The American International School (AIS; ) is a private, independent,

international school An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body a ...

in Hong Kong founded in 1986. It delivers US standards-based

educational program An educational program is a program written by the institution or ministry of education which determines the learning progress of each subject in all the stages of formal education. See also *Philosophy of education *Curriculum In education, ...

for students from early childhood through

grade 12 Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

. AIS is accredited by the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing School accreditation, accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary school, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, ...

(WASC), one of the six regional accrediting associations in the United States. It is also a member of the East Asian Regional Council of Schools, the

College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

, and an international member of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

. It is in

Kowloon City District Kowloon City District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is located in the city of Kowloon. It had a population of 381,352 in 2001, and increased to 418,732 in 2016. The district has the third most educated residents while its res ...

History

The American International School was founded as the California International School in 1986. It initially enrolled 50 students. It changed its status to a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

school and was renamed American International School in 1996. The school has less than 40 nationalities represented. As of August 2014, AIS enrols approximately 845 students and employs 90 faculty and staff. The campus is located on 117–131 Waterloo Road in Kowloon Tong. At

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

level, students pursue the Advanced Placement Examinations and the AIS High School Diploma. In recent years, the AIS has undertaken campus redevelopment projects. In the spring of 2005, Phase 1 of the new high school campus was finished, followed two years later with the completion of Phase 1, consisting of a high school building. The new elementary school building includes a small volleyball court and rooftop basketball court, and was completed and inaugurated in February 2011. A new early childhood centre on 131 Waterloo Road for the 3–5 years old was opened in August 2013. Since March 2018, all classrooms have boards. The school celebrated its Silver Jubilee 25th anniversary in 2010–2011 with a gala at the Hong Kong Jockey Club ballroom.

Structure

The school is divided into three sections, all

coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

al: elementary school (early childhood 1 and 2, grade 1 Junior, grade 1–4), middle school (grade 5–8), and high school (grade 9–12). Each section of the school has its own principal and administration, while the entire school is overseen by the Head of School. The High School Student Council (SC) represents the student body. It is an elected group, in which each grade 9-12 homeroom selects one member, and leadership positions are elected within the council. The SC meets regularly with a faculty advisor to address student concerns and issues. AIS has created house activities, causing rivalries in the school in competing in sports-based and academic-based activities. Before the 2003–2004 year, AIS had four houses determined by colour. After 2004, the school began to make changes to the

house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to o ...

based on homerooms in grades. The house system was changed into three competitive houses with animals and colours coming from the school emblem, as well as the

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...

. The three houses are the Blue Dragons, the White Tigers, and the Red Phoenix.

Academics

High school students attend four academic years and must earn a minimum of 24 Carnegie Credit Units to graduate with an AIS High School Diploma. AIS students are actively involved in a wide range of extra-curricular activities. The school offers an extensive range of opportunities including seasonal inter-mural and varsity sports, visual and performing arts, and special interest clubs including Model United Nations, Global Issues and student government. Every year, the standardised

Iowa Tests of Basic Skills The Iowa Assessments (previously the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and originally Iowa Every Pupil Test of Basic Skills) also known informally as the Iowa Tests, formerly known as the ITBS tests or the Iowa Basics, are standardized tests provided as a ...

are taken by all students from Grade 3 through Grade 11 in early spring.

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

(AP) examinations take place in May. Academic progress is reported formally each trimester when report cards and progress report cards are issued. AIS is an approved SAT Test Centre allowing AIS high school students to take the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

test on campus.

Notable alumni

Stephanie Che Stephanie Che Yuen Yuen (born 28 December 1974) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. Che started her career as the winner of New Talent Singing Awards New Talent Singing Awards (Traditional Chinese: 新秀歌唱大賽) or ''NTSA'' for short, ...

, actress and singer *

Angel Lam Angel Lam is a New York-based Hong Kong-born composer and writer. She has composed for artists and ensembles such as Yo-Yo Ma, Aldo Parisot, The Silk Road Ensemble, Atlanta Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Aspen Music F ...

, composer for Yo-Yo Ma, nominee for the 2011 Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Album Award * Yvette Kong Man-yi, Hong Kong swimming athlete, and participant in the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Edelweiss Cheung Edelweiss Cheung (, born 27 October 1985) is a Hong Kong model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Hong Kong 2008. Biography Cheung was on born 27 October 1985 in British Hong Kong. Her parents are Chinese Americans from Shantou, ...

Miss Hong Kong The Miss Hong Kong Pageant (), or Miss HK () for short, is an annual beauty pageant organised by local Hong Kong television station, TVB. The pageant was established in 1946, and acquired by TVB in 1973. The current Miss Hong Kong is Denice Lam ...

2008 * Dorian Ho, fashion designerEducation section, 14 June 2003, South China Morning Post *

Teddy Lo Teddy Lo (born 1974 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong-based artist known for his work with the medium and technology of light, especially LED light. His work explores neo-transcendental ideas in the physical-scientific world. Biography Teddy Lo ...

, Hong Kong based LED artist, prominent for tech-scene works. * Yancy Chu Man Yan, Hong Kong TV and online broadcasting anchor *

Tamami Ono Tamami Ono ( ja, 小野珠実, , born November 21, 1989, in Chiba, Japan) is a Japanese figure skater who competed for Hong Kong during her entire career. She is the 2005 & 2006 Hong Kong national champion and 2004 junior national champion. She ...

, 2005 and 2006 Hong Kong skater *

Daniel Chan Daniel Chan Hiu-tung (born 3 September 1975) is a popular Hong Kong singer, songwriter, and actor. He is most notable as one of the young talents in the 1990s music scene. Career Singer In 2000, following the death of his manager Rebecca Leu ...

, Hong Kong pop singer and actor *Ximon Lee, menswear designer of Ximonlee and winner of th
2015 H&M Design Award
*

Jackson Wang Jackson Wang (; ko, 왕잭슨; born 28 March 1994) is a Hong Kong rapper, singer, dancer, record producer, fashion designer, and music video director. He is the founder of record label Team Wang and is the creative director and lead designer ...

, former athlete of the Hong Kong National Fencing Team and currently a member of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

boy group A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many ...

, GOT7 *Gia Kim, actress

References

External links

American International School Official website
{{American schools in China American international schools in Hong Kong Educational institutions established in 1986 Kowloon Tong Primary schools in Hong Kong Secondary schools in Hong Kong 1986 establishments in Hong Kong