AmerAsian School Information

The AASO curriculum takes a double immersion approach. A double immersion approach means that all core academic instruction is simultaneously conducted in two languages where the core subjects are language arts, math, science, and social studies. At AASO, this means that teachers teach Japanese and English language arts in the respective languages, and math, science, and social studies in both English and Japanese. All non-core academic instruction takes place in English only. The underlying goal of this approach is to develop high levels of proficiency in both languages without diluting grade-specific academic requirements.

Historically, more than 90 percent of students graduating from AASO have chosen to pursue secondary education in the Japanese public school system. Since students must pass a standardized entrance examination to start high school in Japan, test preparation continues to be at the forefront of our academic priority. As such, we follow the Japanese curriculum standards set by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) for most of the core subjects regardless of the language of instruction. These subjects are Japanese language arts, math, science, and Japanese social studies (life skills for Grades 1 and 2).

In contrast, we adhere to the curriculum standards designed by the US Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) for English language arts and American social studies. As for the non-core subjects, we endeavor to combine the best of both worlds to create lesson plans that are fit for the bicultural ethos of the school.