• Behavior Code

The American International School (AIS) believes that all students can learn when provided with appropriate instruction and an environment that is safe and orderly. To create such an educational setting requires a comprehensive program of instruction, written and consistently enforced standards of discipline and the cooperative efforts of students, parents/guardians, school staff and the community. In order to develop and maintain a positive educational setting, discipline standards should balance the need for discretionary authority and should offer alternatives.

• Dress Code

All AIS students are expected to be properly groomed for school and to wear the school uniform daily unless otherwise announced by the School Offices. The AISE school uniform, which is available from the school, consists of navy blue trousers, skirts or shorts and a white polo shirt embossed with the AISE logo.

Field Trips and Excursion

Egypt and Cairo in particular offer a rich environment to enhance the learning of our students. Our teachers frequently use this environment to provide our students with educational experiences not accommodated in a classroom. Some of the field trips on which our students have recently gone include Luxor, Alexandria, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jordan, USA and numerous locations in Cairo itself. Several trips that are currently being planned include China, Istanbul and Paris.

Cafeteria

AISE has a well equipped canteen that is open to Middle and High School students during their lunch hour. Milk, juice, sandwiches, salads, fruits and snacks are available to purchase. The food items are provided by a well established Cairo catering company. In an effort to provide healthy alternatives to the students, the canteen doesn't sell pop or candy to the students.

The Elementary School follows a Healthy Food Policy for Pre-kindergarten to Grade 5. Parents are asked to provide their students with healthy foods for their lunch. A list of healthy choices is suggested to the parents. Elementary students do not have access to the canteen. 

AISE Health Office

The AISE campus is staffed by two medical doctors who are trained and experienced in handling student health conditions and are on duty each school day.

Students may go to the Health Office at any time during the day if they are injured or ill, but they are required to obtain a pass from their teacher. If students are required to take medication while at school, the parent must contact the health clinic to make the appropriate arrangements. The doctors are available to counsel students in regard to health problems, to facilitate making adjustments to the student's school program where health factors require this and to administer first aid in the case of emergency.

Specialized Program

English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are available for limited English speaking students who would benefit from specialized support in English. ESL is offered in grades 1-9. The IPT Oral Proficiency Exam is used to determine placement. The small class sizes provide for individualized instruction aimed at increasing the level of English needed to be successful in the classroom. ESL is one period a day, but two periods of Intensive ESL are available for students needing more assistance.

Practical English

Practical English is an elementary course for students in grades 4-5 who are fluent speakers of English, but still need support in their academic language. Placement is made through teacher referral and ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) results. Students attend Practical English in place of his or her regular language Arts class until they have a better foundation in grammar, reading and writing.

Extended English

Extended English is designed to serve students in middle school who, through teacher referral and ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) results, need additional support in English. This semester long course takes the place of an elective course and students would enroll in Extended English in addition to his or her regular English course. The course emphasizes seven areas of development including;

• literature
• reading skills/strategies
• composition
• grammar
• vocabulary
• spelling
• discussion

The Library

The library is the center of the school, both literally and symbolically. The Secondary and Elementary Libraries are the "heart of the school" and as such seek to be vibrant, welcoming places for our patrons. Our goal is to develop life-long learners who use information effectively and are able to evaluate the quality and worth of the information they encounter on a daily basis.

The physical layout in the two story space includes an area for students Pre-K to grade 5 on one level and grades 6 to 12 one floor above. The two libraries are connected by a large, open stairway. Between the two libraries, there are more than 25,000 volumes with more being added each year. There is a collection of books in Arabic and a special collection of works on Egypt, both ancient and modern.

The Elementary Library is staffed with a certified librarian, a library assistant and support personnel. Development of a love of reading and support of the curricular efforts of the classroom teachers are the elementary libraries main purposes. Elementary students from KG 1 through grade 5 are scheduled to meet with the librarian 45 minutes per week. During this time, the children learn appropriate library behavior and library information skills. They are also taught and encouraged to use the computerized catalogue-Follett Destiny- to look up library materials. Students may borrow and return books at other times during the day with teacher permission and after school.

Beginning this year, K-G1 parents are permitted to check out books for their children to read, and be read to, at home. The elementary library has a wonderful collection of books for students at all reading levels, from picture books to advanced chapter books. It also has an extensive collection of class sets (multiple copies of the same title), audio books, stuffed book characters, appropriate reference books (including three different sets of general elementary encyclopedias), and subscriptions to 20 different English language magazines of interest to elementary students.

The High School Library is staffed in a similar manner to the Elementary library, with a head librarian, an executive staff librarian and support staff. Middle and High School staffs are available every day (Sunday - Thursday) from 8:10 to 3:45. Its main aim is to make the library a welcoming, friendly place for teachers and students to meet, read, study, conduct research, access the internet, or use the computers and printers. (laser and color printers are available)

Students from grade 6-12 can come to the library to check out and return books any time during the school day or after school until 3:45. They may also come to work or do research with their classroom teachers according to a sign up schedule in the library.

A special feature for several years at AIS-E is the school's subscription to ProQuest an online database of 6,000 periodicals not available for free on the internet. Students and staff can access ProQuest from the library, from classrooms, or from home. This service is especially useful for international schools like AISE, where the cost of hard copy periodicals (basic subscription plus mailing) would be prohibitive.

Special note should be made of the significant expansion of computers available in the library. There are now 27 pc on each floor of the library, with adjacent computer labs on both floors containing another 20 computers each. For a school our size, this is sufficient computing power to satisfy the needs of students and staff almost 100% of the time. Wireless internet is available in the library as of this year (including printing) and wireless will be extended throughout the campus next year. Library services also include AV equipment, (TV, VCR, DVD players, Listening Center, CD's, cassettes, LCD's, etc) to checkout for the whole school staff. A copy machine is available with support staff, to serve the needs of the students and staff.

The libraries use the Follett Destiny catalogue program which can also be accessed in the classrooms is available to staff and students. 

Our mission is to offer individualized educational programs to students experiencing learning difficulties. Our ultimate goal is to provide students with the necessary academic skill development needed for them to return and be successful in a traditional academic setting.

Our Students:

Students who attend the Learning Support Center have gaps between their ability and achievement levels. Our staff assists students in how to learn and how to use strategies proven to be effective for academic success.

Our Curriculum:

The LSC provides a full curriculum of the 5 main core classes of English, math, science, social studies and Arabic. Students received instruction in P.E., computer, art, music and any other electives from mainstream instructors.

Students were taught the same curriculum as the mainstream students, based on the standards from the state of Virginia, except the teachers decide the order and use a variety of strategies, techniques and resources to teach the curriculum.

We use the Touch Math program in the elementary math classes. It gives students another method to use when calculating math problems.

We also use the Susan Barton Reading and Spelling program in English classes for students who need to build their phonetics skills.

Individualized Learning Plans:

We use the "Student Work Analysis" section of the Schools Attuned program. First the teacher analyzes the student's work, aligns it with a possible underlying neurodevelopmental construct or functions such as the student's attention, memory, language, neuromotor, etc. and indicates whether it was a strength or weakness. Then based on that information, a plan is decided on what strategies both the teacher and student need to implement so the student can be more successful in learning.

Average Class Size:

Our staff to student ratio is 1 certified staff member in the field of special education to 5 students.

English - the language of instruction and all conversation:

Our students are expected to speak English while on campus, even during lunch and unstructured time. This helps build vocabulary and fosters retention of language skills.

Contact us:

For more information call us at +202 2618 8460 or + 202 2617 4001 and ask for the Learning Support Center office. Or, contact the Learning Support Center Principal at anne_molitor@yahoo.com.