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Profile 2021-2022
Ms. Reida Baghdadi, Director of University Counseling email: rbaghdadi@kingsacademy.edu.jo
www.kingsacademy.edu.jo
The knowledge and values that King’s instills in its students help shape confident, well-rounded individuals and inspire them throughout their life paths as change-makers of a shared future of peace and opportunity.
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– HM King Abdullah II
Mission King’s Academy develops and empowers young leaders from diverse backgrounds who will cherish one another and drive change towards a shared future of peace and opportunity.
Description 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.
History An independent, coeducational boarding and day 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). 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, dedicated to internationalism, democracy, environment, adventure, leadership and service. King’s Academy is a member of the Mastery Transcript Consortium and a founding member of the Global Online Academy (GOA), a consortium of the world’s leading independent schools whose mission is to translate into online classrooms the intellectually rigorous programs and excellent teaching that are hallmarks of its member schools.
Equity and Educational Opportunity 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 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. Fifty percent of King’s students receive need-based aid with a total 2021-2022 financial aid budget of US $10 million. For the academic year 2021-2022, 582 students are enrolled at King’s Academy, of whom approximately 133 are seniors. They come from over 44 countries, including various desert towns and villages throughout 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 2021 •
A Liberal Arts Education for the 21st Century: Curiosity, Creativity and Independence In keeping with our “Portrait of a Graduate,” we seek to graduate students who are able to •
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Embrace challenge, discomfort and struggle as a source of resilience, creativity and continued improvement Live curiously; express joy in their learning Independently direct their own learning and pursue their passions with determination and discipline Transfer their learning to new and urgent problems in the service of their communities and the world Create positive change through engagement, collaboration and citizenship Model, every day, the virtues of kindness, gratitude and care for others and lead through example
Service and Leadership 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, junior counselors, environmental stewards and as elected representatives to the Disciplinary Committee, Academic Honor Committee and Student Leadership Council. They volunteer extensively in the local community and schools, work in refugee camps, Habitat for Humanity builds, water conservation efforts and fundraising initiatives to address urgent issues of poverty, social justice and human rights.
The Fine, Performing and Persuasive Arts In the hope 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 Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Noel Coward’s Private Lives, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, most of which premiered here in Jordan at King’s. 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), mock trial and Jordanian Model Parliament.
Middle School In fall 2016, King’s Academy opened a middle school for grades 7 and 8. The addition of these grades allows King’s to deepen its mission, extend the educational runway for students, and design
King’s Academy Profile 2021-2022 www.kingsacademy.edu.jo
a more powerful and integrated curriculum. The Middle School program is both foundational and innovative, drawing on the College Board’s QUEST framework for teaching and learning. That framework emphasizes the skills of questioning, thinking critically and creatively, reading, writing and communicating. It seeks to ignite young people’s natural curiosity, wonder, creativity and excitement for learning.
Curriculum and Course Requirements
King’s Academy operates on a two-semester basis and there are 170 school days. The school uses a block scheduling system. Our 75-minute class periods allow for sustained engagement with class materials and complex and dynamic class activities, all of which lead to deep and lasting learning. The block schedule simultaneously gives students more free time for clubs, co-curricular activities, independent study and community service, and it prepares them for the kind of schedule they will encounter in most universities.
The medium of instruction is English and all students take a remarkably ambitious course of study, including four years of both Arabic and English, and a minimum of six courses and a maximum of seven courses per year. In addition to required courses in the core disciplines, students choose from a wide array of electives. Students can choose from 28 AP courses, over 60 courses from the Global Online Academy (GOA), and multiple advanced courses, including post-AP courses, that are typical of the work students do in the first or even second year of college. King’s also offers a number of high-level, inquiry-based interdisciplinary courses, including the College Board’s AP Capstone Seminar and Research courses.
The numbering of courses follows the system below. This system indicates the level of each of the courses offered at King’s.
The courses below are the graduation requirements of this year’s senior class. For entering 10th, 11th and 12th graders, graduation requirements are pro-rated according to the number of years enrolled at King’s Academy.
Adv: Advanced
• Four years of English
100 – 400: Foundation courses (grades 7 – 10) 500: Upper level courses (grades 11 – 12) 600: College-preparatory courses (including some Advanced Placement courses) 700: College-level and Advanced Placement courses 800: Advanced Inquiry (post-AP) courses Acc: Accelerated GOA: Global Online Academy R: Courses that can be repeated every year to develop skills S: Seminar courses that develop critical reading, thinking, analysis and synthesis skills P: Portfolio courses that develop writing skills with an emphasis on process and voice
• Four years of Arabic • Four years of mathematics and computational thinking • Three years of experimental sciences • Two years of history and at least one additional year-long course from the Department of History, Religion and Society. • At least one year-long course from the Department of Art, Design and Technology
A complete list of course offerings and course descriptions can be found here: https://www.kingsacademy.edu.jo/academics/departments-and -courses
Curriculum Plan Subject
4-Year Program
3-Year Program
2-Year Program
1-Year Program
Communication, Rhetoric and the Literary Arts — Arabic
Four
Three
Two
One
Communication, Rhetoric and the Literary Arts — English
Four
Three
Two
One
Math and Computational Thinking
Four years of math
Three years of math
Two years of math
One year of math
Physical and Life Sciences
Three
Three
Two
History, Religion and Society
Three
Two
One
World Languages
Optional (two or more recommended)
Optional (two or more recommended)
Optional (two recommended)
Optional (recommended)
Art, Design and Technology
One year-long course
One year-long course
One semester-long course
One semester-long course
One from either department
Note: As per the guidelines of the Jordanian Ministry of Education, Jordanian Muslim students are required to take what is equivalent to two years of Islamic Studies in the 9th and 10th grades, and one additional semester-long course either in the 11th or 12th grade. Jordanian students who hold a second passport may have different arrangements for Islamic Studies. For more information, they should check with the Department of Academic Affairs.
September 2021
King’s Academy Profile 2021-2022 2011-2012 www.kingsacademy.edu.jo
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Grading Policy
93% – 100% = A (4.0) 89% – 92% = A- (3.7) 86% – 88% = B+ (3.3) 83% – 85% = B (3.0) 79% – 82% = B- (2.7) 76% – 78% = C+ (2.3) 73% – 75% = C (2.0) 70% – 72% = C- (1.7) 67% – 69% = D+ (1.3) 60% – 66% = D (1.0) 59% and below = F (0.0)
Academic work at King’s is graded on a letter scale in which the minimum passing grade is a D. To the right are the percentage breakdowns for letter grades and Grade Point Averages (GPA). Highest Honor Roll, High Honor Roll and Honor Roll distinctions are awarded to those students who achieve a minimum GPA of 3.9, 3.75 or 3.5 respectively. King’s Academy does not rank its students, and as of 2019-2020 King’s Academy no longer weights grades.
Grade Distribution by Course Class of 2022 – Junior Year Department
GPA Distribution Class of 2022 – Junior Year
90 – 100 80 – 89 70 – 79 60 – 69
0 – 59
GPA Range
Number of Students
% of Students
3.5 – 4.0
84
62%
3.0 – 3.49
33
25%
2.5 – 2.99
11
8%
2.0 – 2.49
4
3%
Arts, Design and Technology
90%
10%
0%
0%
0%
CRLA - English
70%
25%
4%
1%
0%
CRLA - Arabic
54%
41%
5%
0%
0%
History, Religion and Society
51%
33%
12%
4%
0%
Mathematics and Computational Thinking
54%
35%
7%
4%
0%
Physical and Life Sciences
47%
40%
12%
1%
0%
1.5 – 1.99
3
2%
World Languages
71%
20%
9%
0%
0
under 1.49
0
0%
SAT Subject Test Scores for the Class of 2022 (through June 2021)
SAT Summary for the Class of 2022 (through May 2021) Middle 50%
Mean
Students tested
515 – 640
577
82
26 – 34
30
82
525 – 685
602
82
Reading
25 – 32
29
82
Writing
26 – 32
29
82
1060 – 1330
1179
82
Section Evidence-based Reading and Writing Math Mathematics
AP Scores
Total
AP Scores
Summary of A-Level Arabic Results 2020 – 2021 Number of Students
A*
63
A
27
B
5
September 2021
Mean
Students tested
Mathematics Level 1
590 – 750
653
36
Chemistry
675 – 790
703
17
Mathematics Level 2
610 – 790
695
31
Physics
550 – 785
651
13
Literature
380 – 380
380
1
French
630 – 760
695
2
Biology M
610 – 800
724
11
AP Recognition Awards 2020 – 2021
In May 2021, 296 candidates sat for 684 examinations. Scores of 5 were received by 25% of the candidates; scores of 4 were received by 27%; and scores of 3 were received by 26%.
Result
Middle 50%
Section
In 2021, 149 King’s Academy students were recognized by the College Board: AP Scholar Award
55
AP Scholar with Honor Award
34
AP Scholar with Distinction
56
AP International Diploma
4
King’s Academy Profile 2021-2022 www.kingsacademy.edu.jo
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Three-Year University Matriculation List
UNITED STATES American University Amherst College Babson College Beloit College Bentley University Blinn College Boston College Boston University Bradley University Brigham Young University Brown University Carleton College Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Centre College Claremont McKenna College Clarkson University College of William and Mary Colorado College Columbia University Connecticut College Cornell University Drexel University Duke University Eastern Michigan University Elon University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Emory University Florida State University Franklin and Marshall College George Mason University George Washington University Georgetown University Harvard University Haverford College Hult International Business School Illinois Institute of Technology Indiana University Bloomington Iowa State University Johns Hopkins University Kent State University Lehigh University Loyola University Chicago Middlebury College New York University Northeastern University Northwestern University Occidental College The Ohio State University Orange Coast College Pasco-Hernando State College Pratt Institute-Main Purdue University Rhodes College Rollins College Saint Mary’s College of California Santiago Canyon College Savannah College of Art and Design Smith College Stanford University Suffolk University
September 2021
CANADA Carleton University Concordia University Dalhousie University McGill University Memorial University of Newfoundland OCAD University Ryerson University The University of British Columbia University of Alberta University of Calgary University of Manitoba University of Ontario Institute of Technology University of Saskatchewan University of Toronto University of Waterloo York University
Swarthmore College Syracuse University Temple University The College of Wooster The New School The University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Tyler Tufts University University of California, Irvine University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Cruz University of Charleston University of Chicago University of Florida University of Massachusetts Skidmore College University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of Rochester University of South Florida University of Southern California University of Virginia Wake Forest University Wellesley College Wheaton College Whitman College Yale University Youngstown State University
UNITED KINGDOM University of the West of England Bristol Cardiff University City, University of London Durham University King's College London London School of Economics and Political Science Queen Mary University of London Queen’s University Belfast Royal Veterinary College Swansea University The University of Edinburgh The University of Manchester The University of Sheffield University College London University of Bristol University of Cambridge University of Exeter University of Glasgow University of Huddersfield University of Kent University of Leeds University of Nottingham University of Portsmouth University of Reading University of Sussex University of Warwick University of Westminster University of York
MIDDLE EAST American University of Sharjah — United Arab Emirates American University of Beirut — Lebanon American University of Madaba — Jordan Georgetown University in Qatar German-Jordanian University Gulf Medical University — United Arab Emirates Jordan University of Science and Technology New York University Abu Dhabi — United Arab Emirates Northwestern University in Qatar Princess Sumaya University for Technology — Jordan Royal College of Surgeons In Ireland — Medical University of Bahrain Texas A&M University at Qatar The American University in Cairo — Egypt University of Jordan University of Qatar Weill Cornell Medical College — Qatar
OTHER Bahcesehir University — Turkey College Universitaire de Sciences Po — France Eötvös Loránd University — Hungary Franklin University Switzerland Glion Institute of Higher Education — Switzerland IE University — Spain Jacobs University — Germany Koç University — Turkey Maastricht University — Netherlands Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy — Russia New York University Shanghai — China Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Sabanci University — Turkey San Antonio Catholic University of Murcia — Spain Semmelweis University of Medical Sciences — Hungary Tel Aviv University SUNY — Korea The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Universita Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore — Italy University College Dublin — Ireland University of Amsterdam — Netherlands University of Debrecen — Hungary University of Malta University of Szeged — Hungary Yale-NUS College — Singapore Yokohama National University — Japan
King’s Academy Profile 2021-2022 www.kingsacademy.edu.jo
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