Rabat, Morocco Report of what it's like to live there - 05/19/16
Personal Experiences from Rabat, Morocco
School Name:
Rabat American School
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
Parent.
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
7th and 8th grades.
3. During what years were you affiliated with this school?
2013-2016.
4. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
U.S. Embassy.
5. Are other schools available to expatriates in this city? Why did you choose this particular school?
Rabat American School (RAS) is the default choice for English-language instruction in Rabat. There is one other English school. Other than that, the closest English-language schools are in Casablanca, two hours away.
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?
We're with the Embassy so we are at the top of the order of the placement list. The Admissions Director's integrity though is above reproach.
2. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
D-. The PTA is not supported by the majority of the parents, so its very hard to put together welcome buddies or even welcome information. New families can seek out the PTA Facebook pages though, and start to make connections there.
Administration & School Procedures:
1. Describe the general climate of the grade level that you teach or your child attends:
This is quite hard as one child has had a really good experience and the other a terrible one.
--Grades are small, 30-40 children.
--Teachers are very caring and try to individualize instruction.
2. For the following attributes, down to the next blank box, grade your experience at the school on a scale of A (excellent) to F (unacceptable/terrible) and provide comments:<br><br>Overall fair and equitable treatment of all students and families:
B.
3. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
A-. I have no problems at all with getting emails or arranging conferences outside of formal conferences.
4. Services for gifted students who need academic challenge and students with learning difficulties:
F-. The school cannot realistically support either group. Only English as a Second Language is well supported.
5. 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?
Physical Education uniforms are required and lunch is available for a fee.
6. Availability and variety of after-school activities for various ages:
D-. If it isn't sports, it doesn't really exist for the middle school. And, I have two kids who hate sports with a burning passion.
7. Maintenance of appropriately high standards for all students:
B-. RAS does not have a reputation for rigor.
8. Homework assigned (quality, quantity):
C-. I'm actually worried that my kids are going to have a hard time readjusting to a school in the US. On the plus side, homework, tests, quizzes, and projects for the middle school grades are posted on a publicly available Google calendar. When I hear there is no homework, I do double check.
9. Administration-parent communication:
D-. This school is terrible at communication to the broader audience.
A-. But, I personally have very good communication with the administration.
10. Teacher-student communication:
B-.
11. Academics, answer the following questions "yes" or "no" with an explanation if appropriate:<br><br>Are there any classes or subjects where students are not appropriately challenged?
No.
12. Does your child receive any special-needs assistance or instruction at this school? If yes, what types? Who provides services and where:
This service is not available.
13. Do you believe the special-needs assistance is appropriate and fills your needs? Explain:
No, since it really doesn't exist.
14. Does the gifted and talented program meet the needs of students? Please explain:
No, there isn't one.
15. Does the school offer a wide variety of elective or non-core classes such as art, music, and drama?
Fine arts electives are offered, but only one or two in each discipline.
16. Please describe any classes or programs that you believe are missing:
Algebra 1 for 8th grade. Math 8 simply doesn't cover what Algebra 1 does.
17. Are there academic requirements such as trips or other activities that cost money in addition to school fees?
The occasional field trip has a small fee. Week Without Walls is built into tuition.
18. What activities do you feel are missing?
Anything that doesn't use a ball. Robotics Club, Lego Club, Gaming Club, French Club, Scouting, etc.
19. Have your children participated in the activities offered? If no, please indicate why:
The extra curricular activities consist of sports and honor society. My kids don't like sports and aren't in honor society.
20. Does the school provide appropriate assistance to new students?
You're kind of on your own.
21. Please describe any problem areas or challenges in social interaction at the school:
There are cliques and lots of meanness. There isn't a quiet way for students to quietly report bullying or just nasty behavior.
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?
A-. College counseling. Very good hands-on counselor who is unfortunately leaving this year.
C-. Personal Counseling. The guidance counselor is well trusted and liked. She has instituted a program to make up for the character education these particular grade levels did not receive in elementary.
2. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
C-. The library is very small due to space constraints.
3. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
A-. Chromebooks and computers are widely available and used. You can bring your own. Every student has an email address at the school. The current IT director is funny and charming and loves to work with the kids. Parents can use the schools wi-fi while on campus.
4. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
B.
5. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
A-. It's about 1:20, which seems reasonable for the age.
6. 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?
C-. The full IB diploma can be achieved, however, many of the cooler IB classes are only supported via distance learning for which there is an extra fee on top of tuition.
7. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
No. It's much less than I expected.
8. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
B-. In middle school, the kids have one trimester of each of the arts each year.
9. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
Yes.
10. What services are available for gifted/advanced students at the school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
No, it isn't available.
11. 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?
Not for middle school. There is a push to widen this though. Student Government is somewhat active and sponsors dances every few months. There is participation in a club that raises money and awareness for abandoned animals.
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
Some do.
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.
Yes. We have had a terrible time with this, and it was finally addressed this spring when the kids in question did something that the administration couldn't let slide. However, we've been complaining about it for years. Apparently we needed to give a full who, what, when, where, how, and why report every time. For one of my children, this has been a significantly damaging experience and severely affected behavior and self-confidence.
Overall Impressions:
1. Greatest challenge?
RAS has been in a complete uproar the last three years. With the new incoming director and secondary administrative team, along with a well-weeded faculty, hopefully things will begin to balance out.
2. Would you choose this school again? Why?
No, we would not return to RAS. If I had any choice, one of my children would have been somewhere else the last year and a half. RAS is the only choice for us at post. Knowing that, I would not return to this post with children above grade 5 again. RAS is behind the curve on being a modern 21st century school with the opportunities and services many US parents expect.
