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Taipei American School (; abbreviation TAS) is a private independent school with an American-based curriculum located in Tianmu (T'ien-mu), Shilin District (Shih-lin), Taipei City. Founded in 1949, the school served as a U.S. Department of Defense contract school during the U.S. military presence in Taiwan from the 1950s to 1970s. Upon the termination of diplomatic relations between the United States and the ROC in 1979, TAS was reorganized into a private international school. The school is operated by the Taipei American School Foundation under contract to the American Institute in Taiwan, the United States' quasi-embassy in Taiwan. Most graduates of TAS go on to attend colleges and universities in United States, although some choose to attend schools in other countries. As required by ROC law, TAS admits only students who hold foreign (i.e. non-ROC) passports. == History == The first meeting of Taipei American School took place on September 26, 1949, in the basement of Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Zhongshan North Road, with eight students. This marked the beginning of the "missionary era" where Taiwanese and American medical missionaries were instrumental in founding TAS and providing it with students. The first class of students included American, European, and Taiwanese students. By 1951, the influx of missionaries and business people escaping from the communist victory in mainland China caused enrollment to grow to 120 students. By 1952, TAS was forced to relocate to Nong'an East Road to provide space for the growing student population In 1953, the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group was established in Taiwan. This brought to the island a large number of U.S. military personnel. Along with these military personnel came their families, including children needing an American-style education. TAS became the school for the children of the U.S. military personnel. In the summer of 1953, TAS constructed a much larger campus at Chang'an East Road. In 1956, TAS graduated its first class of 14 seniors. By then, the Chang'an campus had approximately 50 faculty members and 1,000 students. In 1957, Mr. Wayne Nesbitt served as the first superintendent of the school. In 1959, TAS purchased a 22 acre (89,000 m²) site in Shilin for a new campus. In March 1960, the kindergarten and lower school moved into a 36-classroom 5-wing complex on the site. The upper school remained at the Chang'an campus until 1964, when the last upper school facilities were completed. By 1969, TAS enrollment reached its highest point ever with nearly 3,000 students. Bordered on two sides by a river, the Shilin campus was prone to flooding during the typhoons experienced on Taiwan when the protective dikes were breached. Cleanup took several days as classrooms were dried out and mud and silt was removed. In the 1970s Taiwan's transforming economy brought foreign businessmen and overseas Chinese into the local economy, setting the stage for TAS's later transformation, even as enrollment shrank dramatically as U.S. military pulled out of Taiwan. By the late seventies, student enrollment dropped to approximately 700 students. Within a few years, enrollment started to increase again as overseas Chinese with foreign passports arrived in Taiwan searching for American educational facilities for their children. By the early eighties, the majority of students were ethnically Taiwanese and also U.S. citizens. In September 1989, TAS relocated to its present campus in Tianmu. To obtain use of the government land in Tianmu, TAS exchanged title to its Shihlin property for a long-term lease on the Tianmu site at a concessionary rent. The 50th anniversary of Taipei American School was celebrated in 1999. As part of this celebration, TAS published a book documenting the history of the school: "Ties That Bind", authored by former director Richard Vuylsteke. In 2009, TAS celebrated its sixtieth anniversary. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Taipei American School」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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