| American Community School of Abu Dhabi | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Khalidiyah Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
|
| Information | |
| Motto | Turning Dreams into Reality |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Status | Open |
| Superintendent | George Robinson |
| Grades | KG1-12 |
| Medium of language | English |
| School Colour(s) | Green and White |
| Athletics conference | Eastern Mediterranean Activities Conference |
| Mascot | Gunther the Sand Viper |
| Nickname | ACS |
| Team name | Sand Vipers |
| Accreditation(s) | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools International Baccalaureate Organization |
| Website | http://acs.sch.ae |
The American Community School of Abu Dhabi is school operating in the United Arab Emirates) founded in 1972. Instruction is co-educational, in English and based on the American educational system. ACS offers the International Baccalaurete series and college preparatory diplomas.
The school is accredited by 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.
ACS is an IB World School, certified by the International Baccalaureate Organization. It also 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) and Eastern Mediterranean Activities Conference (EMAC).
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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 students of other nationalities within the Abu Dhabi community.
The school is a large facility consisting of several 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. The outdoor facilities include a grass soccer, football and softball field and 25 meter swimming pool. Cramer Field located behind the school gym is constructed of Astroturf; an artificial grass. Because of its capacity, ACS hosts several athletic tournaments, particularly those of the Eastern Mediterranean Activities 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. However, the administration has created a temporary solution to this issue by the creation of a new building alongside the science wing of the high school. Some argue that this new addition to the school has created an increased traffic issue within the senior and junior hallways.
The school has several instructional programs divided by age group. The initial level is the elementary school program from Kindergarten to grade 5. The middle school program operates from grades 6 to 8. The Middle School offers both the core subjects and two electives that the student had chosen.
The high school operates from grades 9 to 12. Starting in 2007, ACS has started to slowly phase out its use of Advanced Placement (AP) classes. This is due to their replacement by a wider variety of International Baccalaureate (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 Humanity, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF).
The faculty at ACS consists of teachers from around the world. The student body consists of over eight hundred students. About 45% of the students are from the US, 15% from Canada, and 5% from the UAE itself. The rest of the students are from the rest of the Middle East, Europe and the world.
Even though ACS is regarded as one of the top private schools in Abu Dhabi, an article published by the National in October 2009 highlights the fact that tighter background checks on foreign teachers are necessary as details emerged about the case of a former ACS teacher jailed in the US for trying to coerce pupils into having sex.
Richard Neal Willetts, a former drama teacher at the American Community School in Abu Dhabi, was arrested in New York by the FBI for enticement of minors. Willets was an active employee at the school in the years 2006-2007, and was allowed to chaperone a school trip to Mussandam, Oman.
It is difficult to carry out proper checks on foreign teachers, said the superintendent at the American Community School.
The following excerpt is cited from the article:"Teachers face limited criminal checks", by Marten Youssef, Courts and Justice Reporter for the National, an established daily newspaper in the UAE.
“We have teachers coming from all over the world and many of these teachers have extensive international experiences, so to do a thorough background check is almost unfeasible,” Dr George Robinson said.
“It’s very difficult for schools to conduct their own checks in the UAE simply because of the diversity of the nationalities. If this was in the United States, it would be a different story.
“With the state of the world now, it has become more of a concern and certainly something that needs to be addressed.”