Parent's Review of Anglo American School, Moscow in Moscow, Russia

What is the name of your child's school? (Please report on one school per survey.)

Anglo American School, Moscow

In what town or city is this school located?

Moscow

How would you describe this school? (i.e. American, British, International, Local, etc.)

Chartered by American, British and Canadian Embassies (but overwhelmingly international/Russian)

What grade levels are represented at this school?

PK-12

How do most children get to school everyday? (bus, train, walk, etc.)

School bus or by auto (This report completed for the 2007/2008 school year).

How would you describe the facilities at this school? What extra-curricular activities are available?

The shell of the school is great.. everything looks really nice with the swimming pool, theatre, sports facilities, etc.. HOWEVER, what is missing is the infrastructure. There is only one reading specialist with over 600 children in the elementary school alone. This person has to pull materials together for children representing over 60 nationalities. There is also no testing coordinator so your child may take the ERB test in the Spring and results are briefly discussed over the following winter by the school psychologist. Many other key faculty members are missing.

What has this school done to help your child transition from the curriculum in your home country into the curriculum in your new country? Are there programs to prepare your child for repatriation?

Communication is the largest problem at AAS with transitional issues as the second largest problem. The administration and staff are not well prepared in helping children make the transition either into or out of the school. Notice the lack of teacher web pages on the school website. Report cards are drastically different from anything you'll see in the US (no letter grades at all in the ES), the ERB is the only standardized test given in the ES, no textbooks are used at all, parents of children in all grade levels have expressed concern over the math program that does not teach the basics, guided reading groups are weak and children functioning at a high level are not challenged due to the overall lower level of English fluency in the classroom so your child may be behind his/her peers when transitioning home.

How would you describe the social activities available for parents through this school? Are there parent-teacher organizations?

There is a PTO whose main function seems to be fundraising (the school already costs $23,000 p/year average!).

There are plenty of social activities and general action committees but there seems to be a lack of incentive to improve the school when it comes to specific issues.

What advice would you give to someone considering enrolling their child in this school?

If you are going to transition back to your home country before your child enters college, be wary of this school. All attempts at an objective and open conversation between the parents and the administration have been immediately shut down and morale is becoming increasingly low among native English speaker citizens who want a high quality education for their children that is based on the most current findings.

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