Singapore American School was founded in 1956. It is a non-profit, co-educational day school for students from preschool through Grade 12. SAS is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
The 3,800 students studying at SAS represent over 50 countries with 68% holding U.S. passports. For a school this size, the student/teacher ratio is quite reasonable 22:1, although I believe that a better ratio would be the 16:1 that they have in Pre-school and Kindergarten. SAS has over 340 teachers with the majority holding advanced degrees. More than 70% of the faculty come from the United States. The average tenure of the faculty at SAS is six years.
Mission
Singapore American School’s mission is to give each student the highest quality education possible that is based on the American education system with an international perspective.
Facilities
The SAS campus was completed in 1996 (I visited just as they were opening and it was very impressive. SAS has a primary school with purpose built early childhood classrooms with a library/media center, computer labs, music, art and Mandarin classrooms and more. The intermediate school includes grades three to five and is located adjacent to the primary school and has facilities similar to the primary school. The middle school classrooms are clustered in groups to facilitate large group activities. There are special instruction rooms for technology, art, band, choir, home-living, dance, and computers. There are six science labs as well. The high school has everything that the middle school has including a 25-meter pool that they share with the middle school. The high school also has its own cafeteria that serves local and western cuisine.
The performing arts building includes an 800-seat auditorium with computerized lighting and surround sound, a 300-seat drama theater, a 150-seat theater/studio and a 350-seat multi purpose theater. Wow! All of this is quite impressive, but we’re not done yet.
There is an athletic complex as well, which features an all weather track and field stadium that seats 1000. Additionally, there are five lighted tennis courts, two soccer/football fields, a baseball field, two softball fields, two pools and a high-ropes course. Yes, there’s more. There are four large, air conditioned gymnasiums and two smaller gyms, along with weight training facilities.
Curriculum
The SAS curriculum is based on United States standards, but, as with most international schools that use a US based curriculum, it is modified to adapt to the international nature of the school. The school has four divisions: Primary School which incorporates Preschool through Grade 2), Intermediate School which includes Grade 3 through Grade 5, Middle School which consists of the traditional grades 6-8, and High School (9-12). Academically, SAS offer students the usual core courses (social studies, math, science and language arts) and specialist courses like technology, PE, art, music and foreign languages. High school students can take AP classes. Most international schools have a review cycle for their curriculum. SAS has a six-year cycle. By having these formalized cycles, schools can insure that the curriculum is current and relevant and that best practices are used in the classroom.
Extra Curricular Activities
SAS has a huge range of activities tailored for the age and developmental level of the students. There are activities in the areas of arts and crafts, sports, academics, performing arts, service and computers and technology. The elementary school alone has more than 40 different types of activities. Sports include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, golf, soccer, tennis, and much more. There is something for everybody at SAS.
Technology
SAS believes in integrating technology throughout the curriculum. The school website has a very detailed page of about the role of technology in the school; this includes making sure that the staff are given the opportunity to develop their skills. Technology in-services are offered throughout the year.
image: JeCCo
SAS has a complete page on professional development. PD is required to support five targets at SAS. These targets are: school goals, the curriculum cycle, division and department goals, off-cycle school or division goals, and needs of the staff with the areas of school initiative. Forms of PD are (just a few examples): workshops, graduate courses, EARCOS conference, curriculum development, writing for educational publications, professional networks, and much more. If you are a strong believer in a good PD program, SAS is what you are looking for.
Employment
There are over 340 faculty members at SAS with sixty-eight percent holding a Master’s Degree. Seventy percent of the faculty is American with most of the rest coming from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. So SAS sounds incredible. A huge school with great facilities, a large faculty, a mixed student body, located in beautiful Singapore. How do you get a job there? Well, this is what you need:
- A Valid teaching credential in subject area.
- Two to five years teaching experience in the area of the vacancy.
- A familiarity with recent elementary and/or secondary U.S. teaching materials and methodologies.
- Evidence of recent professional growth activities
- Experience working in a multi-cultural, U.S., or international school setting.
- Experience and commitment to sponsoring extracurricular activities.
If you have all of the above, you can download an application on the school website and view a working at SAS video. Teaching positions are listed online. SAS attends the ISS, University of Northern Iowa and Search recruiting fairs. All candidates must have an interview; these can be conducted at a recruiting fair or at SAS. Salaries and benefits at SAS are paid in Singapore Dollars that are very easy to exchange around the world. Base Salaries run from $35,000 to $44,000 and top out at $78,000. The school uses a salary schedule with 26 steps. Maximum initial placement Step 7. Benefits include housing allowance, annual home leave, retirement allowance, annual wage supplement, tuition waiver for children, settling-in allowance, stipends for additional responsibilities, health and disability insurance, shipping allowance, and airfare to and from Singapore.
SAS is one of those schools that I’ve always had a desire to work at, but just never got around to applying due to the peculiarities of my own employment history – jobs have just fallen into my lap when I needed them so I’ve never had to apply for a job after I landed my first one. But, if I was going to go around again, this is one school that would be high on my list of places to work. Please note that the retirement age in Singapore is 62, so if you are my age or close, you won’t be able to apply here.
Recent Comments