Awsaj Academy is, so far, a great school that is trying to do A LOT of things here in Doha. We are basically a college prep school for kids with learning challenges. We have 1-12 grade students and our classes are capped at 10 students per class/period of the day. In the Elementary we have 3 classes of each grade with a teacher and instructional assistant. Our younger grades have quite a few kids with high needs, but our teachers are Amazing at working with each student on their individual level.

Currently the school is working on expansion. What does this mean? Sometimes this means growing pains. Anyone in education understands the effort it takes to create systems change. Two years ago the school had enrolled under 100 students (for all grades), this year we have close to 250. Additionally, right around 30 new staff were hired this year with me. For the most part this has been amazing! We have been able to bond together and learn together as we go. Of course, that means we also are all trying to figure out exactly where we fit in, how things work, and make it through lots of training time!

The school building was finished last year November and it is beautiful! Here is a fun photo tour

As with starting any new job there is stress and confusion, but I am lucky enough to work with a fantastic staff that truly has a love of teaching. Everyone works so hard to help their students achieve and it is fun to be a part of that! Also- the kids are adorable! They are so fun. My favorite is when certain first graders tell me a story. They get so excited that the first two words are in English and then the next 2 minutes are told in really fast Arabic (which I cannot understand at all). Then they look at me all smiley with wide eyes waiting for some kind of confirmation, praise, information….. not really sure. I usually laugh and tell them “great job” and “I’m happy they told me about that.”  Ha ha ha ha so awesome!

I’m sure there will be more bumps in the road and we have a long way to go as far as putting systems in place, but I see a lot of progress in the students every day and that is what it’s all about!