Head of School's Welcome & Background

HEAD OF SCHOOL'S WELCOME

Welcome to Taipei American School’s website, where we will attempt to show you how our dynamic, multicultural, and compassionate community members learn and grow here.

I am delighted to introduce myself to you as Taipei American School’s Head of School. I am honored to serve TAS, and I am filled with optimism for the future of the school and the impact our students and graduates will have on the world.

We proudly offer the best of the American-based system to an international population most of whose members are already multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic searchers of the best of internationalism.

We are a bridge that leads people from self to selflessness, from individuality to interdependence, and from the finest classrooms of a top independent school to success in the world beyond our borders. We value honesty, respect, responsibility, kindness, and courage and the education of the whole child.

As the Head of School, I, too, look forward to serving this amazing community as a bridge, a bridge from one historic chapter under Dr. Hennessy to a new, chapter. As a Taiwanese-American woman, I also look forward to serving as a bridge between cultures and languages.

Please peruse our website and listen and learn from the perspectives and stories herein. If there is one thing you need to know about Tigers, it is that any challenges that we have faced and will continue to face will be met head-on with both grit and grace. If you are looking for a new community to call home, as either a parent, student, or educator, I know you have made an excellent choice in choosing TAS. I hope you enjoy reading, watching, and engaging with our website.

Sincerely,
Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge
Head of School

Head of School's Background

Head of School's Background

Grace Cheng Dodge

BA; MS; MBA; CPA; ED.D.

Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge is the former Director of Admission at Wellesley College. Prior to joining Wellesley in 2015, she was an Associate Director of Admissions at Harvard, having first joined the Harvard Admissions Office in 2002. From 2009-2012, she took a professional leave from Harvard and spent three years here at Taipei American School as a college counselor and Director of College Counseling. She also taught geometry and essay writing during three summers of TAS Summer Academy. Grace returned to the TAS College Counseling office in 2018 before assuming the position of Deputy Head of School in the 2019-20 academic year. Dr. Dodge served as Interim Head of School during SY 2020-2021 before her selection as the next TAS Head of School.

While back in the US, Grace was nominated to be a US State Department/College Board Overseas Schools Program traveler to western Europe. In this capacity, she traveled to various international and American schools abroad, presenting to lower, middle, and upper school communities of US expatriate children and parents on developing the whole child and mastering the building blocks to being a successful student in an American school system.

Grace has been a presenter at the EARCOS Teachers' Conference on the subject of college application essay writing, and she has also presented at various National Association of College Admission Counseling conferences and national College Board Forums. She was Chair-Elect of the New England College Board Regional Council before relocating to Taiwan.

Grace is a 1997 graduate of Harvard University with a cum laude degree in applied mathematics. She holds an MS in accounting, MBA, and EdD from Northeastern University. She is certified as a PreK-12 administrator by the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Prior to entering the field of education, she was employed by PwC LLP and she remains a licensed CPA in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Born and raised in the US, she is fluent in Taiwanese. Almost seen on Season 4 of MasterChef USA, Grace enjoys cooking with her husband, Mike.