Singapore American School (SAS) is a non-profit, independent, co-educational day school located in the Woodlands area of Singapore. It offers an American-based curriculum for students in preschool through high school. One of Singapore's first international schools, SAS was founded in 1956 and started with a hundred students in a colonial house. It has since developed into a school of over 4,000 students on a 36-acre campus. SAS is accredited by the US-based Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
The SAS student body is made up of over 65 nationalities, with over half of the students being United States citizens. Singaporean student numbers are limited as Singapore government regulations prevent most local students from attending international schools within the country. The majority of the teachers come from the US, and staff members from twenty other countries also work at SAS. Most are hired overseas, and over 80% hold master's degrees. The maximum number of students per class in preschool and pre-kindergarten is 16, while for kindergarten through grade 12 it is 22.
SAS offers classes in the standard academic subjects as well as foreign languages, music, art, physical education, dance, sports, and technology. The high school offers over 20 AP courses, including the AP Capstone programme. The campus has both air-conditioned and open-air spaces. Facilities include gyms, cafeterias, libraries, and theatres, as well as courtyards, playgrounds, playing fields, swimming pools, tennis courts, a rainforest, and an eco-garden.
History
Singapore American School was established by the American Association of Malaya in January 1956. It was originally intended as a school for the children of American executives, missionaries, and diplomats who did not want to follow the British practice of sending school-aged children home to boarding schools. In the beginning, around a hundred elementary and junior-high students attended classes in a colonial house on Rochalie Drive, on the edge of downtown Singapore. High school classes were soon added, and the school grew quickly, attracting students from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Over the next half-century, the school moved several times: In 1962 the school moved to a purpose-built K-12 facility on King's Road, as it had outgrown the Rochalie Drive campus. By 1971 the school's population had outgrown the King's Road campus, and SAS's younger students were moved to two temporary sites, Alexandra Junior School and Gillman Barracks. In 1973 a new K-8 campus opened on Ulu Pandan Road, and the King's Road campus was turned into an expanded high school. To accommodate a long wait-list, the satellite Baytree elementary campus in Clementi was established in 1990–91. In 1996 the Woodlands Campus was opened, and all SAS students were once again together on one campus.
Woodlands campus history
By the late 1980s, SAS again faced space constraints, as enrolment continued to outstrip capacity at both the King's Road and Ulu Pandan campuses. In addition, the Ulu Pandan lease would soon expire, and the Singapore government wanted the school to accommodate more students, as part of its push to attract foreign talent to help develop new industries. While SAS opened the temporary Baytree campus as a short-term solution, the government offered three sites for a brand-new campus, and the school selected a large plot in the developing Woodlands neighbourhood. The school received a 90-year lease, with the stipulation that the new campus be able to accommodate 3,700 students. The site was developed at the cost of $150 million, and the Woodlands campus opened in the fall of 1996. To the surprise of many in the American community, enrolment quickly rose to capacity, and the western end of the campus had to be redeveloped into a new high school and early learning centre, which opened in 2004.
School governance and finance
SAS is a non-profit, member-based independent school. It is incorporated in the Republic of Singapore and recognised under the Singapore Charities Act. Parents, guardians, teachers and administrators are members of the school unless they opt out. All members are invited to the annual general meeting (AGM) in October, at which the superintendent reviews the school's progress and finances. Members participate in school governance by electing the board of governors. These twelve parents of enrolled students serve in a volunteer capacity for terms of three years. The board is responsible for hiring the superintendent and providing strategic oversight for the school, while the superintendent and administrative team are responsible for the school's day-to-day operations.