KING’S ACADEMY Profile 2012-2013
King’s Academy P.O. Box 9 Madaba - Manja 16188 Jordan tel +962 430 0230 fax +962 430 0259 email info@kingsacademy.edu.jo www.kingsacademy.edu.jo CEEB Code 681069
Mission
Service, Leadership and Meritocracy
In a setting that is rich in history and tradition, King’s Academy is committed to providing a comprehensive college-preparatory education through a challenging curriculum in the arts and sciences; an integrated co-curricular program of athletics, activities and community service; and a nurturing residential environment. Our students will learn to be independent, creative and responsible thinkers within an ethical community that encourages young men and women of diverse backgrounds and beliefs to excel, to cherish one another and to prepare for leadership.
King’s Academy was founded to create what his Majesty King Abdullah II calls “a new tribe in the region . . . the tribe of the talented meritocracy.” As a Round Square school, King’s requires students to participate in an ambitious co-curricular program in the arts, athletics and community service that emphasizes service to others, teamwork, initiative, and community and civic engagement. King’s students feel a great sense of ownership in the culture of the school, serving in a variety of leadership positions: as residential proctors, as environmental stewards and as elected representatives to the Disciplinary Committee, Academic Honor Committee and Student Senate. They volunteer to work in refugee camps, local government schools, Habitat for Humanity builds, water conservation efforts and fundraising initiatives to address urgent issues of poverty, social justice and human rights.
History An independent, coeducational boarding and day high school in Madaba, Jordan that opened its doors in 2007, King’s Academy provides outstanding young men and women from Jordan, the Middle East and the world a unique educational experience, blending an American style of education rooted in the liberal arts and sciences with Middle Eastern history, traditions, language and cultural values.
Accreditation and Memberships In the spring of 2011 and at the conclusion of its fourth year, King’s Academy was awarded full accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the Council of International Schools (CIS). The school is also licensed by the Jordanian Ministry of Education. In September 2010, King’s Academy became the first Arab school to gain full membership in the global Round Square organization. King's Academy is a founding member of the Global Online Academy (GOA), a consortium of the world’s leading independant schools whose mission is to translate into online classrooms the intellectually rigorous programs and excellent teaching that are hallmarks of its member schools.
Diversity and Opportunity: Learning through Community As the only coeducational residential boarding school of its kind in the region, King’s Academy remains the most diverse school in the Middle East and is a pioneering leader in need-based financial aid. Some 45 percent of King’s students receive need-based aid - considerably more than its peer schools in the United States - with a total 2012-2013 financial aid budget of US $4.5 million. For the 2012-2013 academic year, 440 students are enrolled at King’s Academy, of which 116 are seniors. They come from 27 countries, including various desert towns and villages in Jordan. This level of diversity allows King’s to create a unique community that educates students in ways the formal curriculum alone cannot and to forge a school culture that promotes social equity.
September 2012
A Liberal Arts Education for the 21st Century King’s Academy students take a remarkably ambitious course of study, including four years of both Arabic and English and two additional years of a third language (Chinese, French or Spanish). Many of King’s students arrive from large government schools at which the language of instruction is Arabic rather than English, where classes of 30 or more are the norm and where the traditions of reading, critical thinking and inquiry are weak. King’s aspires to be a school of engagement, teaching through discussion, debate and dialogue. In addition to courses in math, science, arts and humanities (21 at the AP level), our students take required courses in Arabic literature, history of the Middle East, world religions and Christian and Islamic theology. King’s strives to graduate students who are globally aware, inter-culturally competent and fully bilingual.
The Fine, Performing and Persuasive Arts In the hopes of unlocking each child's creative potential and individuality, King’s Academy offers a range of courses and co-curricular activities in the arts. In addition to classes in the traditional and modern arts of dance, ceramics, mosaics, painting, photography, drawing, acting, animation and design, King’s has a youth orchestra and a rich theatrical program. Over the last few years, the school has put on performances of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Molière's The Miser, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Celeste Raspanti's I Never Saw Another Butterfly, Noel Coward’s Private Lives and William Gibson’s The Miracle Worker, most of which were premiered here in Jordan at King's for the first time. King’s also offers a comprehensive and required program in public speaking. Every year each student performs a public declamation in Arabic and English during an all-school competition. Students also participate in Model United Nations (MUN), Model Congress, Debate and Toastmasters.
King’s Academy Profile 2012-2013 www.kingsacademy.edu.jo
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