| The American School of Doha | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1988 |
| Type | Private |
| Students | > 1300 |
| Grades | K–12 |
| Location | Doha, Qatar |
| Accreditation | New England Association of Schools and Colleges |
| Mascot | Dragons |
| Website | www.asd.edu.qa |
The American School of Doha (ASD) is located in Doha, Qatar. The school was founded in 1988 by Ambassador Joseph Ghougassian to serve the needs of the American community in Qatar; it operated until 1997 as the American International School (AIS). .[1]
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The school is an independent, U.S. accredited, college preparatory school, committed to provide a high standard of educational excellence through an enriched American curriculum, and taking advantage of its multicultural student body .[2] [3]
More than 75 countries are represented by the students of ASD.[1] The majority are from expatriate families, although many come from Qatar. The largest percentage of students are North American, with students also from Europe, South America, Oceania, Asia and neighboring Arab countries.
In 2007, the school opened a new building adjacent to the old American School. It was designed to be “one of the top five international school facilities in the world, as far as design for learning is concerned."[4] The former building was renovated , to include an expanded library, a new and larger multi-purpose room, an expanded cafeteria, two elementary science labs and a new central office complex.[1] The renovation was completed in 2009. The middle and high school occupy the new building, while the elementary uses the old school.
About 80% of ASD’s graduates attend North American universities. Some students choose to remain in Qatar, attending schools in Education City. The remaining students return to their home countries to attend universities in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Canada.
Students of the American School of Doha are consistently accepted at many top U.S. and international universities, including Harvard University, Columbia University, the United States Military Academy at West Point, and the London School of Economics.[1]
The school has a well-established Advanced Placement (AP) program, and recently began offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. The school also offers specialized courses, such as Art, Vocal Music, Instrumental Band and Drama. It encourages all students to take AP or IB classes to challenge themselves and experience the rigors of college-level learning in a familiar HS setting. AP and IB courses also provide ASD students with an opportunity to earn advanced placement and credit at universities.
To graduate from ASD, students complete 25 units of credit in the usual subjects, and a Senior Seminar. 40 hours of community service is also required.
The school has a chapter of the National Honor Society to students, for students in grades 10-12 with a GPA of 3.5 or greater. Students in grades 7-9 may become eligible for the National Junior Honor Society.
The fine arts program offers a wide variety of opportunities to the students, while also providing an active arts program for the community. . The drama program puts on several productions throughout the school year and sells out seating for most showings. The school also offers programs in music, including band and choir. Dance, Theater Technology, Chamber Singers (a form of a'cappela), Guitar, Men's Choir, Women's Choir, and several advanced versions of these class have recently been added.
Other opportunities include forensics, Model United Nations, newspaper staff, and yearbook. ASD has recently become well known for its robotics club, which has consistently ranked as one of the best in the entire Middle East.
The school was formerly a member of the Eastern Mediterranean Activities Conference (EMAC), in 2010 collaborated with top athletic schools from the conference to create a new, more competitive conference called the Middle East South Asia Conference (MESAC).[5] Each team plays in tournaments involving all teams in the conference, hosted by schools around the Gulf region on a rotating basis. The ASD Dragons are highly competitive in all sports, notably basketball and volleyball. In addition to EMAC and MESAC conference events, ASD participates in invitational events, particularly the Cairo Invitational Track and Field Tournament. With 15-20 teams competing in this invitational every year, the Dragons have often been among the top 3 schools, with students breaking records at the event each year. In 2010, ASD took the overall title from the home team, CAC Cairo, who had not been beaten in the previous 30 years.
ASD offers athletic teams in the following sports:
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