The American Community School of Abu Dhabi

More from the Middle East this week. I’ve never had a chance to get to Abu Dhabi, but there’s just something about what I’ve heard of it that is enticing. Well, here is a school with an impressive sounding set of values and programs that is located in…Abu Dhabi.

ACS was established in 1972 and is a non-profit school accredited by the Middle States Association. There are over 800 students from 46 nationalities studying at ACS. 45% of the students are American. There are 81 teachers on the staff and two-thirds of those have a Master’s degree. The student-teacher ratio is 9:1. The Elementary School moved into a new building in 2001. Administratively, ACS has a superintendent and three principals.

The Mission

The Mission of the American Community School of Abu Dhabi is to empower and inspire each student to define and shape his or her future, pursue his or her dreams and contribute to society. This mission will be pursued in partnership with parents through an integrated, college preparatory, American curriculum.

Core Values

We Believe That:

* Diversity with respect is a strength

* All people have equal intrinsic value

* People are responsible for their choices, actions and the consequences that result

* Transforming dreams into reality requires courage, initiative, and commitment

* People flourish in loving, caring relationships

* Learning empowers

Elementary School

ACS has over 400 students from 30 countries in grades KG through 5. The school uses an American based curriculum. Students have language arts, math, science and social studies with their classroom teacher and an assistant. Specialist teachers provide instruction in art, Arabic, music, technology and PE. After school activities supplement the academic program. The Elementary School emphasizes a close relationship with parents, and they are invited to participate actively in a variety of classroom and school roles. The Viper Values (my guess is that the school mascot is the viper) are also emphasized: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Fair, and Be Honest.

The Middle School

The Middle School has over 200 students from around the world. Students take a core set of courses along with electives. The core courses are Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, PE, Technology, and Health. Electives include Technology, Drama, Art, Band, Choir, and PE. Middle School students must also take a foreign language. These include French, Spanish, Arabic as a Native Language, or Arabic as a Foreign Language. Students from Arab countries must take Arabic in one form or another. Students take a standardized test annually.

Progress reports are issued four times a year at mid-term and report cards are issued each term as well. We used the progress report format at Lahore American School, and I thought that it was an effective way to keep parents informed and to make sure that there were no surprises at report card time.

High School

The high school program is college prep. ACS Abu Dhabi is an IB World School. Students in the IB program are also required to complete the ACS graduation requirements. Additionally, ACS also offers two AP courses: Calculus and Chemistry. All students from Arabic speaking countries are required to take Arabic in years 9 through 12. Muslim students are also required to take Islamic Studies and need to take the Ministry of Education examination so that they can have the UAE equivalency for their graduation. Students need a minimum of 25 credits to graduate.

Facilities

ACS has an 8 acre campus. There are 60 classrooms that include a science lab and an infirmary. The school has a Mac lab (yes!) and students can access it before, during and after school. The computers are networked and connected to the Internet. The school is committed to using technology and has 380 computers for its 800 students which is an excellent ratio. Based on the website, technology is used by both faculty and students. The Library/Media Center is available to students during the same time periods as the computer lab. ACS has two athletic fields and a Fitness Center. The school also has a pool and has very strict guidelines about its use. There also is a Theater that is used for drama, music and student assemblies.

Activities

ACS has a wide range of activities where students travel to other schools for athletic and academic events and competitions. These include: basketball, softball, debate, fine arts, swimming, soccer, track and field and more. ACS also has the National Junior Honor Society, Student Council, and several publications that students can write for. ACS is a member of the Eastern Mediterranean Activities Conference. The EMAC sponsors athletic, arts and academic activities around the area. Some of the cities that ACS students recently traveled to for EMAC activities include: Cairo, Dubai, Amman, Athens, Damascus, and Kuwait City. The school pays for ¼ of the cost of the airfare for these trips.

Students at ACS also have the opportunity for field trips. Students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 take extended field trips as part of the curriculum.

The salary schedule for 2006-2007

The school website sets out the salary schedule clearly. This is always a great benefit when a teacher is looking around for interesting places to work while still keeping financial issues in mind. While at first glance the salary seems fairly low, when you take into consideration the Overseas Hire Incentive mentioned below under benefits, things look much better.

Teachers are placed on the salary schedule according to past experience (believe it or not, some schools pay all teachers the same regardless of how long they have been teaching). The maximum step that you can enter the school at is Step 7 if you have nine years or more experience as a certified teacher.

Step 0 starts at $20,239 and Step 7 for a BA starts at $31,512 and maxes at $36,114 for teachers with a MA plus 30 credits. A teacher with 2 years of experience and a BA would start at $26,426 which is fairly low, but don’t forget the OHI.

Benefits

The first two years you receive 17.5% of the base salary as an Overseas Hire Incentive. For the third and subsequent years you receive 18.13%.

· There are no taxes

· Tuition and Fee Waivers

· Staff Development according to annual budget provisions

· Paid physical exam at the start of employment

· Shipping of 500 lbs.

· Beginning and End of employment airfare.

· Medical and Dental insurance

· Can be paid in Dollars or Dirhams

· Death Benefit

· Semi-furnished housing including major appliances and bedroom furniture along with a one time furniture allowance of Dhs. 12,000 per household which is paid over a three-year period. You will need to stay three years to receive all of this.

· Paid utilities

· Car loan of up to 24,000 dirhams to be repaid over a 24 month period

· Annual leave to point of origin

· All school holidays

· Sick leave – 15 days at full pay. 30 days at half pay. Teachers receive an additional 15 working days per year in the full pay category which is added to the total number of unused days.

· Personal leave – 3 days with pay. May accumulate up to 7 days to be used for a personal business trip.

· Leave without pay – 45 days

· Maternity leave after one year.

· Paternity leave

· Compassionate leave of 10 paid working days for immediate family members with paid airfare to point of origin.

· Emergency Evacuation (non-medical) – airfare to safe haven (as designated by the school and a per diem. In case of emergency closing of the school, you may be paid up to six months of salary and all usual benefits (airfare, shipping, etc.)

· Emergency Evacuation (medical) – paid airfare to the nearest appropriate medical facility. If the Superintendent decides that the family needs to accompany the patient, airfare will be provided for them as well.

About Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is one of the seven emirates of the UAE, and it is the largest. The city Abu Dhabi is the capital. There are approximately three million people living in the UAE. There is a large expat community in Abu Dhabi, and the city is known for all of the development that has gone on there over the past two decades.