I Concordia International School () is a private, Christian,

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 ...

located in

Pudong Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic city ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Founded in 1998, the school is a part of the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...

(LCMS). The school's opening came after extensive feasibility research and numerous requests for a school from the Hong Kong corporate community.

History

Concordia was founded in 1998 and has grown from 22 students and 14 staff members under founder Allan Schmidt to its current enrollment of over 1,200 students from pre-K to grade 12 under the direction of Steve Winkelman, the head of school. The school opened its new elementary school building (which replaced an existing structure) and the David F. Rittmann Fine Arts Center (which includes a 450-seat theater to support the drama program, 2D and 3D art rooms, an art gallery, band/choir/orchestra rooms, and music practice rooms) in August 2007. Concordia added a new welcome center, cooking studio, drama room, business center, student media center, artificial turf, and a blue track to the school for the 2015/2016 school year. Concordia added new wall extensions, enclosing passages between and into buildings, a new music department office, a new Luther meeting room, and a middle school classroom for the start of the 2016/2017 school year (where the old Luther room used to be). In 2018, following the food safety scandal at the Shanghai SMIC Private School, the Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration conducted an investigation of other cafeterias in the city operated by Eurest, a subsidiary of

Compass Group Compass Group plc is a British multinational contract foodservice company headquartered in Chertsey, England. It is the largest contract foodservice company in the world employing over 500,000 people. It serves meals in locations including o ...

. The government agency discovered a bottle of expired seasoning in the cafeteria and expired bread in a nearby garbage bin. The school was ordered to terminate its relationship with Eurest. In 2019, the school paid a $4 million dividend to the LCMS, which helped to retire the $15 million debt the LCMS had accumulated over the years.

Religious affiliation

Concordia follows the traditional education of the LCMS. This educational system focuses on three major components: body, mind, and spirit. Concordia International School Shanghai is one of the LCMS's three international schools in Asia. Concordia welcomes students and families of all faiths.

Programs and services

Concordia International School Shanghai offers several programs throughout the year for students from pre-K to grade 12. Programs range from sports such as soccer, softball, tennis, swimming, basketball, volleyball, baseball, cross country, track, and ultimate frisbee. Concordia is a member of the

Asia Pacific Activities Conference The Asia Pacific Activities Conference (APAC) is an extracurricular athletics and arts program for international schools in the Asia-Pacific area. APAC was founded in 1995 with the purpose of providing an "interesting, well-rounded extra-curricular ...

which hosts competition events for international schools in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. Concordia also participates in APAC with various athletics and arts teams. Concordia International School Shanghai 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). In addition, Concordia is also a member of associations, such as ACAMIS and EARCOS.

School statistics

* 32: The number of nations represented by the Concordia student body * 1,167: Student enrollment for the 2016-2017 school year * 31%: Percentage of Concordia teachers with bachelor's degrees pursuing graduate degrees * 62%: Percentage of Concordia teachers with over 10 years teaching experience * 12%: Average annual teacher turnover from 2010-2014 A full list of school report can be seen at Concordia's website.

References

External links