmith China
Phone: (+86 21) 6320 2932
shelly@adsmithchina.com

This release was published on openPR.