Search Associates welcomes Shanghai SMIC Private School (SMIC) to its
catalog of member schools. SMIC is a K–12 day school whose campus of
approximately 80,000 square meters is surrounded by green spaces and
gardens. The school was established in September of 2001 by the
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Company. The initial goal was
to provide a quality education solely for the children of foreign and
domestic employees of the company, but three years later, the school
opened its doors to non-SMIC children, making its high-quality education
available to the wider community. Currently, approximately 22% of
enrolled students are children of SMIC employees. In his “Welcome”
message on the school website, Chancellor and Executive Director of the
SMIC School Board Dr. Jack Chou describes SMIC:Shanghai private school
Fully-accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges,
SMIC not only offers Advanced Placement courses for the upper levels of
the secondary school, but it also serves as an AP and SAT testing
center. Currently, 1,275 students are enrolled, with 65% from North
America and the U.K. The teaching staff of 116 includes 74 from North
America, 37 from China, and five from the U.K. The school’s extensive
facilities feature four auditoriums, multiple science labs, art and
music rooms, outdoor basketball and tennis courts, soccer fields, and
running tracks. The kindergarten and elementary campuses include
newly-renovated playground areas for recess.
SMIC provides enrichment opportunities for every child. The Visual
and Performing Arts Department’s (VAPA) curriculum follows American
standards adapted from California and the Common Core. Students in
Grades K–8 take art and music, each once a week, and by Grades 4 and 5,
students may also join in extracurricular orchestra and/or choir. In
Grades 6-12, students can participate in mini-orchestra, drama, choir,
and art club. High school students must take at least one of the VAPA
courses: Art & Creativity (regular and advanced), 3D Art, Digital
Illustration, AP Studio Art, Orchestra, Contemporary Rock, Band, or
Drama. Moreover, students in high school have more than 35 clubs and
activities to join, while elementary and middle school students can
choose from 13 and four, respectively. Finally, as one of the founding
members of the China International Schools Sports Association (CISSA)
and the Shanghai International School Activities Conference (SISAC),
SMIC competes in two of the top sports leagues in all of Asia. SMIC
coaches more than 50 teams in tennis, cross-country, volleyball,
basketball, table tennis, badminton, track & field, swimming, and
soccer. The “Sharks of Pudong” have won many league championships, or
made it to the finals!
Annual school-wide events make SMIC a special place to be: Sports
Day, the Science Fair, performing arts concerts, the Spring Art Show,
and field trips to destinations in Shanghai. On Vocabulary Day, teachers
and students make their own costumes illustrating a vocabulary word of
their choice, and then they have a parade! On International Day, each
class in the elementary school adopts a country to research in order to
create performances and exhibits for their families. Middle school
students present their class projects based on a variety of historical
and cultural topics, and high school seniors lead workshops and small
group discussions on topics such as social justice, humanitarian aid,
and the preservation of cultural and ethnic diversity. Awards are given
on this day to the winners of the Global Citizenship Day Essay and
Poster, and the Grade 12 Global Citizenship students honor a member of
the Shanghai community with SMIC's Global Citizen Award.
SMIC is interested in hiring single teachers and married teaching
couples. They will consider exceptional teachers who are newly certified
as well as outstanding, experienced teachers who lack certification.
Teaching couples who are not married, couples with a non-teaching
spouse, and interns will also be considered. All candidates must hold
their academic degree in the subject that they will be teaching. China
issues work visas up to the age of 60.
The salary and benefits package includes a settling-in allowance and
70% of a teacher’s rent. SMIC covers one annual airfare for home leave,
which extends to spouses and all dependents under 18. Families receive
an 80% tuition benefit for up to two children, and teachers pay a
percentage of the worldwide health insurance coverage, life insurance,
and long-term disability. Daily lunch is free, and SMIC promises
extensive professional development opportunities internally and
externally. There are local employment opportunities for non-teaching
spouses. This package allows for some savings or the opportunity for a
family of four to live on one salary.
To gain access to Shanghai SMIC Private School’s full profile on the
Search Associates database, including a list of all open positions,
candidates can apply for membership by clicking here. Candidates already
registered can easily access the school profile directly through their
dashboards.
