The American School Foundation of Guadalajara, A.C. (ASFG) is a private school that offers an educational program from early childhood to high school. The school was originally founded in 1908 and reestablished as a not-for-profit organization in 1956. The mission of the school is to educate students in a bilingual, bicultural, and secular environment to be purposeful learners, critical and creative thinkers, effective communicators, and community contributors based on a foundation of honor, freedom, and commitment. The school year extends from mid-August to late June.
Organization: The school is governed by an 18-member board of directors appointed for terms of 1-3 years by the American School Board of Trustees, the sponsor of the school. The school is incorporated and has tax-exempt status in Mexico and the U.S. by means of the US-Mexico tax treaty.
Curriculum: The curriculum is that of U.S. general academic and college-preparatory schools and various official Mexican programs. Instruction is in English and Spanish. The school is accredited by Cognia, the Secretary of Education of Mexico, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Ninety-eight percent of graduates go on to colleges and universities in the United States, Mexico, and internationally. The ASFG offers limited support services for students with mild to moderate learning disabilities through 9th grade. Honors and Advanced Placement (AP classes are offered at the high school level.
Faculty: In the 2022-2023 school year, ASFG has 311 total staff including 162 teachers, 49 of whom are U.S. citizens, 99 host-country nationals, and 14 third-country nationals. Our faculty and staff represent 11 nationalities, including Mexican, American, Argentine, Australian, Canadian, Spanish, Jamaican, Russian, Salvadoran, Uruguayan, and Venezuelan.
Enrollment: For the 2023-2024 school year, enrollment was 1,501 (N-grade 4: 775; grades 5-8: 377; grades 9-12: 349). Of the total, 244 were U.S. citizens, 1,059 were host-country nationals, and 198 were third-country nationals representing 34 other countries.
Facilities: The school owns its own property (approximately 6.7 acres). There are 102 classrooms, six science laboratories, two library media centers, four dry art studios, two wet art studios, four music rooms, one A/V recording studio, two computer labs, three robotics labs, an administrative building, an auditorium, an infirmary, two cafeterias, a multipurpose gymnasium, a fitness weight room, three section playgrounds, three sports areas, and a heated swimming pool. The technology program has a one-to-one program: 3rd – 6th (Chromebooks) and 7th – 12th (MacBook) with 1,675 endpoint devices available and 36 mobile device carts.
Finances: In the 2023-2024 school year annual tuition rates are as follows (Mexican pesos): N/PK/K: 149,930; grades 1-6 187,200; grades 7-9 218,000; and grades 10-12: 222,100. In addition, there is an annual inscription fee of $95,800 (depends on number of children in family) and an admission fee for all new students as follows: N/PK/K-grade 6: $118,000 and grades 7-12: 59,000 (payment depends on number of children enrolled per family). (All fees are quoted in Mexican pesos.)
Special Needs: Review the Special Needs Profile for this school to learn more about their capability to support students with exceptionalities.
This Fact Sheet is intended to provide general information. Prospective users of the schools may wish to inquire further of A/OPR/OS or contact the school directly for more specific and up-to-the-minute information. Information and statistics are current as of September 2023 and provided by the school.