At TASOK, we believe that a strong home to school connection ultimately benefits the educational experience of our students. We value positive relationships and strive to be a friendly, close-knit and diverse community of learners. Good communication represents detailed information about what is happening at school and at home, ensuring that both sides take responsibility for the development of each student.
TASOK was founded in 1961 as “TASOL” for “The American School of Leopoldville”, Leopoldville being the name of the capital of the newly independent Democratic Republic of the Congo. The “L” was amended to “K” when the name of the city was changed to Kinshasa in 1966.
After independence in 1960, the Congolese schooling system entered into chaos, and many of the European schools that had catered to business people, missionaries, diplomats, and aid workers closed. A group of these led by American missionaries wanted to start a K-12 institution for their children and for others desiring an American-style of education in Central Africa. The founders were an American missionary couple named Ruby and Orville Wiebe. Land for the school was donated by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Board who resided on the mission station near Stanley Pool (now Pool Malebo) on the Congo River. Until the school buildings were completed, the first classes were held in buildings on the mission station.
Campus Facilities
The American School of Kinshasa provides fairly well-equipped facilities. The campus is split into two halves, one for the elementary school (students PreK-5th grade) and the other for the middle/high school (6th-12th grades). The elementary area consists of four main buildings. There is a separate classroom for each grade and among the buildings are the elementary library, cafeteria, technology, music and PE rooms.
For outdoor activities, the lower campus boasts tennis courts, a soccer field, a basketball court, and a playground.
