Best US Schools in Dubai 2017
Something rather exciting has been happening across Dubai's US curriculum schools and in case you missed it, WhichSchoolAdvisor.com has been scouring the new KHDA inspection reports to highlight what you might have missed...
Dubai's US Schools: An Overview
Dubai currently has 14 US curriculum schools rated Good or above, a further 12 rated Acceptable, three rated Weak, four new schools, yet to be inspected, and of course iCademy Middle East, the online provider.
Of the 14 rated Good or above, only Dubai American Academy is Outstanding, the rest remain within the Good bracket, although for many, the not for profit American School of Dubai is also considered a top school. Its Arabic and Islamic provision remain Weak however, which means, within the KHDA inspection framework, the school cannot be considered Outstanding or even Very Good.
Accreditation
Over the past few years, the KHDA has pushed for all Dubai US curriculum schools to be accredited with an official US accreditation body, ideally the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
So far, of the schools rated Good or above, seven are fully accredited with NEASC, five are 'candidates' in the process of accreditation and both the American School of Dubai and the Universal American School were already previously accredited with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA).
US Schools Rising to the Challenge
This concerted push for US curriculum schools to obtain accreditation has seen significant improvements in Dubai's American schools this year. Almost all schools rated Good or above have registered staggering improvements across all indicators inspected, many boasting 10 or even more individual indicators improving in a single year.
The most impressive this year is Dubai International Private School with 42 individual indicators improving between the 2015/16 and 2016/17 inspections.
The Fees
The US schools in Dubai can be split into two types: those with majority US teachers and US students and those with teachers primarily from the Middle East with Emirati students.
The schools with US staff and students have an average fee of AED 69,000 per year while the Arab population schools are significantly more affordable at AED 22,370 per year.
Al Mizhar American Academy remains an anomaly with a US teaching staff and Emirati student body and average fees over AED 10,000 less than the other schools with US teaching staff.
Read on for the WhichSchoolAdvisor.com reviews of the top 14 US curriculum schools...
