wfn.org | LCMS - Shanghai school breaking ground, records

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
Board for Communication Services

LCMSNews -- No. 50
August 13, 2002

Shanghai school breaking ground, records

By Paula Schlueter Ross

Concordia International School Shanghai (CISS) is breaking new ground -- in
enrollment and, literally, on its campus in Shanghai, China.

The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod school, which offers classes from
preschool through high school, is expected to begin its fifth academic year
this fall with more than 300 students.

Housed in rented quarters, CISS launched a yearlong construction project in
May that will result in its first permanent structure -- a modern
6,000-square-meter (19,800 square feet) facility that will enable the school
to nearly double its enrollment to more than 500 students.  Future building
projects will take the school beyond 1,000 students.

In a word, Concordia, Shanghai, has been blessed, according to Director of
Development William Morse.  Because of its good reputation, Morse says, "we
get people stopping by the school weekly inquiring about our program and the
opportunity for their children."

CISS opened Sept. 7, 1998, with 22 elementary- and middle-school students.
The school, located in Shanghai's Pudong international-business district,
offers an American, Christian curriculum to the children of foreigners
working in China.  Shanghai, a city of some 17 million people and 40,000
expatriates, is the center of China's "economic resurgence," according to
Dr. David Rittmann, new head of school at CISS.

Today's students represent about 30 nationalities, according to Rittmann.
About half are from North America, and the remainder are divided among
Europe, Australia and Asia.  Although Chinese citizens, by law, may not
attend CISS, its student body includes students from Hong Kong, Taiwan and
Korea.

In addition to the start of its ambitious construction program, Concordia,
Shanghai, recently experienced other "firsts":

* It has received accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and
Colleges for six years, a "significant accomplishment for a school to
achieve in its initial four years" of operation, according to Morse.

* On June 12 its first graduate, Elaine Chow, received her high-school
diploma.  She plans to continue her education this fall at New York
University.

Rittmann, former president of the Lutheran High School Association of St.
Louis, began work last month as head of school.  Rittmann served 19 years as
head of school at Hong Kong International School, the Synod's first
international school.  He succeeds Dr. Allan H. Schmidt, founding head of
school at CISS, who retired in late June.

Rittmann said he is excited about his new position and believes the Shanghai
school serves a valuable purpose.

"We're serving a group of urban 'nomads,' if you will, who move around the
world in service to their country or their company," Rittmann said.  "The
parents who enroll their children at CISS serve the diplomatic corps or
international business community.

"What a wonderful opportunity we have to reach high in educational standards
and influence families spiritually."

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