Dear ACS Families,

It's hard to believe that we've just completed our first month of school! We've had a great start to the year, and we are feeling very optimistic about things going forward. After being out of school for so long, I'm sure that our students—especially our younger students—are adjusting to the routines and expectations of school, but they've come a long way in just four weeks. One thing is for sure—they definitely enjoy being back.

Please read these important updates:

Covid

Fortunately, due to the diligence of our Covid Response Team, the vigilance of our faculty and staff, and the cooperation of our students, we've only had three confirmed cases of Covid to date. These were all contracted from outside of our campus, and we were able to isolate those individuals and close contacts immediately. We did not have any community spread on campus. As more and more of our high school and now middle school students are being vaccinated, we are hopeful that we will be able to continue to reduce the Covid risk. Again, our primary goal is to keep school open and students on campus.

Head of School Installation

Last week, I was officially installed as the 14th Head of School of ACS. Chair of the Board of Trustees, Nina Joukowsky Koprulu, presided over the ceremony, which included remarks by representatives from our different constituencies. Because of Covid and our reduced capacity in the gym, only 11th and 12th graders attended. Student representatives from other grade levels also attended, as well as faculty, distinguished guests, trustees, and the Parents' Committee. My installation remarks are linked here.

Focus on Teaching and Learning

We are constantly reflecting on our curriculum and academic program to identify areas of improvement or further refinement. I know that grades 1-5 are working on discreet science units this year as well as integrating social studies topics into the curriculum. In our high school, an additional math class has been added to 9th and 10th grade to help students solidify their understanding of concepts that might have been missed during the remote learning period. As a school, we are using our upcoming faculty in-service day on October 15 to work on teacher training, curriculum, and the next phase of our accreditation process, which will focus on assessing our ability to help students be more resilient as a way to becoming more fulfilled as learners and people. It's exciting work.

One of the goals I mentioned in my installation remarks is to begin once again to recruit talented international faculty to ACS. Our local teachers, of course, are well qualified and well versed in our pedagogical approach and community values, but it is also important to have a faculty that reflects the diversity of our student body. I am eager to start this process as soon as the recruiting season begins.

Ongoing Financial Challenges and Your Support

As I mentioned in my previous letter to you, one of our greatest challenges this year is to ensure an adequate supply of fresh dollars, most of which are going to support our faculty and staff. Our Alumni and Development Office will be officially launching a Faculty and Staff Emergency Relief Fund, 100% of the proceeds of which will go directly to our faculty and staff. We hope that you will join our alumni, trustees, and friends of ACS who have already given to this crucial initiative. We are extremely grateful for their generous support.

Although we are relying on fundraising to help support our faculty and staff in this very difficult year, we know that this is not a long-term solution to the problem. We have begun the process of reviewing our tuition and fee structure for the 2022-2023 school year to ensure that we have adequate tuition revenue to fairly compensate our employees and to fully meet the school's operating expenses. We will provide more information about this as soon as we have it.

It is important to note that ACS is a non-profit institution, and we do not receive annual financial support from the United States government or other entities; like most private independent schools, we meet our operating expenses with tuition revenue and fundraising. It's very challenging.

Speaking of support of our school, I want to thank Diana Abadi, Rania Fouani, Zeinab Fakih, and Rana Taher for donating fresh dollars to supplement our diesel fuel budget. Their generosity has allowed us to run our AC units during all school hours until cooler temperatures arrive later in October. With our students, teachers, and staff dealing with so many challenges each day, this gesture provided welcome relief and comfort to all.

Fall Long Weekend Reminder

I just want to remind you all that we have a long weekend coming up in a couple of weeks. No classes for students on Friday, October 15 for a faculty in-service day, but offices will be open. School will be closed on Monday Oct 18 for Prophet's Birthday holiday. Our offices will be open on Tuesday, October 19 with no classes for students. This has been an intense stretch of time for students, faculty, and staff, and this long weekend will allow people to refresh and recharge.

Have a lovely weekend!

Sincerely,