Administration:

Dr. Larry Molacek	Superintendent	Email
Ms. Christine Huda Dodge	Girls Principal	Email
Mr. Hatem Mohammed	Boys Principal	Email
Dr. Rhonda Fisher	College Counselor	Email

 

 

School and Community Information

Founded in September 2005, Advanced Learning Schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a private, English language, international day school. The K-12 instructional program is coeducational from kindergarten to Grade 3, and single-gender from Grades 4 to 12. The student body consists of 850 children, the majority of whom are Saudi nationals. The
school is accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS). The Class of 2023 contains 45 students, with 28 girls and 17 boys.

Curriculum Offerings
Advanced Learning Schools is an IB world school, authorized to teach the Primary Years Programme, the Middle Years Programme, and the Diploma Programme. The first IB class graduated in June 2011. The following IB courses were offered to the 2022-2023 cohort: English A, English B, Arabic A, Business Management, Psychology, ITGS, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math AA, Math AI, Art, and TOK. In addition, the Ministry of Education requires that students also take Islamic Studies and Social Studies of the Arab World.. 

Corona Virus (Covid-19) Impact Statement

Advanced Learning Schools ceased in-person instruction on 10 March 2020 and transitioned to distance learning immediately. During distance learning, the school day mirrored in-person instruction. The school used a semester grading system and the 2020-2021 final grades were based on a combination of first semester numerical grades and a
second semester evaluation. For the 2020-2021 academic year, ALS provided online instruction throughout the year as per Ministry of Education directives. In distance learning, students attended synchronously via live streaming and were expected to be active participants. Our numerical grading policy was in place, along with the entire IB curriculum.

In the 2021-2022 school year, the Ministry implemented a trimester grading system throughout the Kingdom. Also, as per their instructions, we returned to the face-to-face classroom for those students who were fully vaccinated (students ages 12 and over). A small number of students, who could not receive the vaccination, were taught remotely. As Corona outbreaks dictated, we fluctuated between virtual and onsite school. The Covid restrictions had a profound impact on the number of clubs and extracurricular activities. From 2021 to the present, these activities have not been launched, thus impacting the quantity and quality of the student activities that are reported. In addition, academic achievement awards have not been granted from the 2019-2020 school year to the present. Average SAT scores are not being reported last year or this year due to the small number of students who were able to sit for the exams.

Graduation Requirements

The Class of 2023 is required to fulfill at least 26 out of 30 credits: English (4), Arabic (4),Humanities (3), Mathematics (4), Science (3), Physical Education (1), Islamic Studies (2), Social Studies of the Arab World (1), Design Technology (1), Theory of Knowledge (pass/fail), Fine Arts/Modern Languages (3*). * 2 out of the 4 credits are optional. If
students opt not to take Fine Arts or modern languages in grades 11 and 12, they must take 2 additional credits of science or humanities. The 2022-2023 school year now consists of 3 trimesters and the school calendar is aligned
with private and international schools. The school day runs from 07:20 to 14:40, Sunday to Thursday. Classes are offered in 55-minute periods.

Grading Scale, Ranking, and GPA 

In line with the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) grading, student scores at ALS are reported using a 1-7 Scale as is the GPA. Students are not ranked.