Parent's Review of El Kalimat School in Bouzzareh
What is the name of your child's school? (Please report on one school per survey.)
El Kalimat School
In what town or city is this school located?
Bouzzareh
How would you describe this school? (i.e. American, British, International, Local, etc.)
Supposedly
What grade levels are represented at this school?
Grade 00- Grade 12
How do most children get to school everyday? (bus, train, walk, etc.)
Private transport
How would you describe the facilities at this school? What extra-curricular activities are available?
Facilities are extremely limited. The pupils are not allowed to play on the lawn and are thus restricted to a small paved area on the side of the school to utilise during the breaks.
The few times I have been inside the school building (parents are not allowed to enter except for parents evenings)- the stench from the toilets could be smelt meters away!
Not a single extra-curricular activity is offered by the school.
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?
DO HOMESCHOOLING IF YOUR CHILD IS ENGLISH SPEAKING, LOOK INTO PRIVATE FRENCH OR ARABIC SCHOOLS IF THEY ARE EVEN SEMI FLUENT IN EITHER OF THESE LANGUAGES.
Here are some reasons to back up my statement:
The school advertises itself as an International School but places very little emphasis on helping international students with the transitions they have to deal with.
There is only one ESL (English second language) teacher for the entire school so her time is quite spread between learners, thereby rendering the programme ineffective as the individual learners have lessons with her only once a week... if they lucky!
Also, French and Arabic are compulsory for all learners irrespective of the duration of their schooling in El Kalimat or their fluency in these languages. No extra classes are provided to help disadvantaged learners catch up.
How would you describe the social activities available for parents through this school? Are there parent-teacher organizations?
There is unfortunately no Parent-teacher organisation present at El Kalimat. The school has a completely closed door policy and is not open to any suggestions, critisism, or discussions.
The administartions decisions are final in all matters and the head teacher refuses to entertain parents who have a complaint. The general attitude of the school is if you don't like what they are doing, then take your child out because they don't need your money.
What advice would you give to someone considering enrolling their child in this school?
at no point in the last year have I come across one lesson that incorporated a teaching resource. The children are not encouraged to explore their surroundings for science, they take no field trips for lessons on nature, the teachers do not use any aids besides a white board. The children are required to take down notes the entire day for all subjects concerned and that is the only way that lessons are taught. There is no interactive or stimulating teaching provided at all. In terms of training and professional development for the teachers, I have counted over thirty incidents where the teacher used incorrect English, ranging from spelling errors and poor sentence construction, to tense errors and misuse of punctuation marks, and thats just in the last month!!! the children for PE play table tennis with no tables, soccer with no goal posts, most of the lessons they run up and down between cones. The school has a sports day with races run on a paved area that spans no more than 20meters in length. The children practise for two or three days before and are not presented with any medals etc for first place. Truth be told, running 20 meters hardly counts as a race to begin with. There are no music lesson provided, and arts and craft lessons have thus far rotated between drawing and colouring in a house, or making a card for the teacher- that's it! The pupils have yet to make anything in the design and technology class. The ICT teacher quit at the end of last year so the form teacher has taken over these lessons, the result is that the pupils have almost no hands on computer based training which is crucial. The french teacher cannot speak more than two words of English which makes for an extremely difficult learning experience for pupils in all grades! the only method of assessment in the last year has been formal written tests. No other method of assessment is employed- observation, oral examinations, stimulated role play, portfolio, assignments, group work, etc. Completely off all the above topics, I would like to further add that the school provides no -speech contests -concerts or recitals -awards ceremonies -year end functions When I approached the school last year regarding why the young pupils were subjected to the same long hours as 16 and 17 year olds, I was told that El-Kalimat had the same hours as all Algerian schools, which was true. I accepted this at the time. However, at the beginning of this schooling year, the Algerian public schools drastically reduced their schooling hours. When I enquired about the hours this year, I was told that they would remain unchanged as El Kalimat was an International School and was unaffected by the Algerian schooling hours. The long hours were necessary to complete a very "burdening" Cambridge syllabus! As you can very clearly see, the administration changes reasons as and when they wish to suit their purposes. The parents have no say in these matters and are not allowed to question any further. The fact that Headmistress Miss Hadi only arrives at school at 11am (at the very earliest) on any given school day could be a contributing factor to the poor manner in which the school operates.
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Comments about this Report
guestI was considering El Kalimat for my two kids but it does not seem to be the best choice. I would appreciate it if you could provide advise on an alternative school in Algers.
guesti will say the truth because am a very honest person,i can tell you that the tearchers were doing their best for the kids,and most of them have suggestions to improve the school but most of time are rejected by the head teacher,the school is small comparing with other schools this is why they accept only a limited number of students,i can tell you that the parents have the right to get in the school when ever they want but they have to call before just to make sure that the secretary or the head teacher are ready to receive them i mean sometimes they are busy,i can tell you that the previous secretary was in charge of cleaning injuries when pupils fall down because there is no nurse in the school. PARENTS can meet teachers, the administration made: teachers availability time table and give it to all the parents so they can know when they are able to meet teachers.
guestAny ideas to contact this school as we are trying hard to contact by phone and mail but no answers. Can someone confirm their contact details? Thanks
guestI totally agree with the comments about this school, I withdrew my child last year due to the appalling management. The headteacher is incompetent at best but arrogant at worst. The teacher's do their best but seem to receive very little guidance. For the money charged a French/Arabic school would be a better option. There is Hopeland but I have no knowledge of the teaching there. All the best looking.
guestBouzereah School not so good because no there competition , it unique english school in Algeria
guestI am a student, and I urge all parents to avoid this school at all costs! A noticeable amount of my fellow pupils have been held back for at least two years, and are very immature for their age. The cantine provides very little food, and not enough to provide energy to teenagers who require energy for growth. The teachers can barely speak english, and the same goes for the staff. VERY disappointing school. El Kalimat deserves o be shut down by the Algerian government
guestI am a former student of this school. I started when it had just started up (under different administration, it has changed several times since) and left when I came back to the US in 10th grade. Here are some things you may find useful: -The teachers are great. The administration is not. The teachers do not have a choice about the curriculum, however they are responsible for teaching your kids the material that will be on the IGSCE. STAY ON YOUR CHILD TO LEARN THIS MATERIAL. - There are no extra curricular activities, but I have yet to hear of an average Algerian school having such things. They place more emphasis on academia because that is what will be tested on the IGSCE, not your child's ability to properly draw a horse. -If your child remotely speaks French/Arabic, send them to an Algerian school (Descartes is the one I would recommend). This is just a better option with everything into consideration. Homeschooling is also a good option. In the end, it is how much you are involved with your child's education. If you let them roam free, they will gripe and complain and not do well. My fellow ex-classmates have done well for themselves, and I myself am graduating from a top 20 U.S University. GOOD THINGS CAN COME OUT OF THIS SCHOOL...and honestly you don't have much of a choice.
guestEl Kalimat teaches only in the way it wants to do. Any feedback, suggestion or complaint is ignored by all the staff. No criticism from parents or visitors is notation all tolerated. The school actually does not like parents commenting on their school however most parents who want their child to study in an English school and have to stay in Algeria for a couple of years(if they do not want to change or lose their job) have no other choice. Even the children of diplomats are admitted in the school but that is the only English school in Algeria and parents who want an English school have to manage with what the school accepts and refuses. The school actually does not want many children in classrooms since their rooms are small, the canteen isn't that large and the school,as a whole is not big enough. Their public website is never kept up to date nor is it edited.
sally79Hello Well I was trying for other a month to contact them it was useless till I had to go there nd the door man at the end gave me a number to call nd find someone to talk to he didnt let me in thu. So they said they r full but after reading here I think I have to find another place.. problem is that no other English school here That is sad .. any advice dont know for how long ill be staying here but my daughter is 5 now nd I should put her in a proper school nd she speaks only english
