American School in Japan
| American School in Japan | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Motto | Developing Compassionate, Inquisitive Learners Prepared for Global Responsibility |
| Established | 1902 |
| Head of school | Ed Ladd |
| Enrollment | 1,500 |
| Color(s) | Black and Gold |
| Mascot | Mustangs |
| Accreditation(s) | WASC |
| Affiliation | none |
| Website | American School in Japan Website |
The American School in Japan (ASIJ) is an international private day school located in the city of Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. The school consists of an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school, all located on the Chōfu campus. There is also an early learning center (nursery-kindergarten) for children aged 3–5 located in the Roppongi Hills complex in downtown Tokyo. Instruction is principally in English and follows an American-style curriculum. About two thirds of the school's students are the children of citizens of English-speaking countries who are on temporary assignment in Japan, and the remaining one third are Japanese students who speak English. The campus is fenced in, resulting from heightened security measures taken after the September 11 attacks, with campus surroundings including the Nogawa Park and the neighborhood of Tamabochi. The Good Schools Guide International called ASIJ "an impressive school, not only for its size and facilities but also for its strong sense of where it is going.[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
Officially founded in 1902, The American School in Japan was started by a group of women who recognized the need for a school among the growing foreign community. Beginning life in rented rooms in the Kanda YMCA, the Tokyo School for Foreign Children, as it was then known, quickly attracted a growing numbers of students from around the world and soon needed to move to a more permanent home in Tsukiji. The school survived the Great Kanto Earthquake and continued to expand and outgrew the Foreign Settlement moving to Meguro in the 1920s. During the 1920s both Frank Lloyd Wright, who was in Tokyo building the Imperial Hotel, and Antonin Raymond drew up designs for proposed new campuses, although in the end neither designs were constructed. Raymond did assist in the move and repurposing of some buildings when the school moved to Nakameguro. In 1933, local expatriate architect William Merrell Vories was asked to design and build a new main concrete building for the campus, which was completed in 1934. After closing during the war years, the school reopened in 1946 and later moved to a new campus in Chofu in 1963.
A series of major improvements to the main campus began in the 1990s, when the school became one of the first in Japan to have internet access.[citation needed] Over the last ten years many of the buildings have been redesigned and rebuilt, while others were retro-fitted. A new cafeteria and classroom building was added in 2003 and a theater complex opened in 2005. In 2003, the school's Early Learning Center opened in Roppongi Hills, moving from Naka-Meguro.
[edit] Curriculum
ASIJ follows a strictly American curriculum, offering almost all Advanced Placement courses for high school juniors and seniors. There is an extensive Japanese language program, which begins in the first grade. Other languages taught are French, Spanish, and Chinese. All the students in the Elementary School have to learn Japanese for one period every other day. There are different levels in the Japanese classes.
[edit] Environmental sustainability
In February 2009, with the help of Government Funding and private and corporate donors, ASIJ installed Solar Panels on top of the Gym and Pool buildings which have a maximum capacity of 80 kW/h. Cafeteria food wastes are composted using earthworms. The compost is used to fertilize the greenery around campus. ASIJ promotes energy conservation by not turning on the heat or air-conditioning during October and April. ASIJ is trying to reduce PET bottle consumption by promoting the use of water bottles such as SIGG. The regular PET Bottles in the vending machines have been replaced by I Lohas bottles [2] ASIJ has reduced energy consumption by 10% in the 2008-2009 school year, further reducing energy consumption by 8% during the 2009-2010 school year.[3]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Alev Alatlı, writer
- Thelma Aoyama, singer
- Agnes Chan, singer
- John Cornyn, United States Senator [4]
- Joan de Havilland, actress [4]
- Ernest Higa, entrepreneur
- Norma Field, author [5]
- May J., singer
- Joi Ito, entrepreneur
- Lois Lowry, author [6]
- Daryl F. Mallett, author
- Hikaru Nishida, singer
- Judy Ongg, singer, artist
- Oliver Platt, actor
- Linda Purl, actress
- Edwin O. Reischauer, U.S. ambassador, academic [4]
- Beate Sirota Gordon, co-author of the Japanese constitution [4]
- Oleg Troyanovsky, Soviet ambassador [4]
- Hikaru Utada, singer [4]
- Oswald Wynd, author [4]
- Yu Hayami, TV personality
- Kazuo Hirai, CEO of Sony [7]
- James M. Landis Founder of the Securities and Exchange Commission [8]
[edit] References
- ^ Good Schools Guide International
- ^ "I Lohas Bottles
- ^ http://community.asij.ac.jp/page.aspx?pid=1603
- ^ a b c d e f g http://community.asij.ac.jp/page.aspx?pid=531
- ^ http://www.asij.ac.jp/japan/asij_authors/e_g/field_website.htm
- ^ http://www.asij.ac.jp/japan/asij_authors/l/lowry_bio.htm
- ^ http://community.asij.ac.jp/page.aspx?pid=2026
- ^ http://community.asij.ac.jp/page.aspx?pid=537
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 35°40′51″N 139°31′17″E / 35.68083°N 139.52139°E
