Shanghai international schools are priced beyond the reach of many expats
Options are limited for foreign families in Shanghai who have to pay school fees out of their own pockets, posing difficult choices
When American expat Heather Rose-Chase and her family first moved to Shanghai four years ago, they quickly realised that they could not afford to send their two sons to international school.
Chase's husband was an expat on a "half package", a remuneration deal that eliminates or reduces certain benefits typically associated with foreign workers.
His employer does not pay for his children's education, and at first the family turned to homeschooling because they couldn't find an affordable option.
"When we walked in we thought - no problem, we'll be local [hires]," Rose-Chase said. "As soon as we started researching the cost of the schools, we quickly realised that we couldn't afford it. We just didn't know."
For expats who have to pay school fees out of their own pockets, and cannot afford international schools, there are only a few options. They can home-school or enrol their kids into local private or public schools, depending on their children's proficiency in Putonghua.
Yet for many like Rose-Chase - whose sons could only speak limited Chinese - finding an affordable school that could accommodate foreigners posed a challenge.