Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Report of what it's like to live there - 03/31/17
Personal Experiences from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
School Name:
American International School of Riyadh
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
Both
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
Grades 1 through 8 during 2016-17
3. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
US government
4. Are other schools available to expatriates in this city? Why did you choose this particular school?
Yes - British School (though there is usually no space for non Brits, several Embassy familes have their children there and many others are on waiting list) and Multi-National School (Australian - has quite a bad reputation among parents and students)
Admissions & Welcome:
1. Are the admissions and placement procedures clearly stated to prospective families, either on the school website or through other means of communication?
Yes
2. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
They do a very good job. Middle and HS students receive a "buddy' who makes contact with them some months prior to arrival. The "buddy" is generally of similar demographics (home country, etc). Having been to numerous overseas posts, this was a first and really made the difference. My one child's "buddy" remains his best friend almost a year later.
Administration & School Procedures:
1. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
Attrocious to be honest. It is not for lack of means, however. The MS principal once thought he was bragging when he said "we have 37 means by which to communicate with you." This is not really an exageration. There are emails, texts, teacher blogs, Moodle, learning commons, Google Docs, numerous apps, twitter, instagram, facebook, and a plethora more. All with dedicated passwords/etc. There is no one single place to find academic information, grades, after school activities, social events, etc. Nor will your children be able to tell you what's going on either. Many people that we know simply delete emails without even reading them since they send so many, all stating/restating the same things.
2. Aside from school fees, are there required expenses such as uniforms, laptops/tablets, musical instruments, or field trips that parents are expected to cover? What are the approximate costs?
No uniforms except for PE which are required at every grade level and run about $30. Big cost is for IT - students in grades 3-7 require a latest generation iPad and grades 8-12 require a laptop. Lots of other small things - trips, etc add up over time.
Academics & Resources:
1. What personal or academic counseling resources are available at this school? Is there a dedicated college counselor at the school? Is he/she familiar with universities worldwide?
There are several counselors for each school - ES, MS, & HS. Personality dependent, most do a good job, some more than others.
2. Is there before and/or after-school daycare available? What are the costs?
No, only for teachers children and only for a fee.
3. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
There are 2 libararies. Both are very modern (campus is new being built in 2014) and nicely equipped though not really as well as you'd think. This is due to the school's obsession with technology. There is a major push to become a totally paperless school and the libraries suffer. This said, students can borrow books pretty much at their desire.
4. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
All IT resources come from you thanks to the school's Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. You must have a latest generation computer and at last count, my 3rd grader required approximately 30 apps on their iPad. There is a computer lab in the MS/HS as well as Chrome books available.
5. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
Excellent resources with the noted exception of a pool. The school has a full turf field, all-weather track and 3/4 turf field for elementary. There are 2 indoor gyms.
6. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
Average of 1:20-1:23 across the whole school
7. Are Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses available in upper grades? If this is an IB school, is the full diploma required of all students?
No AP. IB is available.
8. Are students generally challenged appropriately by the curriculum? Please describe any particular strengths or weaknesses in this area. Do you have any thoughts how the curriculum is applied and implemented at this school?
ES (through 5th grade) is fine. After MS the general thought is that children are 1-1.5 years behind MD/VA schools.
Our ES children were on grade level per MD schools. The noted exception is science. There is little science. There is a lot of silliness (focus on becoming global citizens, etc) but overall it is totally fine.
MS is where the floor drops out. Math is the worst where we estimate our MS students are 1-1.5 years behind Maryland schools. There are little bright points academically from MS onward. Humanities teachers (english + social studies) are non-native English speakers whose English-level is insufficient. One of the teachers routinely makes simple grammar mistakes in email correspondence.
9. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
Absolutely not. The school says they don't assign homework in the elementary and will proudly cite one non-US study which showed that homework was counterproductive as evidence. In the middle school, homework is assigned, but does not necessarily correspond to what they are learing/doing in class (example: 6th grader required to do 10 minutes of one digit addition/subtraction fact fluency a night).
10. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
There are plenty of fine arts which are offered during school. Drama, choir, art, etc are basicaly required. There are also similar after school activities. The facilities are excellent.
11. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
Not at all. Some would not even score a 4 on the FSI test!
12. What services are available for gifted/advanced students at the school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
None
13. What services are available for students with learning disabilities at this school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
None
14. What services are available for students with physical disabilities at this school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
None
15. What services are provided for speakers of English as a second language at this school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
Based on hard figures and my students' friends, I would estimate that approximately 80% of AIS-R students are non-native speakers. This is not because many are international students who have to go to AIS-R because there is no other schooling alternative for them, but rather, children of Arab parents who just want their kids to go to an "American" school. Despite this, there is limited ESOL services especially at the younger grades. They combine ESOL with their learning support services.
16. What extra-curricular activities (including sports) are available at this school? Have your children participated in these activities? What activities do you feel are missing at the school?
There are after school activities which are pretty fun for younger kids and range from yoga to board games to kickball (basically anything that the teachers want to teach). For MS onward they neck down in terms of things that actually interest kids. Teachers have to do them so there are lots offered but some are pretty odd or exclusive - i.e. Swedish (for only native speakers).
There are some sports teams from MS onward but there is a very strong impression that selection to these teams is not based on skill but rather your last name or if you are a junior or senior so that you look better to colleges.
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
At the ES level its fine. After MS less so. Your MS & HS student will be profoundly effected by the worst stereotypical Saudis. There is a large emphasis on these local students of materialism and wealth.
2. Are there are any problems with exclusionary behavior, cliques, or bullying at this school? Please describe any problems your children may have experienced in this area.
Not really but my MS & HS students don't really feel free to express themselves in classes because they are such a minority.
Overall Impressions:
1. What letter grade (ranging from A, excellent, to F, fail) would you assign to this school based on your overall experience? Would you choose it again?
For ES - B - Just needs less focus on technology, less silliness, and better communication.
MS - D - I can't even begin to think of where to start as to how to fix it.
HS - C.
For ES, yes, I would send my children here again. For MS & HS, absolutely not. Many Embassy folks have, and are, pulling their children out. More would like to but there are no alternatives. The school is unfazed since they'll just fill the slots with more Saudis.
2. Please tell us anything else you think prospective parents and students should know about this school. Thanks for your contribution!
The school should drop the "A" from their name because this is emphatically not an American school. They will claim that 30% of students are American but I would doubt this to be true; but even if true, half of that number are kids who have an American passport but have no connections to the US. If you were to include all "international" students - that is children of diplomats, international businessmen (sorry, no international businesswomen here), etc who could not go to local schools - I would estimate that 30% are true "international" students. But in general, your American child will be either the only American or one of 1-2 Americans in their class. This isn't really a damming fact, but just one the school should be honest about. For us and almost every other parent we know (1-2 familes are exceptions), the problem is the total lack of academics from 6th grade onward.
