American International School of Guangzhou


The American International School of Guangzhou is an independent, non-profit, multicultural, and co-educational day school for foreign children from preschool to grade 12. It is located in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, with an elementary school campus on Ersha Island, Yuexiu District and a middle and high school campus in Science Park, Huangpu District. Founded in 1981, it is the oldest international school in South China. AISG offers an international curriculum guided by American educational standards and principles.

History

AISG was founded in 1981 under the auspices of the U.S. Consulate. Originally named the American School of Guangzhou, its purpose was to educate the American children of consular employees. The first year, seven students attended classes taught by volunteer teachers in the Dong Fang Hotel. The aim was to enable students to integrate smoothly into the American educational system when they returned to their home country. The children of other consulates' employees were soon admitted and the school relocated to the Garden Hotel in 1985. In 1994, with over one hundred students from 21 nations, ASG moved into a purpose-built school in the Greenery, a housing estate in the Tianhe District. The school expanded to include high school during the 1996–97 academic year, and its first three graduates received their diplomas in 1998.
ASG was reorganized legally in 1998 as a non-profit corporation in the United States, which then contracted with the school entity registered in China for the provision of educational services. As part of this process, the school changed its name to the American International School of Guangzhou and gained official recognition by the People’s Republic of China as a school serving expatriate children. In 2001, AISG received authorization from the International Baccalaureate Organization to offer the IB Diploma Programme. In August 2002, AISG moved to a new, purpose-built facility on Ersha Island, and in 2004 received permission from the IBO to offer the Primary Years Program. Grades K–12 were all housed at the Ersha Campus until 2007, when the middle school and high school divisions moved to a separate, purpose-built campus in Science Park, a district in eastern Guangzhou. AISG’s Early Childhood Center, which teaches preschool students from age 3, was added to the Ersha campus site at this time. AISG celebrated its 35th anniversary during the 2016–17 school year.

Academic Accreditation and Memberships

There are two campuses: Ersha Island Campus and Science Park Campus.

Elementary Campus (Ersha Island)

It the Elementary School, activities in the arts, sports, community service, and academic extension are available. Activities include art and crafts, drama, choir, sudoku, language study, lego building, martial arts, student council, and STEM.
Middle and High School students are involved in many extracurricular activities. Student may join music and drama clubs as well as Model United Nations, Global Issues Network, Quiz Bowl, student government, science, robotics, and media activities. Community service initiatives include Habitat for Humanity, Roots and Shoots, and working with mentally challenged adults in Guangzhou. High School and Middle School students also participate in China trips, during which each grade travels to an area in China, including Hong Kong, and Macau.

Clubs

Club involvement is considered an integral aspect of the educational experience at the American International School of Guangzhou. AISG has a variety of clubs students may join, many with a focus on community service. Clubs include:

Student publications

The Beacon is the school's student-run newsmagazine and is published regularly throughout the academic year.
The Mosaic is the school's yearbook.
Artistic License is an annual literary magazine publishing poetry, prose, and artwork by members of the AISG community.
LIPHY is a magazine with articles and word definitions created for distribution to local students learning English.

Athletics

Elementary

At the Elementary School, after school sports include volleyball, soccer, floor hockey, taekwondo, table tennis and badminton.

Middle and High School

AISG fields sports a large number of teams at the High School and Middle School level. Some of the sports that many students participate competitively in are volleyball, basketball, soccer, tennis and badminton, in which they play against other international schools and Chinese universities in the region. In 2008, AISG joined the Asia Pacific Activities Conference, which allows the students to compete against the top international Schools from China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines. APAC also includes activities such as Drama, Forensics and Debate, Orchestra and Band. AISG has withdrawn from ACAMIS for the high school teams since it is member of APAC. The middle school is a member of the Southern Delta Region Conference, which provides opportunities to play other international schools in the region.

Middle School Sports

AISG is a member of the Asia Pacific Activities Conference. APAC includes 12 international schools in the Asia-Pacific area, including International School of Beijing, Western Academy of Beijing, Concordia International School, Shanghai, Shanghai American School-Puxi, Shanghai American School-Pudong, Hong Kong International School, Brent International School, Taejon Christian International School, Canadian Academy, Seoul Foreign School and United Nations International School of Hanoi. APAC sponsors athletic and fine/performing arts events throughout the school year. For each event, high school students from participating schools travel to a designated school and are housed by host families. APAC athletics include basketball, volleyball, soccer, badminton, tennis, table tennis, baseball, softball, rugby, cross country, swimming, and track and field. Performing arts activities include orchestra, choir, dance, band, and theatre.

Food and Nutrition

Meals are prepared on-site on each campus, and students use a prepaid lunch card system to purchase them. The cafeterias and cafes serve nutritionally balanced options. Students may also bring their own food.

College Admission

AISG promotes a best fit policy, guiding students in finding the best college matches for who they are and what they want to do. With students heading to highly-regarded undergraduate institutions such as the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, Hong Kong University, University College London, École hôtelière de Lausanne, Seoul National University, and Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in the Classes of 2019 and 2020, AISG is highly respected by many admissions teams.