2020-2021 SCHOOL PROFILE TAIPEI AMERICAN SCHOOL THE SCHOOL In living our mission, we at Taipei American School support our students to know themselves so that they may choose their path and be prepared to enter a world with confidence, sense of self, and compassion. We are a bridge. Our students begin here, their minds open and eager, their goals and aspirations for the future setting their course. Our community bridges the traditions of the West with the spirit of the East. Our American-based educational program is augmented by a deep respect for learning, development, and achievement. Character education is central; the Honor Committee helps keep the Honor Code a living, relevant part of daily life in the Upper School. Finally, a major initiative across all three divisions of the Taipei American School community is a focus on wellbeing and living a balanced, self-reflective life while working to build, communicate, and LEADERSHIP TEAM celebrate each individual’s unique character strengths. Interim Head of School, Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge [email protected] THE CLASS OF 2021 Upper School Principal, The Class of 2021 is comprised of 187 students; over 15% of them have spent their Mr. Andrew Lowman, entire academic life at Taipei American School. All students hold a foreign passport, [email protected] with the majority holding American citizenship. Each year, 80% of our graduates attend colleges and universities in the United States; the rest enroll in tertiary education around the world, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. COLLEGE COUNSELING TAS students submit an average of just 10 applications for admission. Director of College Counseling, Mrs. Melanie Brennand Hamre, [email protected] 9:1 12 70% 9 82% Student to Average class of Students Hold Length in Years of Upper School AP/IB Coordinator & College Faculty Ratio size in the an American of Average Faculty Hold a Counselor, Mr. Warren Emanuel, Upper School Passport Faculty Tenure Master’s or [email protected] Doctoral Degree College Counselor, Ms. Dabina Gim, COURSE OFFERINGS GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS [email protected] The majority of our students pursue TAS does not rank students. Each College Counselor & College Visit advanced coursework in at least one student must complete 22 credits of Coordinator, Mr. John Gursky, discipline beyond the AP or IB level; required study including: [email protected] approximately 12% of graduates choose College Counselor, to earn the full IB Diploma. English 4.0 credits Ms. Shanice Kok, Every student carries a minimum Mathematics 3.0 credits [email protected] of six courses; four must qualify as core courses (English, History, Science, Science 3.0 credits Mathematics, World Language). All students must take courses in public Social Sciences 3.0 credits ACADEMIC & PERSONAL speaking as well as computer science Foreign Language 3rd year COUNSELING and robotics in order to graduate. proficiency Computer Science & .5 credits Director of Academic & Personal Robotics Counseling and Grade 12 Counselor, 30 49 83 Performing & Visual 1.0 credits Mr. Ryan Haynes AP IB Honors Arts [email protected] Courses Courses Courses Physical Education 2.0 credits Public Speaking 1.0 credits ACCREDITATION 99% 100% Electives 4.5 credits of Students Take of Students take US-based Western Association of at Least One AP courses in public In compliance with the NACAC SPGP: CEPP, in cases where universities require or request, Schools and Colleges (WASC) or IB Course by speaking, computer Graduation science, and the arts TAS reports all suspensions, withdrawals, and Membership in National Association dismissals. of Independent Schools 800 Zhongshan North Road, Section 6, Shilin District, Taipei 11152 Taiwan ROC CEEB #694210 AT A GLANCE WORLD-CLASS FACILITIES SOLOMON WONG TIGER HEALTH & WELLNESS CENTER KEVIN B. HELD BLACK BOX TECH CUBE THEATER A six-story, open planned facility on campus 500 students and faculty use this state-of-the- One of three theaters on campus, the Kevin B. dedicated to STEAM education with a focus on art strength and fitness center each day, with Held Black Box Theater provides an intimate design, technology, and robotics. full-time trainers at hand. performance space. ADVANCED PLACEMENT INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE 450 students wrote 1,019 exams 142 students took 242 exams AP Scholars with Distinction: 144 The average diploma score was 36 SUMMER ACADEMY For over 20 years, the Taipei American School Summer Academy program provided the TAS community for continued academic opportunities over the summer months. Summer 2020 saw an enormous increase in enrollment, with most TAS families remaining in Taiwan. During the program’s two-week or four-week sessions, students have the opportunity for enrichment in core studies, advancement through the curriculum by fulfilling graduation requirements, and the pursuit of passions and interests in new areas. This is not “remedial summer school” in any way. Summer Academy credit courses are rigorous and require a significant amount of time. Students move through one semester of curriculum in a two-week session and five hours of class time is supplemented by 3-5 hours of homework daily. Successful completion of these courses allow students to fulfill graduation requirements for non-math/science classes, or to advance in the math or science tracks, but do not allow students to fulfill the required credits in math or science. Students have the option of having Summer Academy course grades included in the cumulative TAS GPA or to take courses pass/fail. Regardless, Summer Academy courses listed on transcripts should be taken into account when considering the rigor of a student’s academic profile. SAT & ACT 2019 SAT RESULT - TAS VS WORLD 2019 ACT RESULT - 800 1600 TAS VS WORLD 700 1400 35 600 1200 30 500 1000 25 400 800 20 300 600 15 200 400 10 100 200 5 0 0 0 EBRW Mathematics Total Composite TAS TAS 656 TAS 714 TAS 1370 TAS 30.2 World World 531 World 528 World 1059 World 20.7 COVID-19 IMPACT Like nearly all schools worldwide, TAS shifted to virtual learning over several periods in Spring of 2020 due to COVID-19. In total, TAS delivered classes online for 23 days, returning to complete the year (including graduation) in person. We continue to be extremely fortunate in our physical return to school at the start of the 2020-2021 academic year. 9 57 6 450 A + C Years in a Row Students Placed in Consecutive Students Enrolled H Qualifying for VEX 2019 Summer Years of Gold in Upper School Robotics World Internships Medals at iGEM Fine or Perform- Championship competitions ing Arts Classes I 4 6 93 4 E V IASAS Swimming Consecutive Years Student-Run Consecutive Years Records Set in 2019 of Qualifying for Interest and of Making Finalist E Before COVID-19 FRC World Service Clubs Rounds of Season Cancellation Championship International Public Policy Forum M 7 26 6 8 E N Medals at the Scholastic Art NSPA Awards FRC Blue Banners, Taiwan Young National Medals including 5 Including 2020 T Physics Tournament Earned Pacemakers and 1 Chairman’s Award Between 2017-2020 Journalist-of-the- Year Award S 1st 1 International school to ever qualify students to Tour- Taipei American School Community Focus on nament of Champions in Policy Debate, Public Forum Social-Emotional Balance and Wellness Debate, and Extemporaneous Speaking COLLEGE MATRICULATION BY REGION 2018-2020 Institutions where TAS graduates from the Classes of 2018, 2019, and 2020 enrolled. Boldfaced print indicates institutions attended by graduates from the Class of 2020. UNITED STATES EUROPE Arizona State University Loyola Marymount University at Buffalo The State Durham University Babson College University University of New York École Hôtelière de Lausanne Barnard College Loyola University Chicago University of Arizona Erasmus University Rotterdam Berklee College of Music Marist College University of California, (Netherlands) Boston College Maryland Institute College Berkeley Goldsmiths, University of London Boston Conservatory of Art University of California, Imperial College London Boston University Massachusetts Institute of Davis Jacobs University Brandeis University Technology University of California, King’s College London Brigham Young University Middlebury College Irvine Polimoda International Institute of Brigham Young University, Idaho Minerva Schools at KGI University of California, Los Design and Marketing Brown University New York University Angeles The London School of Economics Bryn Mawr College North Carolina State University University of California, Riverside and Political Science Bucknell University Northeastern University University of California, San The University of Edinburgh California Lutheran University Northwest Vista College Diego The University of Warwick California Polytechnic State Northwestern University University of California, Santa Universiteit van Amsterdam University, San Luis Obispo Occidental College Barbara University College London California State University, Pepperdine University University of California, University of Bristol Northridge Pomona College Santa Cruz University of Cambridge (UK) California State University- Pratt Institute University of Chicago University of Glasgow Long Beach Princeton University University of Colorado University of Manchester Carnegie Mellon University Purdue University Boulder University of Oxford Case Western Reserve Reed College University of Illinois at University of Sheffield University Regis University Urbana-Champaign Chapman University