American Community School of Abu Dhabi
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Founded in 1972, The American Community School of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) is one of the city's oldest private elementary, middle school and high schools. Instruction is co-educational, in English and based on the American educational system. In addition to high school college preparatory diplomas ACS offers the International Baccalaureate series of courses as well.
The school is fully accredited by the US based Middle States Association (MSA) and is a non-profit licensed by the UAE's Ministry of Education. The school is administered by a Superintendent and run by an eight person Board of Trustees.
The school's mascot is the Sand Viper. The school's colors are green and white.
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[edit] The School
The American Community School of Abu Dhabi is a co-educational day school governed by an elected board of parents and affiliate with the Office of Overseas Schools, United States Department of State. Located on a site donated by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the school served the American community as well as qualified students of other nationalities within the Abu Dhabi community.
The school is a large modern facility consisting of several contemporary classrooms equipped with computers. Buildings include a large English language library, cafeteria and snack bar, music rooms, science labs, computer centers, two indoor gymnasiums and two fields (real and artificial grass). The outdoor facilities include a grass soccer, football and softball field and an Olympic sized swimming pool. Because of its capacity, ACS hosts several athletic tournaments, particularly those of the Eastern Mediterranean Athletic Conference (EMAC).
Currently, the ACS campus is facing the problem of being overcrowded. In particular, the high school has become too crowded to the point where the administration is looking towards building a new campus, possibly off the island.
[edit] Mission Statement
The mission of the American Community School of Abu Dhabi is to empower and inspire all students to define and shape their futures, pursue their dreams and contribute to society. This mission will be pursued in partnership with parents through an integrated, college preparatory, American curriculum.'
[edit] Elementary School
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The elemetary school operates from KG1 to grade 5.
[edit] Middle School
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The middle school operates from grades 6 to 8. The Middle School operates primarily in the same building as the High School.
[edit] High School
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The high school operates from grades 9 to 12. It is located on the upper floor of the same building as the Middle School. The high school offers many IB Diploma courses, both at Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL), as well as a few advanced placement classes. Starting in 2007, ACS has started to slowly phase out its use of AP classes. This is due to their replacement by a wider variety of IB classes. Students are also given a wide range of elective courses to choose from. To graduate the ACS High School, students must have at least 25 credits at the end of four years. Along with the general requirement of 25 credits, students are required to obtain a certain amount of credits in particular areas of study; such as 0.5 credits in Computer Sciences and 2 credits in Physical Education. 10 hours of community service are also required of ACS high school students for each year. The community service department of the school is very broad, and contains multiple organizations such as Habitat for Humanities and World Hunger.
[edit] Academic Reputation
ACS is known to provide quality education, similar to that of private schools in the United States. Many ACS students, upon graduation, attend renowned academic institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Los Angeles , Princeton University , Duke University, Cornell University, and numerous others.
[edit] Students and Faculty
The faculty at ACS consists of many experienced teachers from around the world. Approximately 52 faculty members possess Master's degrees from US colleges. There are also many teaching couples in the school. Some faculty members hold doctorates and have graduated from prestigious universities, such as MIT.
The faculty:student ratio is approximately 1:9.
The student body consists of over 800 students. About 45% of the students are from the US, 15% from Canada, and 5% from the UAE itself. The rest of the student body makes up a considerable diversity including students from the rest of the Middle East, Europe and the world.
[edit] Accreditations and Memberships
1) ACS is a fully accredited school by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Philadelphia, PA.
2) ACS is fully approved and licensed by the UAE Ministry of Education.
3) ACS is an IB World School, certified by the International Baccalaureate Organization.
4) ACS is an associate member of both the North East South Asian Association of Overseas Schools (NESA) as well as the European Council of International Schools (ECIS).
5) ACS is a member of the Eastern Mediterranean Activities Conference (EMAC).
[edit] Technology Integration
ACS is known for its extensive technology integration. Apple Computer's Macintosh computers with fixed and wireless internet connection are used throughout the school. Students from grades six to twelve are able to access their grades 24/7, using a web browser via a system known as PowerSchool. ACS also uses the communication platform FirstClass to further enhance and promote communication between students and faculty. The program enables instructors to post information, regarding their classes and any co-curricular activities they sponsor. It also facilitates the saving of files on the school server. Recently, ACS has started to use BlackBoard as their course delivery system.
