American School of Palestine

The American School of Palestine is an independent, non-denominational, comprehensive, coeducational institution serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It was founded in 1995 as Al-Jenan School by the late Mustafa A. Ramahi and Hanan M. Ramahi, PhD, father and daughter American citizens of Palestinian ancestry. The School was primarily intended to meet a need for high quality educational institutions catering to the needs of repatriating English-speaking Palestinian youth. Initially located in the Palestinian town of Beitunia, the vast majority of the students and teaching faculty were US citizens. The academic program was primarily based on an American general college-preparatory curriculum taught entirely in English with Arabic as a second language. In the year 2000, under the leadership of its current president, Tarik M. Ramahi, MD, the School pursued an extensive development program. It moved into a new purpose-built building in the twin cities of Al-Bireh/Ramallah, adopted its new name, and re-invented its academic programs and curricula to meet a broader Palestinian student population. The School has since evolved into a bilingual teaching institution offering comprehensive curricula that incorporate the core Palestinian national curriculum into a bilingual educational experience fortified with American-style college preparatory courses in the physical and social sciences, mathematics, information technology, native-speaker level English and Arabic languages, and a broad exposure to the humanities, civic education, the arts and athletics. Students are prepared for the American college entrance examination, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) I and II, which leads to equivalency with the Tawjihi, the Palestinian General Secondary Education Certificate. The American School of Palestine is now a highly reputable, leading educational institution in the Palestinian Territories.