Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to challege our lives in 2021. It has resulted in substantial financial strain, has impacted health and welfare, and has disrupted schooling.

We see opportunities where others may hold on to the past. ”

With permission from the Dubai authorities, the American School of Dubai (ASD) is committed to keeping our Al Barsha campus open this school year. We recognize that we must ensure the health and safety of each member of our community; we don’t take this responsibility lightly.

This Guide represents updates to the protocols for school reopening for the 2021-2022 school year. ASD is poised to react quickly and be agile to changing circumstances in Dubai and the UAE, so your children’s education will receive minimal disruption. ASD is prepared to transition across a spectrum that includes 100% distance learning and full reopening on either side. In all circumstances, ASD will adhere to the directives and regulations of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the Ministry of Education (MOE), and other Dubai authorities who are managing the pandemic nationwide.

This Guide is driven by core principles:

1) Stay true to ASD’s Mission, Core Values, Student Profile, and beliefs about learning. 2) Prefer and leverage face-to-face learning over distance learning, whenever it is safe to do so. 3) Prioritize student, faculty, staff, and parent health, safety, and wellbeing over other principles. 4) Ensure health and safety policies and procedures are research-based, clearly communicated, supported by the Dubai Health Authority, and effectively administered and appropriately enforced. 5) Promote practices that reduce the risk of the COVID-19 virus transmission and support the school’s ability to be responsive and agile when facing changing health circumstances.

PART 1 of this Guide establishes how ASD will plan, act, and make the decisions it needs to make. Members of our community have certain rights, as articulated through the lens of our Mission, but also responsibilities to others. This is a mutual obligation, a “contract”, that we must all uphold so we ensure the aforementioned core principles can be realized.

PART 2 of this Guide provides an explanation of how we will deliver the academic program that our community has cherished over many years of nonprofit excellence. Our approach is biased toward face-to-face learning, as we believe that in-person interactions offer a distinct value- added proposition as compared to fully online schools, and taps into the strengths of our world-class faculty.

PART 3 of this Guide addresses the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and parents. This consideration remains the most important driver in the decisions we will take. This effort includes mitigating risk through precautions we all can take by being socially responsible, staying home if we are sick, practicing good hygiene, and by physical distancing. PART 4 of this Guide highlights how ASD will bring back the myriad of sports, activities, performances, clubs, and events that make the student experience special. These aspects of the student experience will need to adjust during the 2021-2022 school year, align to our assessment of risk, and be supported by the Dubai authorities.

PART 5 addresses new protocols for meetings, events, and gatherings.

It is said that schooling will never be the same postpandemic. Though this period has been stressful on all of us, and many challenges await, ASD’s culture is centered on eternal optimism, and we see opportunities where others may hold on to the past. We are proud of the work done in the 2020-2021 academic year to continue to offer schooling in a safe environment, and look forward to safely resuming extracurricular activities this season.