| The SMIC Private School | |
| Native Name: | 上海民办中芯学校 |
| Established: | 2001 |
| Principal1: | Dr. Kelley Ridings (International Division) |
| Principal2: | Du Yumin (Chinese Track - Middle and High School) |
| Principal3: | Feng Jianping (Chinese Track - Elementary School) |
| Country: | China |
| Grades: | Pre-K to 12 |
| Mascot: | Sharks |
| Newspaper: | sharkscholar.com |
| Motto: | 品格第一 · 追求卓越 · 胸怀世界 · 快乐成长 |
| Motto Translation: | Honor · Excellence · Community · Joy |
| School Board: | Shanghai Pudong New Area上海市浦东新区社发局教育处 |
The SMIC Private School is a private K-12 school located in the Zhangjiang Science City of Shanghai, China. The school was founded by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) in 2001. The School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the East Asia Regional Council of Schools.[1] [2]
In 2018, the school was at the center of a major food safety scandal in which its cafeteria contractor Eurest, a subsidiary of Compass Group, was found to have supplied expired and substandard food. During an inspection of the cafeteria, visiting parents of students at the school discovered moldy vegetables, expired seasoning, and food labeled with a production date in the future. The incident was reported in international media.[3]
As a result of the incident, the school headmaster Zhu Ronglin and two other administrative staff members were dismissed and are currently under investigation by government authorities. Following the incident, Shanghai food safety authorities ordered an investigation of cafeterias across the city. Expired items were also found at Concordia International School Shanghai, whose supplier is also Eurest. As a result of the investigation, the schools were ordered to cut ties with Eurest.[4]
In 2019, the school assigned a textbook to eighth grade students containing assignments for the winter break. Parents reported finding a lewd short story in the textbook titled "Mommy's Washcloth" which described a child seeing his father having extramarital oral sex with their maid.[5] [6] The publisher of the book has apologized and has fired the editor of the textbook.[7] However, the school is still to be held liable for failing to properly scrutinize the textbook which was not government-approved. According to China Daily, "[the] school will be severely punished for the sexually oriented joke" by the education authority.[8]