| American Cooperative School of Tunis | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| Cite Taeib M'hiri BP 150 2045 Laouina, Tunisia, Tunisia |
|
| Information | |
| School type | Private, Non-Profit, Elementary/Middle/High School |
| Established | 1959 |
| Faculty | 64 |
| Grades | Pre-kindergarten-12 |
| Language | English |
| Hours in school day | 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM (7 hours) |
| Mascot | Falcon |
| Accreditation(s) | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and CIS |
| Average SAT scores | 1524 |
| Tuition | $5,000-$22000 (depending on Grade Level) |
| Affiliation | United States Department of State |
| Website | http://www.acst.net/ |
The American Cooperative School of Tunis or ACST is a comprehensive American, international, non-profit (BS), private school located in La Goulette, Tunisia
The school enrolls more than 560 students in grades PreK-12,
The school is widely known for its International Baccalaureate Diploma Program which it has used since 2000. It is currently the only IB World School in Tunisia.[1]
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The American Cooperative School of Tunis was founded in 1959, originally as an American Elementary School only teaching Grades PreK-8. A ninth grade was added in 1982 and a tenth grade in 1993. Eleventh and twelfth grade were added in 1995 and 1996 respectively with the first graduating class being the class of June 1997. [2] The school's enrollment increased dramatically following the temporary relocation of the African Development Bank from its headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire to Tunis, Tunisia in 2003[3]
ACST is located on a 10-acre (40,000 m2) campus with completely new or renovated building dedicated to pre-school, elementary, middle and high school. A three-year expansion project was completed in May 2006 and includes a new elementary playground space with new equipment, an amphitheatre and green space. The admin/preschool building contains an elementary library with an amphitheater and elementary computer lab. For the upper school there are two science labs, two computer labs, two art rooms and the main library with more than 12,000 volumes and a computer research area. Other buildings house a large music classroom, school store, copy center and warehouse. The school has a full gym/auditorium (with three classrooms), a second newly constructed gym, a cafeteria and a regulation sized grass-covered soccer/softball field with a 400-meter track being renovated this year. An on-campus parking garage for 74 vehicles was constructed last school year. ACST shares use of a newly constructed 25-meter swimming pool located at the nearby United States Embassy to Tunisia. Bus transportation is available to and from the school from most residential areas of Tunis, La Marsa, Gammarth, El Manar and Carthage.[4]
The American Cooperative School of Tunis has American style high school graduation requirements offering their own "ACST Diploma" in addition to the International Baccalaureate Diploma. The ACST Diploma can be obtained by earning credits. These credits consist of four credits of English, Social Studies, and Mathematics as well as three credits of Science. In addition, two credits of Foreign Language, two credits of Physical Education, one course of Art, Music, Technology, and Health are also required. An additional four credits must be obtained by taking other courses to earn the required total of 24. Earning the International Baccalaureate Diploma constitutes automatic fulfillment of the ACST Diploma requirements.[5]
The initial years of the ACST upper school also known as grades 9 and 10 or Freshman and Sophomore years consist of American style high school courses designed for 14 to 16 year-olds created and regulated solely by ACST. The school offers English, Math, Biology, and Chemistry as core subjects. However, ACST does not offer Physics and thus only offers IB Physics at Standard Level in its IB Diploma Program. ACST also offers electives that students may take in addition to the core subject. The high school electives for the 2007-2008 school year include: Music, Art, Advanced Art, Modern Standard Arabic, Technology, Model United Nations, Drama, Introduction to Research, 20th Century African History, and German.[5]
A basic IB Diploma Program is offered to all students in Grades 11 and 12 (or junior and senior) years as well as American style high school electives for non-IB Diploma students who only seek the ACST Diploma. The school grades student using both their own American style grading scale as well as having their students take the IB Exams which are externally marked by the International Baccalaureat Organization.[5]