Parent's Review of Cairo American College in Maadi, Egypt

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

Cairo American College

In what town or city is this school located?

Maadi

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

International but based on American curriculum standards

What grade levels are represented at this school?

K-12

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

There is bussing available; however, many children walk or are driven by parents/drivers. The school is located in the heart of Maadi, an expat enclave.

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

The school facilities are great. The school is walled and surrounded by security. The elementary gym is currently under construction and the theater will be remodeled during the 2004-2005 school year. There is a pool and there are baseball fields located at Victory College, just a short walk away.

There are many extra-curricular activities: sports, Model United Nations, some band, choir, theatre, student council, etc. Be aware, though, that when you visit the school, you will be given the impression that students can participate in a myriad of activities. In fact, though, due to scheduling, in all likelihood, your child will have to pick one activity each season: either sports or drama, etc. as many of the activities overlap each other.

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?

The school has done virtually nothing to help in the transition process for either children or parents. There is a token welcome activity but little is done to follow through the transition process. In fact, the overwhelming attitude of the school is that your child will either sink or swim and they don't seem to mind that many children sink.

The school operates on a "block schedule". Students take four classes one day, then four other classes the following day. Then the classes rotate periods so your child will have to be able to adapt to this very atypical way of school. Add in the fact that there are many lost days of instruction due to several early release days each month, Egyptian and American holidays, Teacher In-service days, clerk days...it has been a confusing disaster for our children, who are used to a much more structured school calendar. Since the Christmas holidays, I think High School students have only had two complete weeks of school without interuptions, and it is the middle of April. The school will tell you that this is a great schedule. In fact, it is probably good for the school as it allows them to employ fewer teachers than would normally be needed as the teachers are able to only see your child every other day. If you are of the opinion that your child should receive core curriculum classes on a daily basis ()math, science, language arts) than CAC is not for you. The worst thing about this block scheduling (besides the fact that your child will only receive math instruction for half a year while you think you are paying for a full year)is that the teachers seem to expect children from Middle School age and above to have responsibility and organizational skills like college students. CAC's expectation of behavior is the same, whether your child is 12 or 18. Needless to say, a school should only expect age-appropriate behaviour so this scheduling leads to lots of problems. Younger students need more structure and do not receive it. It has been a very frustrating experience for us.

To my knowledge, there are no repatriation activities.

A surprising fact to our family has been how totally oblivious the school is to the difficulties of transition. The PTO does almost nothing to encourage volunteerism and offers only token programs, mostly for elementary-aged students.

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

The school, unlike other international schools we have attended, seems to actually discourage parents from being involved. While the other students are welcoming of new students, parents may find it very difficult to get to know other parents.

Considering the small school size and the fairly tight community, the place in downright unfriendly. Mothers pass each other outside the school and rarely smile or speak to one another. It has been a very disheartening experience, to say the least.

The multicultural committee is the only parent committee at the school that I have seen make an effort to welcome parents. The PTO seems to exist mostly to complain about how much they do and how little the parents help. The PTA meetings are rarely publicized. Events scheduled are often cancelled. Parents may also get to know other parents through their childrens' activities (sprts teams, etc.).

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

If you have elementary-aged children, you will probably be okay. If you have 6th grade and above, you should seriously consider your decision to relocate to this school. Your child may do just fine but do you want to run the risk that they won't? Too many children and families have bad experiences at this school, although you will have to dig deep to find this out if you visit the school. Many people are oblivious to this and will tell you that CAC is the greatest! We certainly know that all schools have problems and that no school is perfect. We were not expecting a perfect school but we had hoped for better, based on CAC's reputation. The main problem with CAC is that they want to believe they are the greatest international school available(maybe they once were) and they are perfectly happy to skate by on their version of their reputation. There is a lack of willingness to admit some things need improving upon and a an even greater lack to actually do something about it.

The Headmaster/Superintendent is being replaced for the upcoming (2004-2005) school year which will, hopefully, bring about some much-needed change. The various principals are adequate (MS having the best) but they have all been constrained by the outgoing Superintendent. The Athletic Director is young and seems eager but has also had his hands tied this year. There are some fine teachers but there are a whole lot that need to retire or disappear. Often, good teachers who try to change the system are non-renewed or gotten rid of. This seems to be actually encouraged by many teachers who are quite content with the way things are, since it is to their benefit. If you have an innovative, energetic teacher, be prepared to have them gone after a year or two. Typically in an international school setting, there is a high teacher turnover. That is not the case at CAC. Many teachers have been here for years. The pay is good, housing is provided, and Egypt is a cheap place to live. This leads to a certain complacent attitude. At this school, the teachers run the school and school issues are most often decided on what the teachers want or what is best for them. Not on what the parents want or what is best for the students, which is what one expects when paying for a private school education.

There just seems to be a malaise at the school. There is almost a fear among parents to complain about anything, at least directly to the school. Instead, they complain frequently away from school but parents seem very unwilling to try to change the school due to a fear of retaliation. If you do have a problem with the school or feel that your child has been treated unfairly, there is basically no recourse.

You will be directed to the Administration, who will send you to the Board. The Board's main function seems to be to serve as a cheerleading squad for the administration. Please know that you and your child will basically have no civil rights at this school. They can expell you on a whim, suspend on suspicion, randomly drug and alcohol test your children from Middle School age and up, etc. The school actually has rules in place that allows and encourages teachers, parents, or other students to turn in students who might be using alcohol/cigarettes/drugs away from the school. Needless to say, this is a completely dysfunctional way to run a school and a great way to breed mistrust.

What we expected to find was a diverse international school setting that welcomed and applauded its diversity and many cultures. What we found at CAC is a very rigid, morally inflexible private school. There are a diverse group of students and families but the school does not celebrate that diversity. The school policy and enforcement of rules seems very narrow-minded and seems based on the Administrations' personal moral system versus the community's more culturally diverse moral system. You might as well be attending a small school back in the Bible Belt as attend CAC. If you are fine with that, you will probably love it. If you have had any other international experience, you are going to feel quite constrained and be amazed that the most conservative American culture system is what rules here, not a more diverse system based on and reflecting the many cultures present at the school.

If you have to move to Egypt and an American curriculum is required, this is your only option. Cairo has been a wonderful experience, apart from our experience at CAC. If you must enroll your child at CAC, please go in with open eyes and lowered expectations and you will probably do fine. There are some lovely children and parents here and some good faculty members. Just take off those rose-colored glasses the CAC Registrar hands you when you visit and do some active questioning. Good luck!

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