We believe it’s the people you find here, the SSA family: committed, experienced 教职员工, 谁花了很长时间当老师, coaches and advisors; a motivated student body dedicated to learning and discovery; and families who are genuinely interested in learning and ideas. 十大网赌平台推荐的学生接受 最高质量的教育 in an environment that values individuals and families. 

Each SSA campus offers an age-appropriate environment designed to meet the specific needs of children in each life stage. We believe the geographical transition that our students make from one campus to the next broadens their learning experience. It also enables students to take on meaningful leadership roles in each division, 在五年级, 8 and 12.

A bit of history: SSA was founded in 1883 in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. 随着学校的发展, SSA purchased farmland in Fox Chapel to build a boarding and day school campus for grades 7–12, 1922年开业. 那个校园就是十大网赌平台推荐现在的校园 高级学校. 1958年，SSA开设了一家 中学 in Fox Chapel for grades 6–8, the first of its kind in Western Pennsylvania. Grades K–5 stayed in the East End, eventually moving in 1940 to the current 初中 campus in 点风, where a PK building and program were added in 2007. 2017年1月, 背阴书院 merged with the Fox Chapel Country Day school adding a second elementary school campus, 现在被称为SSA 乡村走读学校.

For the 2021-2022 school year, 背阴书院 enrolled a total of 1140 students PK-12: 160 at 乡村走读学校 (PK-5); 298 at the 初中 (PK-5); 203 at the 中学 (6-8); and 479 at the 高级学校 (9-12), including 67 five- and seven-day boarders.

在四个校区, the Academy has 132 full- and part-time faculty members, 其中73%拥有高等学位.

十大网赌平台推荐的广泛的 大学辅导办公室 helps students find the "best fit" school for them. Three full-time college counselors begin working with families in the freshman year and students choose a college counselor in their junior year. 在九年级和十年级, the counselors hold information sessions for parents and students to learn about the college process. Numerous workshops occur during the junior and senior years to facilitate and aid in the college application process. More than 120 college admissions officers visit Shady Side's campus each fall. 100 percent of SSA graduates attend college. 查看学校列表 十大网赌平台推荐的学生参加.

While there is no uniform required at any level in SSA, there are dress codes at each division that offer a fairly wide variety of options. In general, the higher the grade, the more dress options a student has.

只要他们有能力, we hope parents will become involved in their child’s life at school. It is important to attend meetings with your child's advisors and teachers, such as Parents’ Night each fall and parent conferences. Parents are also encouraged to contribute to the Blue & Gold Fund, as tuition and fees cover only 75% of the cost of sending a child to SSA. 此外，学校有一个活跃的 家长协会; all parents are welcome and encouraged to participate!

In grades PK-8, class sizes range from 15 to 20 students. In grades 9-12, the average class size is 15 students. Overall, the ratio of students to teachers is 8:1.

Daily homework expectations are different for each school. 在高中 each class assigns about 40 minutes of homework a day, although study halls help ninth grader manage their time. Homework expectations for eleventh and twelfth grade students increase. 在中学, homework ranges from one to two hours a night, although the actual time depends on the student’s ability to plan and organize. Homework at our elementary campuses range from 10 minutes in grade 1 to 60 minutes in grade 5.

The 中学 offers accelerated sections in math. 在高中, 所有课程均为荣誉或以上水平, following a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. 先修课程, 在哪里需要AP考试, 微积分AB/BC, French 5, Spanish 5, 德语5和计算机科学. Students may elect to take AP exams in all areas, which are offered at the school in May. For the two most recent graduating classes, 85% of students who took an AP exam earned a score of 3 or higher, 69%的人得到了4或5分. 进一步了解十大网赌平台推荐的 学术项目.

在表演艺术中, students, faculty and visiting artists create and perform more than 50 concerts, 8 to 10 major theatrical works and innumerable smaller presentations every year. At our 初中 and 乡村走读学校 campuses, each student has art and music classes throughout the week and participates in performances such as musicals or plays a few times a year. At the 中学, students continue to hone their artistic skills in art and music classes, with the option to join several audition-based musical ensembles plus two major all-school theatre productions. The 高级学校 promotes the arts as an essential part of a well-rounded education and motivates students to further develop their individual creative abilities. The 希尔曼表演艺术中心 provides students with a dedicated facility for both music and theatre classes and performances. The Benedum 视觉艺术 Center houses studios for painting, ceramics, 木材和金属制品, 和建筑. The facility's Gailliot Gallery regularly holds art shows where students, faculty, 校友和来访艺术家展览. 了解更多十大网赌平台推荐的艺术项目.

Our elementary schools have an extensive physical education programs and utilize their outdoor spaces and adjacent parks to get students moving. Interscholastic sports begin in sixth grade at the 中学. 在高中 we compete in the WPIAL and a wide range of team and individual sports is available, 有些是竞争性的，有些不是. 不管是什么运动, however, a student can discover that exploring your potential, reaching for your best and learning the value of teamwork are just as important as winning. 了解更多十大网赌平台推荐体育的知识.

Many parents are involved as hands-on volunteers in the library and in classrooms, 作为班主任或年级家长, 实地考察陪同和活动主持人. 十大网赌平台推荐有一个活跃的 家长协会, which is open to all, and we ensure new parents are offered a variety of ways to get involved.

We have four libraries: the 乡村走读学校 and 初中 libraries have 12,每册000册, 中学14,000 volumes; and more than 21,000 volumes are shelved at the 高级学校, along with more than 100 magazine subscriptions, 10份报纸和全文数据库. All three libraries subscribe to numerous full-text databases with remote access, so students are able to use these resources and the catalog from home or on campus 24 hours a day. Campus-wide WiFi capability allows students access to the catalogs of area public and university libraries as well. Shady Side is a member of the statewide Inter-Library Loan System, enabling students to borrow books from libraries all across Pennsylvania. 了解更多十大网赌平台推荐图书馆的信息.

这所高中有一名学生主任, 教务主任, 学校辅导员, 学习专家, 每个年级也有一名副院长. Additionally, our 大学辅导办公室 has three counselors. Each student also has a faculty or staff advisor, and the two meet regularly. The 中学 advisory system assigns one faculty/staff member to each student for daily meetings. Also on staff are a licensed clinical psychologist/school counselor and 学习专家. At our elementary campuses, 学校辅导员 and two learning specialists are on staff. Each campus also has a full-time school nurse. 整个学院, faculty members actively participate in the lives of our students, 进进出出教室.

Students at the 高级学校 have the option of 每周有5到7天是寄宿的. Space allowing, students can also board by term. For students who live outside of Pittsburgh, boarding offers time to concentrate on studies and prepare for the independence of college life by living on campus. One of the goals of the boarding program is to create a good balance between academic endeavors and social activities. 十大网赌平台推荐努力创造一个家庭环境. Two on-campus residence halls house our boarders, with four faculty members living in each dorm. An additional 14 教职员工 members live on campus with their families, enjoy their meals in the dining hall with students, and are available for informal counsel and support. Many campus facilities are open in the evenings to boarders. Our ratio of students to adults living on campus is 3:1 in the boarding program. There are a range of weekend activities planned for our seven-day boarders using the many resources in the city of Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.

Day and boarding students come from a wide variety of Pittsburgh neighborhoods and Western Pennsylvania towns: Allison Park, Aspinwall, Altoona, 伯特利公园, Butler, Churchill, Cranberry, 东自由, Edgewood, Export, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Gibsonia, Glenshaw, Greensburg, 码, Mars, McMurray, 门罗维尔, Mt. Lebanon, Murrysville, Natrona山庄, New Castle, 新肯辛顿, 新威明顿, North Side, Oakland, Penn Hills, 点风, Ross, Sewickley, Shadyside, 松鼠山, Uniontown, Upper St. 克莱尔,韦克斯福德.

Additionally, students who board come from eleven states outside of PA and eight countries.

We celebrate both our similarities and uniquenesses as individuals. We share with one another the history and significance of religious and cultural holidays and their relevance to our past and present. 十大网赌平台推荐坚决坚持十大网赌平台推荐的 五大指导原则 which act as the lens through which we engage with one another every day. Our admissions policies incorporate a long-standing commitment to enrolling a diverse student body from a variety of cultural, religious, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds and reflecting many talents and interests. Our gender balance is 53 percent boys and 47 percent girls and students of color make up 35 percent of the student body. 进一步了解十大网赌平台推荐的 commitment to diversity.

Each elementary school campus offers free before school care beginning at 7:30 a.m. and an extensive after school program where children can enjoy enrichment classes, 学习和玩耍的时间，直到下午6点.m.  Child care programming is also offered on in-service and conference days.  For information specific to each campus visit the following pages:  for the 初中's 课后探险家 和乡村走读学校 课后冒险家.

Bus and van transportation is available daily to all four campuses from Pittsburgh and many suburban neighborhoods. School districts are required by law to offer the same transportation to all students, including those enrolled in private schools, provided the district where the family lives is within 10 miles of the school. 根据学生人数, 阴暗的一面, 根据私人合同, 到学校的公共汽车/面包车服务. 了解更多交通资讯.

SSA grants financial aid to families on the basis of need, subject to availability of funds. We also offer a number of merit scholarships and alumni legacy awards. 十大网赌平台推荐总共给了大约3美元.9 million in assistance in the 2018-2019 year, supporting 19 percent of students in grades PK-12. We work with the School and Student Service for Financial Aid, an organization that has created guidelines to establish need. All financial aid awards are reassessed annually. 学费支付计划也可用. 了解更多十大网赌平台推荐支付SSA的信息.

背阴书院 is proud to offer 包括学费, which means that additional costs of attendance -- such as lunch, 书籍及资料, 技术, and student activities -- are included in tuition. 也有一些例外. The fee for participating in ice hockey is not included in tuition, and there are some financial processing fees that may apply depending on the tuition payment plan and insurance options you select. Afterschool and summer programs are billed separately.

Five separate steps make up the admissions process for grades 6-12: completing an interview and touring the school; completing the online application; submitting teacher recommendations; taking the admissions test; and providing us with a school transcript.

对于PK和K, we evaluate children for their school readiness; for grades 1-5, we require a test appropriate to developmental levels. Teacher recommendations and transcripts, if applicable, are also required.

Each step in this process is important to the admissions committee in determining if SSA is the right match for each child. The committee is made up of administrators, faculty, 在高中, 学生代表. We encourage applicants to visit classes for a day and experience first-hand what it means to be an SSA student. In general, admission is highly competitive. SSA的招生是不考虑需求的:也就是说, students are evaluated on the basis of character and performance without regard for a family’s ability to pay full tuition.

At every grade level we look for motivated students who are excited about learning and exploration, who are willing to take risks and try new things, and whose potential can blossom in an environment of academic challenge and support.

We place the most emphasis on each prospective student’s abilities and potential, although we understand the importance parents place on keeping siblings in the same school. We also greatly value the connection we have with alumni. It is most important, though, that 背阴书院 is the right match for the student.

While independent schools are committed to providing a positive and safe educational experience for all of their students, 没有共同的模具. Each school has developed a distinct program and culture based on its mission and suited to its own community. Finding the right match is an important process and parents should gather as much information as possible. It helps to begin the process the fall before the year your child would enroll.