Parent's Review of American Academy for Girls in Dubai
What is the name of your child's school? (Please report on one school per survey.)
American Academy for Girls
In what town or city is this school located?
Dubai
How would you describe this school? (i.e. American, British, International, Local, etc.)
nothing, may be bilingual local
What grade levels are represented at this school?
KG-12 despite it becomes a mess after grade 5
How do most children get to school everyday? (bus, train, walk, etc.)
By car or school bus. It's very far away and difficult to reach
How would you describe the facilities at this school? What extra-curricular activities are available?
Bad, lack, the teachers do their best but most of them does not have experience and if they do have, they leave the school after 1 or 2 years.
I saw the worst Elementary School play directed by P.E teacher. Is she qualified for directing a play? It was ridiculous! My daughter had to attend lot of rehearsals after school and she missed several school days because of that silly "production" They offer Cooking, Islamic, Arabic, as extra school activities. Are they interested? Some public schools are much better and they offer much more.
The school does not support arts because performing "sinful" for this culture. Therefore, just 2 teachers do their best to keep the girls happily learning what the School Principal lets them teach.
What has this school done to help your child transition from the curriculum in your home country into the curriculum in your new country? Are there programs to prepare your child for repatriation?
Not at all! They do not follow any curriculum and my daughter wasted her time at AAG. We missed lot of money because it is a very expensive school.
Now, we are moving to US and my daughter needs after school support to be ready for the school in that country. It is outrageous
How would you describe the social activities available for parents through this school? Are there parent-teacher organizations?
Mothers of wealthy families are in the parent's association and my input was never appreciated. They're Muslims or married with Muslims and very conservative. They don't do too much. They socialize at school. The administration of the school is not qualified. The Assistance Principals have no experience, they're bossy and they do not solve problems.
The School Principal does not direct the school as she should and she changes her mind and mood often. My daughter suffered bullying and nobody helped her. I know that very good and reputable teachers do suffer bullying from administration as well. Foreign languages are a joke. They learn 3 words in Spanish throughout the year and that's it.
What advice would you give to someone considering enrolling their child in this school?
No! Don't do it! Unless you are a conservative Muslim and you do not want your daughter interacting with other cultures. Many Muslim parents do want them interacting but powerful and uncultured parents manage the School Principal as a marionette.
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Comments about this Report
guestI have to say that this report is INCREDIBLY outdated. Over the past year the school has gained CIS accredidation and has an excellent curriculum. The school follows the American curriculum, based on the Michigan standards and the curriculum uses the Understanding by Design (backward design) to support its curriculum. It has been rated as one of the top ten schools in Dubai by KHDA. My daughter attends grade 9 and is passionate about all that the school has to offer. The culture does not believe that performing is sinful - in fact the Fine Arts department support local culture by incorporating it into the curriculum. I think this report is, as said earlier, outdated and scathing. Go and see for yourself!
guestClearly the above comments are written by an unhappy parent. As a former teacher at the American Academy for Girls, I feel inclined to disagree with some statements that are simply not true. The administration (Principal and 2 Vice Principals) have extensive experience. The principal has been in education for over 30 years and has served as principal for girls' schools in the Middle East for more than 10 years. The Secondary vice Principal retired from administrating schools in Canada before going to the UAE. She has over 20 years of experience. The Elementary Vice principals (there were 2 during my tenure at the school) were both highly qualified and had (collectively) more than 20 years of experience. The school follows an American curriculum and is accredited by NEASC and by CIS and the majority of the teachers have degrees (and post graduate degrees) from North American universities.) I agree and I think the Admin would agree that the Modern Language Department needs improvement. To that end, they have enlisted a highly qualified (2 Masters degrees in teaching and more than 15 years of teaching experience) North American teacher to train the modern language teachers (Arabic, Spanish & French) in updating their pedagogy. The school takes bullying of students VERY seriously and addresses it immediately when brought to the attention of teachers and/or admin. Having said that, it is true that the admin occasionally bullies teachers, which is unfortunate. As for the Fine Arts Department, the current Drama, Music and Art teachers (British, American & Polish) have worked very hard to develop a beautiful curriculum. This is proven by local and national awards won by some of our students. Finally, I have watched our girls graduate and be accepted to schools such as UC Berkeley, NYU, UPenn, Brandeis as well as local universities (American U of Dubai, Zayed University, etc.). These acceptances speak to the development of the curriculum as well as the experience and quality of the teaching at the school. Does the school have problems? Does the local culture and religion impact the curriculum? Yes, of course. However, I think the faculty work hard to create and nurture an academically challenging curriculum despite the limitations that culture and religion place on education of girls in the country. As the previous comment says, go and see for yourself. Talk to parents and more importantly, talk to the students.
guestI agree 100 per cent. The teachers, especially in KG, are not qualified and do not even deserve to be called teachers. Absolutely no feedback was given on the progress of my child through out the year.
