American Community School at Beirut

American Community School at Beirut (ACS Beirut)
Address
67 Nigeria Street, Jal El-Bahr Ras Beirut Beirut Lebanon
Coordinates	33°54′03″N 35°28′38″E / 33.900799°N 35.477242°ECoordinates: 33°54′03″N 35°28′38″E / 33.900799°N 35.477242°E
Information
Type	Private
Established	1905
Area trustee	Karim Abu-Haydar
Headmaster	Greg MacGilpin
Grades	Nursery-12
Age range	3-18
Enrollment	1130 students
Language	English, Arabic, French
Campus	Urban
Color(s)	Blue & Yellow
Slogan	Building for the Future : Educating for a Lifetime
Song	Alma Mater
Fight song	Dynamite, K-N-I-G-H-T-S
Athletics	Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball, Badminton, Track & Field, Swimming, Rugby, Tennis
Accreditation	Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Publication	ACS Matters
Newspaper	Alpeh Be - Zephyr - POT
Tuition	± $14,000
Feeder to	American University of Beirut
Website	http://www.acs.edu.lb

The American Community School at Beirut, (Arabic: مدرسة الجالية الأميركية في بيروت‎‎), also known as ACS Beirut, is a private school located in Beirut, Lebanon, founded in 1905, traditionally attached to the American University of Beirut. As an independent coeducational institution, it offers education to students of all nationalities, ranging from preschool, students aged from 3 years, to high school grade 12 of the type K-12. It offers the International Baccalaureate and the Lebanese Baccalaureate programs as well as its own college prep program.

History

The school was founded by a small group of American parents from the American University of Beirut, then known as the Syrian Protestant College, who wanted a school where their children could receive preparation for entrance into American universities. The small faculty school thrived and by 1920 had expanded from its original home on rue Bliss to a red-roofed house on rue Sidani. At this point, the American Presbyterian Mission joined the AUB in sponsorship of the school. It was at this point that the school was renamed to the American Community School. By the 1940s, the student body had grown to more than 900 primarily Western children; the present building was built in 1949 with funds provided by ARAMCO. Today, students are primarily Lebanese, as with the university.

The school celebrated its Centennial on June 24, 2005, and in June 2011, ACS Beirut celebrated the graduation of its 100th graduating class. Dr. George H. Damon, Jr. remained headmaster of the school from 2003 till his retirement in 2013.^[1]

ACS's history is described by Wade Morris, Jr. in A History of ACS; The American Community School at Beirut 1905-2012.^[2] The book is a must-read for every member of the ACS community and is available at ACS’s Development & Alumni Relations Office in hardback and paperback.

Notable alumni

• Stewart Copeland, drummer for The Police, whose father Miles Copeland, Jr. was the longtime CIA station chief in Beirut^[3]
• Malcolm H. Kerr, historian^[4]
• Wassim Michael Haddad, professor
• John Woods, historian
• Bran Ferren, designer
• Greg Kinnear, actor
• Keanu Reeves, actor
• Omar Naim, director

References

1. "Special dinner held recognizing Dr. George H. Damon, Jr., retiring head of the American Community School at Beirut". American Community School, Beirut; News Post. 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
2. http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/370/371/acs/books/
3. Ken Micallef. "Stewart Copeland: Staring Down the Future". Modern Drummer. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
4. "Biography of Malcolm Hooper Kerr". Middle East Studies Association. Retrieved 2007-09-16.

External links

• Official Website - June 2016 - At long last we are very pleased to welcome you to a first look at our new and vastly improved ACS Website. We hope you will enjoy the photos and the ease of navigating through all the information you will find here. Our new Webmaster Hasan Al-Masri has worked tirelessly with Finalsite to pull this all together under the oversight of Deputy Head Karim Abu-Haydar. There is still more to be added, but when school starts up again in Sept., all will be in readiness for you. In the past two weeks we have graduated 68 seniors in our magnificent Class of 2016, celebrated 83 eighth graders in our talented Class of 2020, and promoted 81 fifth graders in what will become our distinguished class of 2023. We head in to summer break after an excellent 112th year at ACS. I am proud of all our accomplishments and particularly our challenge and support for each of our students. I wish everyone in the ACS community well and want you to know what a pleasure it has been to serve as your Head of School for the past three years. Hamilton Clark, Head of School