tanz
Member
Posts: 17
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Post by tanz on Sept 19, 2014 14:43:12 GMT
Hi,
My husband has just received an offer and as much as he is excited, as a mother of a 2 year old and a 3 month old, I am rather concerned about the standard and quality of the education system in the Aramco schools. I will really appreciate if someone could help me with my concerns? Thank you so much!
1. Can anyone share on the quality of the schools, both Aramco schools and the British school outside of the compound?
2. Are the Aramco schools teaching the U.S. syallabus only?
3. How is the quality of the teachers?
Thanks very much!
tanz
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Post by UmmRiyam on Sept 22, 2014 7:27:56 GMT
I only have experience with the UDH Aramco school, but I am very happy with the education my kids are getting. They're young though, in K and K4. The Aramco schools do use an American curriculum. The school has everything needed, plus some. It's been a long time since I was in school, but I never had an actual art teacher or drama teacher in grade school...everything was done by the same teacher except music and PE. In UDH the class sizes are small, and preschool and K have additional helpers in the classroom at all times, so there is plenty of attention for every child. I'm very happy with the quality of the teachers that my kids have had. They're all wonderful and great with the kids. I have noticed that a lot of the teachers in the UDH school have taught in other international/american schools all over the world before making their way to Saudi Arabia.
There is a British school in Khobar/Dhahran, outside the Aramco compound. I don't know much about it.
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Post by Shammal on Sept 22, 2014 8:06:01 GMT
Based on US standardized test scores, Aramco schools' lowest category rating was in the 97th percentile with all other categories rated 98th and 99th according to the orientation in Houston.
So the kids are scoring better than about 98% of their peers in the US.
I believe that is tuition free and they get to come home for lunch.
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Post by dancan2014 on Sept 22, 2014 17:02:44 GMT
Hi tanz
We are coming from Canada and we have three kids, two attending school. I have only heard good about it and they say that Aramco has top schools, I don't think you have to worry about the quality of the education at all! And yes it is American system. I am looking forward to getting there!
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Post by UmmRiyam on Sept 23, 2014 4:56:17 GMT
I think K3 is the only year you pay at Aramco schools. They just added K3 2 years ago in UDH, and to help offset that cost, they charge a monthly fee taken out of the husband's salary directly. Last year, the fee was 825 riyals per month. I don't know if that has changed or not. There were 2 full time helpers in addition to the teacher, and the classroom is impressively furnished with top of the line toys and books, and supplies. Maximum kids per class was set at 15.
Yes, kids go home for lunch, it's almost an hour long lunch time. The timing is such that husbands (who work in the camp) can pick up their kids and go home for lunch. Some kids take their lunch and stay for lunch club, which is different extracurricular clubs. I can't remember what all they are since my oldest is in K so she's too young for lunch club.
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tanz
Member
Posts: 17
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Post by tanz on Sept 25, 2014 0:44:41 GMT
Thank you so much for your replies! Really appreciate it. One more question is, is there a good international mix at the Pre K and K level or will they be predominantly American since the syllabus is based on US?
Thanks!
tanz
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Post by vpainter on Oct 1, 2014 2:18:24 GMT
All Aramco schools are multi-national.
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Post by UmmRiyam on Oct 1, 2014 7:10:38 GMT
Yes, there is a good mix of nationalities. UDH actually has much less of an American population, so I don't think any of my daughter's classmates are American, except her (but she's also Saudi).
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tanz
Member
Posts: 17
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Post by tanz on Oct 2, 2014 4:16:34 GMT
Thank you so much vpainter and UmmRiyam for your responses! The initial concerns have sort of calmed down a little and we are waiting for the outcome of a salary review and hopefully all comes back good and we can kick-start the process!
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Post by bamaster on Oct 2, 2014 5:38:00 GMT
tanz,
I do not have any children but I've met a few teachers and the assistant principal at my compound. I'm incredibly impressed. Here's my observation... all children here have a mother and father at home. And all fathers (and probably most mothers) have a college education. Many with graduate degrees.
Highly educated parents, a mother at home, a very diverse student profile, many teachers with global teaching experience (the ones I've met have PhD's), and the richest selection of student activities I've ever seen... this is the most fertile ground for learning you can ask for. Where else can you find this? This is just my opinion, but Aramco's opportunities for young families are amazing.
Best of luck!
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tanz
Member
Posts: 17
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Post by tanz on Oct 2, 2014 5:45:57 GMT
Wow, sounds awesome! Thank you so much bamaster!
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Post by UmmRiyam on Oct 2, 2014 5:55:37 GMT
Great observation! yes, it's true that most of the mothers are also educated as well. I've met stay at home mothers who are engineers, architects, nurses, lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc. It's really amazing, and I don't think it's easy to find another community like Aramco anywhere.
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