The Shanghai American School (SAS) is an independent, non-profit, coeducational day school that is sponsored by the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai. It is owned and managed by the SAS Association of Parents. Every parent of a child at the school is automatically a member of the association.

Shanghai American School has a long history in China's largest metropolis. It has proudly maintained a tradition of quality education throughout the years.

In the early 1900s, enrollment reached well over 500 students in grades K-12. Students came from missionary, diplomatic and expatriate business families. SAS closed in 1949. The school reopened in 1980 on the grounds of the U.S. consulate. A growing foreign community and expanding foreign business activity created an increasing enrollment that prompted a move in 1989 to the campus of the Shanghai Number 3 Girls' Middle School. When that campus became too small to accommodate enrollment, SAS moved to two new locations - one in suburban Zhudi, on the Puxi, or west side of Shanghai, and the other on the east, or Pudong side, of the Huangpu River.

Significant student growth and ever-increasing program offerings necessitated this expansion of facilities. From 1980 until 1992, the school offered self-contained classes through grade eight. Beginning with the 1992-93 schoolyear, a middle school was established for grades 6-8. In 1993-94, a ninth grade was added. At this time, the Associated Student Body became active and the first SAS dance since 1949 was held. Beginning with the 1994-95 school year, grades 10, 11 and 12 were added to enable SAS to provide a complete Pre-K through 12th grade educational program. The school grew from approximately 20 students when it reopened in 1980 to about 2900 for the 2007-2008 academic year. SAS is the largest school for the expatriate community in Shanghai and the largest international school in China. SAS students come from more than 40 countries. The more than 342 SAS teachers come from 16 countries. On both the Pudong and the Puxi campuses, SAS has fine new facilities specifically built to support a comprehensive and carefully coordinated curriculum. Classrooms, science labs, facilities for drama, art and music, gymnasiums and sports fields are the most developed in all of China and comparable to the best any international school has to offer. SAS takes special pride in its extensive technology resources and the way they are used to support and enhance student learning. There are multimedia, internet-connected, computer labs and hundreds of stand-alone computers to serve students. The Pudong campus moved into new facilities in 1998 and the Puxi campus completed the move to its new campus at the start of the 2000-2001 academic year. Since then, facilities on both campuses have been expanded and improved. The scope of academic program has kept pace with added enrollment in both scope and enhanced sophistication. High school students can choose an International Baccalaureate ( IB) diploma program and/or Advanced Placement (AP) courses to supplement a top quality U.S. high school diploma. From an historical perspective, SAS enjoys the unique distinction of having an active alumni. The group of alumni is made up largely of members who were students and graduates of SAS prior to 1949. A regular newsletter is published and each year there is a major gathering of alumni in the United States