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The Program Arabic Year at King’s Academy (AY) offers high school students intensive one-year Arabic language study, Middle Eastern cultural immersion and experiential learning opportunities.

The program is designed for students in grades 10 through 12 who want to learn Arabic and explore the history, politics and culture of a vital part of the world. Students enrolled in AY will live at and be part of King's Academy, an American-style boarding school in Jordan modeled after Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts.

The goal of AY is to allow students to gain fluency in Arabic, soak in the history and culture of the Middle East and “learn by doing� through off-campus educational excursions in Jordan and the region. Students accepted into the AY program must be committed to the work necessary to access a difficult language.

Message from King’s Academy Headmaster Dr. John Austin We are incredibly excited about the launch of Arabic Year at King’s Academy. It will deepen our mission, it will advance our aspiration to be a 21st century boarding school and it will strengthen our commitment to cultural exchange and global engagement.

Most importantly, it will provide interested young men and women an unprecedented opportunity to study Arabic and explore the culture and traditions of the region.

This is a critically important moment in the history of the Middle East. Because of Jordan's unusual position in the region, we are uniquely placed to provide adventurous young men and women with a powerful and, we hope, transformative educational experience at Arabic Year.

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AY Curriculum Students at AY will take a combination of traditional high school classes and unique Arabic Year courses. The program will allow students to transition back to their home schools seamlessly following their year at King's Academy. A typical weekly course load will include classes in Arabic, Arabic literature in translation (English), the Modern Middle East (history), world religions and mathematics. Courses are taught by King’s Academy faculty who hail from Jordan, the United States and various other countries in the Middle East and the West.

The curriculum will be individually shaped for each AY student depending on the student’s level of Arabic and grade. AY students will have full access to King's Academy's AP courses as well as to regular honors and standard-level courses.

Key to the AY curriculum is the study of Arabic. AY will enable students to develop the skills to communicate regionally and locally. Students will spend up to 10 hours each week in Arabic language class learning both formal written Arabic and conversational spoken Arabic. Courses are taught by native Arabic speakers.

“Now I have seen with my own eyes just how important languages are to the world. When I study Arabic at Middlebury next year, I’ll be studying with a purpose.”

- Leanne, Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, MA

“I’ve always been interested in the Middle East, but coming to King’s gave me a perspective I couldn’t get at my school in the United States.”

- Henry, Noble & Greenough School, MA

Life in Jordan AY students will live on the King's Academy campus, situated just 30 minutes away from the Jordanian capital Amman, and nestled among olive groves and farmland on the road leading to the historic town of Madaba. King’s Academy was established in 2007 and has already established a reputation as the region’s premier boarding school. It was founded by Jordan’s king, His Majesty King Abdullah II, and inspired by his experience as a student at Deerfield Academy, an elite U.S. boarding school.

King’s Academy is home to more than 400 students in grades 9-12. Its diverse student body is mostly comprised of students from the Arab world but also includes students from North America, Asia, Africa and Europe. The language of instruction at King’s is English. However, because English is a second language for most students, the social language among students tends to be Arabic. This provides an outstanding opportunity for language immersion at the high school level unique to Arabic Year.

“I spoke some Arabic at home, but here I was able to learn to read and write better than my parents! The teachers here are fantastic.”

- Katrina, Houston, TX

AY Residential Life Students at AY live among King’s Academy students in the school’s dormitories. dormitories These are comfortable and secure single gender residence halls typical at American boarding schools. The six campus dormitories are organized to be small, family units within the entire school community.

Each dormitory hallway is supervised by a faculty member who lives in an adjacent apartment. Faculty are available "24/7," assisting students whenever the need arises on issues ranging from homework assignments to personal problems. Teachers live with the students, eat together with them in the dining hall and participate with them in co-curricular activities in the afternoons, evenings and weekends.

“I’ve made so many friends in just a short time at King’s – other Americans and kids from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. It’s hard to be away from home, but the experience has been unbelievable.”

- Josh, Washington, DC.

The King’s Academy campus is 140 acres surrounded ed by a monitored wall and accessed only through a gate staffed 24 hours a day by security personnel. Along with the six dormitories, the campus includes an athletic complex omplex with swimming pool, pool basketball court, tennis courts, squash courts, soccer field, running track and fitness center. Two academic buildings include classrooms, science labs and arts studios.

Other facilities include a 700-seat auditorium, a 30,000 volume library, a health center, a dining hall, a student union and a spiritual center. In total, more than 50 members of the faculty reside on campus.

AY students dents will follow the same daily routine as King’s Academy students.

Classess run from 8 am to the late afternoon, on, followed by co-curricular activities, es, dinner and then evening, proctored ed study hall in the dormitories.

AY students dents will adhere to evening curfewss and follow all the other rules associated ated with residential life at King's Academy. my.

Afternoon co-curricular activities on include a wide range of offerings such as interscholastic erscholastic athletics (soccer, basketball, ball, volleyball, swimming, tennis, cross country, squash) and club activities, es, such as robotics, drama, horseback ack riding, Model UN, debate, cycling,, community service, scuba diving, student newspaper and literary magazine. ne.

AY Cultural and Experiential Learning Along with day-to-day life among Arab students and many Arab adults, AY students will put weekends and school breaks to good use. Weekends (Friday and Saturday in Jordan) will be opportunities for cultural visits to local towns and neighborhoods or experiential learning field trips to sites such as the Nabatean city of Petra, the biblical Dead Sea region, the Roman ruins at Jerash, the Crusader Castle at Karak, the Red Sea at Aqaba and the desert canyons of Wadi Rum, once home to Lawrence of Arabia.

Longer breaks will offer opportunities to travel in the region, with possible organized trips to nearby countries.

Daily life at AY offers insight and exposure to Arab identity and the Islamic religion.

Immersed in the daily life of Jordan, AY students will gain a personal connection to Middle Eastern culture and perspectives.

“This is a great way for me to connect with my family roots, to actually feel what it’s like to live in this part of the world.”

- Fawzi, Westwood, MA

AY Director Before joining the King’s Academy Department of Communication, nication, Rhetoric and the Literary Arts (CRLA) as an English teacher, AY Director Stephen h Morison M i Jr. J worked k d for f School Year Abroad (SYA) in China, where he taught English literature and co-supervised multiple student trips to Chinese provincial cities and villages. He is a 15-year veteran of the classroom, having taught at boarding schools in the United States, China and Morocco.

AY Admission Arabic Year will enroll its first cohort of 10-15 students for the 2012-2013 school year.

Students admitted into AY must have demonstrated suitable academic achievement in their current school. They also should have a willingness to immerse themselves in a new culture and language and show the maturity to be able to live in an overseas boarding environment. Students of varying levels of Arabic language – from beginner to advanced – can be enrolled.

Students or families interested in learning more about Arabic Year should contact the King's Academy Office of Admissions at arabicyear@kingsacademy.edu.jo or call +962 6 430 0230. Application material for the inaugural Arabic Year at King's Academy will be available in September 2011.

“To be a 15 year old American student coming to the heart of the Middle East surprises people when I tell them of my experience. I not only wanted to stand out, but I wanted to be able to tell people that what the media portrays is nothing like what the Middle East really is.. I wanted to try and demolish stereotypes.”

- Isabel, Wayland, MA

For more information about Arabic Year, log on to www.arabicyear.org rabicyear.org Arabic Year at King’s Academy PO Box 9 Madaba-Manja Jordan 16188 Email: arabicyear@kingsacademy.edu.jo www.arabicyear.org

King’s Academy King’s Academy is a private, not-for-profit, co-educational boarding and day high school (grades 9 to 12) that opened its doors in August 2007 in Madaba, Jordan. The school, which integrates the New England boarding school experience in the historical and intellectual context of the Middle East, follows an English-language, Advanced Placement curriculum. The dynamic curriculum includes an integrated co-curricular program of athletics, activities and community service, and students live in a nurturing residential environment that allows them to flourish personally and intellectually.

King’s Academy is situated 30 minutes from Amman on a 144-acre (575-dunum) site and is comprised of 33 buildings and state-of-the-art facilities. *King’s Academy is accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS)

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