Sana'a International School

Sanaa International School
Location
Sanaa
Yemen Yemen
Information
Type Non profit
Motto Success For All
Established 1971
Founder James E. Gilson
Director Philip Weirich
Preschool Coordinator Ghaida Al-Seragi
Gender Co-educational
Website

Sanaa International School is an international school on the edge of the city of Sanaa, Yemen, serving ages 2–18.[1]

Currently, the school's operations are suspended.

It is a nonprofit organization founded in 1971. It provides an English language education, primarily to the children of embassy and United Nations personnel and international workers such as oil and gas businesses. It also educates many Yemeni students planning to enter western universities. The school teaches pre-school – Grade 12 levels. As of 2013 it has a total enrollment of some 73 students from over 11 nationalities. The school has had to deal with the political crisis in Yemen, with an average of 16 students leaving since 2011.

Sanaa International School is the only accredited school in the whole of Yemen and has been accredited by the US-based Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools since 1983. Sanaa International School is part of Quality Schools International

History

James E. Gilson, who previously served as the principal of Yemen-American Cooperative School in Taiz, then in Yemen Arab Republic a.k.a. North Yemen, opened the Sanaa International School in Sanaa, North Yemen in September 1971. Gilson, who had lost his job after the Taiz school closed in 1967, had accepted a teaching position in Saudi Arabia early that year and hired a couple as the Sanaa International School's first teachers. The school's initial enrollment was four students. Gilson and his family moved to Sanaa in July 1972 as the Sanaa school enrollment increased to 25. That year the school began efforts to establish a permanent campus, and three years of discussions and meetings began. Several persons within the United Nations and the government of Germany, the United States, and North Yemen made efforts to get the school permanent land. Meanwhile, within several years the enrollment was at over 200.[2]

An advisory board, including foreigners and Yemenis, established the school's articles of association and by laws in 1974, forming the nonprofit organization and resulting in the school having a board of directors.[2]

On December 22, 1976, the school began occupying a plot of land given by the North Yemen government given for free for a 50-year period. On January 1 the school's permanent facilities began construction, and on May 7 of that year the school signed a formal agreement, including the land grant, with the North Yemen government.[2]

Campus

The school is located on a 35-acre (14 ha) plot of land. This campus includes academic buildings, a workshop, a playground, a residential house, and two water wells which were constructed in the 1970s. In 1992 a domed auditorium and athletic facility, which was carpeted, opened.[2]

The spacious, purpose built facility incorporates traditional Yemeni architectural features, and is surrounded by farmland and mountains. The library and media center are in the heart of the school, and provide access directly to and from the main classrooms. This facility is supplemented by language classrooms, an arts room, a state of the art computer lab, gymnasium and performance room. The exterior sports facilities provide opportunities for soccer, softball, tennis, basketball, track and field, orienteering, climbing, and archery.

Academic programmes

The school has an annual drama performance. The school makes is sporting facilities available to local schools by hosting various sporting events throughout the year. Bus transport is provided to students and teachers.

In addition to an academic program the school runs a varied selection of field trips and excursions. These include yearly visits to Bab-el-Mandeb to observe the migration of raptors from Siberia to Africa, camping expeditions to the island of Socotra, international trips of both cultural and sporting natures, and many local trips.

Teaching staff

Staff retention is well above average for an international school, with SIS teachers having an average tenure of more than 7 years.

Student performance

SIS graduates are routinely accepted at top universities in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. In recent years one in three graduates heading to the USA have been offered scholarships in Ivy League universities.

References

  1. ↑ " Home page." Sanaa International School. August 26, 2013. Retrieved on September 28, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The History and Origins of QSI 1971 - Present" (Archive). Quality Schools International. Retrieved on September 30, 2015.

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