"Easier" Public Elementary Schools in Taipei

Taiwan Parenting
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30

  1. Xinsheng elementary school, which has been mentioned, was one of Taipei’s first ‘bilingual’ schools and definitely has experience with children whose first langauge is not Chinese. It is however a very prestigious elementary school that might not be so easygoing.

  2. Gongguan Elementary School has a reformed curriculum and I know foreign parents who have sent their kids there and been relatively happy with it.

  3. Taipei City has a wealth of options for alternative education. Some programs are in existing elementray schools. Others are independent. The Taipei Experimental Education Center is the place to start to explore the myriad options. Sadly this government site has no English, but there is some English contact info. Recommend going in person.

  4. A bit further away are the Humanity Primary/Junior High School in Toucheng (Yilan County) and The Seedling Experimental School in Wulai, New Taipei City. I have visited the school in Yilan and was very impressed. An American teacher told me it was the best school he has ever taught at in the US or Taiwan. There is a very active community of parents who are deeply involved in what looked like a good way. Example, NTU physics professor who volunteered to teach science and math. The parents I met all emphasized that they were determined to make sure that their children did not suffer the typical high pressre Taiwan academic environment and were very happy with the education there. Commute might just be possible through Snow Mountain tunnel.

  5. Must you live in Daan? There are mountain schools accessible in northern Taipei such as Hushan Elementary School that are well known for relaxed, nature-oriented curriculums.

Finally, there are a signficant number of rather negative posters on this site who often do not speak Chinese well or are isolated from Taiwanese society. They can be very suspicious of Taiwanese schools. No doubt many have personal experiences that are worth reading but form your own conclusions. There are also foreign parents with very positive experiences who tend not to vent here. Here is an extreme example on the positive side:

  1. English Chris Neumeyer on LinkedIn: #taiwan #yale #college #university #education #excellence #臺北市立第一女子高級中學… | 755 comments

  2. Chinese 一路公立學校念進耶魯！北一女混血女孩不補習、熱愛閱讀 | 遠見編輯部 | 遠見雜誌

  3. Youtube: 錄取全球12名校 北一女學霸選擇耶魯大學｜TVBS新聞 - YouTube (student speaks in English).

In any event, there are many options. Good luck!

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