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The American School of Alexandria (ASA) is
located in Alexandria, an ancient city founded by Alexander the
Great with a modern population in excess of 3.5 million inhabitants,
nestling on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Alexandria enjoys a
temperate climate with January temperatures reaching a high of 75
degrees F. and in July a high of 85 degrees F. The city has a light
"winter" rainfall and is cooled by breezes from the sea in the
spring, autumn and summer months. Swimming, sailing, scuba diving as
well as year-round tennis and golf are the principal outdoor
activities. Most teachers are members of The Alexandria Sporting
Club which offers swimming, squash, tennis, horseback riding (also,
polo), golf, weight/exercise facilities, and a terraced club house
with baronial dining rooms. There are organized
and coached athletic activities for children at The Sporting Club.
Alexandria is 2 1/2 hours by air conditioned train from Cairo
(sixteen dollars roundtrip, first class), a two-hour flight from
Greece and a three-hour flight from Italy, with daily flights
originating from its own international airport with service to such
foreign destinations as London, Frankfurt, Athens, and Beirut.
Teachers and their dependents receive resident's visas (and work
permits) through the School which entitles them to sharply reduced
domestic airfares and hotel accommodations. Teachers and their
families may spend their weekends and vacations exploring Luxor (Karnak
and the Valleys of the Kings and Queens) in Upper Egypt, as well as
Sharm El Sheik on the Red Sea in southern Sinai (among the best
snorkeling and diving in the world), Petra in Jordan, Damascus in
Syria, Jerusalem in Israel, and Istanbul in Turkey.
Egypt is a very safe country where women feel comfortable walking
alone at night or taking a taxi. Violent crime is virtually unknown
and theft a rare occurrence. The cost of living is very low with
fish, lamb and local, field ripened produce, including oranges,
lemons, grapefruit, avocados, tomatoes, artichokes, etc. available
in the markets throughout the year. Most faculty members have at
least part-time domestic help. The quality of life in Alexandria for
ASA faculty members is high. Almost all Western products are
available locally. The society is tolerant and the Egyptian people
friendly. Integral to ASA's academic program is a
week of all-school field trips called "Learning without Walls,"
which occurs the second week of March. During the week, Elementary
School trips focus on Egypt, but beginning in the 8th grade or the
last year of Middle School, trips may include Damascus and Aleppo,
Syria or Istanbul, Turkey, and for the High School, Moslem
Monuments, Spain, Renaissance and Baroque Rome and Florence, Italy,
and Paris and its environs, France. The School,
through AMID-East offers SAT II subject tests. In addition to the
SAT I and II's, The School gives the PSAT practice test to 10th
graders in anticipation of the SAT's. The School integrates SAT I
Review and Preparation in math and English courses. Additionally, ASA has a fulltime, professional Counselor
who offers a broad range of counseling services for the student
body, including college/university guidance. Uniquely, the School
has a Special Education Program for a limited number of learning
challenged students. Less than six percent of the student body is
enrolled in the Special Education Program. While the Special
Education Program has its own Resource Room, the mildly, learning
disabled students who are admitted are mainstreamed.
The American School of Alexandria firmly believes
that small class size is highly conducive to learning. Small class
size allows the teacher the opportunity to address individual,
academic needs, and to tailor teaching to each individual student's
learning style. To that end, classes in the Elementary section of
the School are 9-12 students per class (K-6); in the Middle School
(grades 7-8) and High School (grades 9-12) classes may hold
approximately 5-18 students each. For a small school ASA has
extensive sports facilities including an on-site swimming pool,
playing fields, gymnasium, dance studio, an exercise/weight room.
The American School of Alexandria encourages students to participate
in extracurricular activities such as Student Council, Environmental
Club, Debate Team, Model United Nations Club, Drama Club, Dance
Club, Computer Club, Community Service, Chess Club, Guitar Club,
Sports Club, school newspapers, and intramural and interscholastic
sports. Individual teachers sponsor one club which meets one day per
week from 3:30-4:30.
Because Egypt is largely a Muslim country, the school day and week
run from 8:30-3:30, Sunday through Thursday, except during Ramadan
when the day ends at 2:30 and on Tuesdays when the day ends at 2:45.
The students enjoy a three-week "Winter Holiday" (Christmas Break),
a ten-day "Spring Break," and celebrate American Thanksgiving and a
generous number of Egyptian civil and religious holidays. The School
has 171 teacher/student contact days per year. Faculty members must
be in Egypt one week prior to the beginning of the school year.
The school year, divided into two semesters or four quarters,
generally ends around the 24th of June. The School day operates on a
combination of period and Block Schedule with classes in the Upper
School (grades 7-12) meeting five periods, at least, per week.
Teachers have a maximum of 25-27 forty-five minute contact periods
per week with students, and lunch and detention duties are minimal.
For ten months of the school year, the School provides a partial
living allowance in addition to the salary. The school assists
teachers in finding two and three bedroom, furnished apartments with modern appliances
located in the best neighborhoods of Alexandria. The School stores
teachers' personal effects over the summer holiday months. Most
teachers travel during the summer vacation in Europe and North
America. The School provides transportation to and from school for
teachers and dependents (there is no need for a car as taxis are
very inexpensive), an excellent health plan (BUPA "Classic" -
British AAA rated) with the worldwide SOS Emergency Evacuation rider
for teachers and dependents), a five percent School contribution to
a retirement plan beginning with the second year of the contract and
thereafter (aggressive growth, mutual fund); payment of any and all,
local Egyptian income taxes (as foreign residents, our American and
Canadian teachers pay no income taxes at all); annual airfare for
teachers to their homes of record or cash equivalent.
The School provides free tuition and textbooks for dependent
children. Most teachers are able to save at least fifty percent of
their salaries.
Positions open for the 2007/2008 school year are
as follows:
1. Special Needs Specialists/Teachers/Assistants (Experienced)
Duties: Provide instructional support for students with unique
learning needs in collaboration with classroom teachers and student
support staff. The successful candidates will be qualified special
needs educators with experience in conducting assessments and
designing/implementing Individual Education Programs for students
with mild to moderate learning disabilities. ASA follows an
inclusive educational plan.
This position must be filled immediately. Interested candidates
should send a current CV and cover letter to
principal@asa-egypt.com Please
submit your job application to:
jobs@asa-egypt.com |
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