RAK American School

[shawarma]

Ras Al Khaimah American School - DubaiFAQ information

According to news releases 16 November 2008 when the school opened, Ras Al Khaimah American School (RAKAS?) can cater for up to 280 students from kindergarten to grade 5. School is near RAK Hospital. School facilities include science lab, music and drama hall, library, computer room, gymnasium, cafeteria, Early Childhood Exploration Center, Teacher Resource Room, English Language Learners (ELL) Program, Arabic Language and Culture Center, swimming pool, fully covered playground, and 24-hour security. The school is presumably intending to expand from grade 5 since they say they follow a K-12 program with a standard or International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma option (assuming they get IB approval). I saw some other information that the school will be K-8 for 2009-2010.

RAKAS have a provisional license from the UAE Ministry of Education while their full license is being processed. When the school opened, RAKAS said they had accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and the Council of International Schools (CIS). Both accrediting bodies are US based. It's a curious thing when an accrediting body can accredit a school before they start operating (and before they even get a full license from the UAE Ministry of Education).

The school belongs to Khoie Education, a newly formed subsidiary of Khoie Properties, which is the developer of La Hoya Bay on Marjan Islands in Ras Al Khaimah. Khoie Education /Khoie Properties also plan to establish a school near La Hoya Bay. The CEO of Khoie Education is Dan E Young, who was previously superintendent of Dubai American Academy. The new principal of RAK American School, Larry Audet, was working as an advisor to the UAE Ministry of Education (ah ... maybe that explains the school operating with a provisional licence), and has his own website (larryaudet.com) so you can read all about him there.

There was one schools directory internet listing for RAK American School that said annual fees were AED 60,000, which seems outrageously expensive for primary school level. RAKAS website says AED 30,000 per year which sounds more reasonable and I guess that's correct. If anyone has further details of the following, reply here and I can update the information page. Thanks ...

• Number of students (approx):
• Nationality of most students, or nationality breakdown:
• Number of teaching staff (approx):
• Nationality of most teaching staff, or nationality breakdown:
• Postal Address / PO Box:
• Teacher salary range per month (and details of package - accommodation, flights, medical):
• Any other comments which would be helpful for students, teachers, and/or parents:

[shawarma]

There was a report in The National 26 February 2009 which said the RAK American School had closed. I just tried to phone them and the phone is disconnected. Nothing showing on their website either so I presume that's correct. How unfortunate for the students and teachers there . If anyone knows otherwise, please reply here.

Khoie Properties is part of Khoie Group, which also has subsidiaries in construction, trading, financial services and education. Its Ras al Khaimah American School closed recently after only two months of operation.

[shawarma]

There's an interview with the principal of the RAK American School, Larry Audet, on the Arabian Business website from 29 January 2009. Interesting, but a bit obsolete. I wonder if he had any idea the school would be closed a month after his interview? The first and last comments are particularly unfortunate, in retrospect ...

How do you plan to develop the school in the near future?

We've only been open a couple of months, so we haven't opened up all the grades yet. We're opening up a middle school, from grades 6-8, on the existing site in September 2009. We plan to have 50 students registered by the end of the year. The elementary school has capacity for 300, and when we get the middle school it'll be 500. Our class maximum is 18 students in kindergarten and first grade. All other classes are closed at 23 students. Class size is one measure of quality that parents yearn to have. It's not a big school, but there's so much demand, I honestly think that we'll be full by the start of our third year.

...

How will the market for education in Ras Al Khaimah develop in the next 3-5 years?

RAK is right on the edge of a community boom in development for a variety of industries. Ask any parent with a child in a crowded school in the bigger cities and they'll say there's a genuine need for quality, accredited international teachers with experience and training to deliver the highest standards in resource and materials available. We are extremely excited about the prospect of opening more schools in the very near future.

More here: www.arabianbusiness.com/544731?tmpl=print

[shawarma]

Have started another topic with the posts about the new American school in RAK.

[Bumz_Rush]

The school closed as the owner was prisoned for bouncing a big cheque on the crown prince.

Not a good thing to do.

bumz