CURRICULAR

Complementing this will be our POLARIS Program for Gifted, ESL and Special Needs children.  The POLARIS Program will be the first of its kind in the UAE, a program which actively addresses the needs of Gifted, ESL and Special Needs learners.  This program will feature learning educational specialists from the fields of learning disabilities and gifted education.  In addition to this, Occupational and Speech Therapists are permanently on staff to enrich the learning environment, ensuring students are able to understand and succeed in the demanding curriculum offered at the school.  The POLARIS Program will be delivered in-class by a team of specialized staff members including Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists and Reading Specialists.

The staff at ACS Sharjah will work closely with ACS at Beirut in order to modify the ACS at Beirut curriculum to suite the local environment. The Academic curriculum of ACS Sharjah will be adapted to reflect and integrate the country's educational guidelines. Among others, it will be based on:

• Clear standards and bench marks with articulated learner outcomes
• The following approaches to learning: Understanding by Design, Project Based Learning, Character Education, Literacy, GEMS exploratory science program, Multiple Intelligence Theory and other brain related research, High Scope/Montessori, Student reflection on learning/Metacognition, student reflective portfolios, student led parent conferences, Curriculum Mapping, Constructivism, Differentiation in the classroom, technology as an integrated tool for learning, Cooperative Learning, continuous assessment and the use of alternative assessment techniques, non-graded developmental reporting through the elementary grades.
• Provision of ICT enabling a live online, real time classes and lecture sharing between ACS SHARJAH and other international institutions.
• Skyward's integrated administrative and reporting system.
• Brain-Based Education.
• Math's Fluency.
• McREL's Compendium of Knowledge.
• Rigor and Relevance.
• International referencing through the MAPS testing program for grades 3-8 from the North West Evaluation Association, Lake Oswego, Oregon and for the high school the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey (pre-SAT/SAT).
• The school will encourage its pupils to look out beyond the school and participate in a strong community service programs.
• The school will look to strengthen the link between its educational goals and the world of employment by structuring its careers department in a way that involves all pupils in a wider work experience program involving organizations and parents. The school will develop an international outlook in its pupils though its curriculum and the creation of broad international links.

Arabic Language and Islamic Studies:

• The school will comply with the requirements of teaching of The Arabic Language and Islamic Studies as approved by the Ministry of Education.
• It means it will follow the same curriculum, textbooks for Arab and Muslim students and teaching hours as explained in the following Table:

It is planned that ACS Sharjah will be accredited by CITA, The Commission on International Trans-regional Accreditation. 

The Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA) is the most rapidly growing accrediting agency in the world. It was created in 1994 by the regional accrediting organizations in the United States following a long history of collaboration under other auspices. As a global leader in accreditation, CITA provides systems of accreditation around the world. CITA Standards promote quality schools and continuous improvement to enhance student success. CITA provides standards for education systems and develops customized accreditation protocols. CITA accreditation engages CITA schools in the world's largest network of accredited schools.

CITA provides customized accreditation protocols and standards for schools that cross the USA regions and for national and international schools around the world. CITA awards the accreditation. Participating regional commissions manage the accreditation protocol. Today, members of the CITA Alliance accredit more than 32,000 schools in 100 countries, touching over 17 million students.

CITA brings together these premier American educational accrediting agencies to promote accreditation and school quality:

• Middle States Commission on Elementary Schools (MSACES) http://www.ces-msa.org/
• North Central Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) http://ncacasi.org/
• Southern Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) http://www.sacs.org/
• Western Accrediting Commission for Schools (WASC) http://www.acswasc.org
• National Council for Private School Accreditation (NCPSA) http://www.ncpsa.org/
• Council on Occupational Education (COE) http://www.council.org/

(info taken from www.citaschools.org )

In the early years we incorporate the High/Scope Curriculum.  The High/Scope Curriculum integrates all aspects of child and youth development. Using research-validated strategies, this approach enhances each young person's growth in the foundations of academics as well as in social-emotional, physical, and creative areas. (www.highscope.org )

Once the school is in operation we will seek to obtain approval from the International Baccalaureate Organisation for our IB Diploma for years 11 and 12.

ACS Sharjah will seek to educate the whole person and to lay the foundations for life-long learning within a coeducational environment, allowing our students to reach their full potential.