Arabic Immersion Magnet School (AIMS) is a

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

in the Montrose area of

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. A part of the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

(HISD), it currently covers elementary school grades. It uses a grant from the

Qatar Foundation Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development ( ar, مؤسسة قطر) is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser. Qatar Founda ...

,VIDEO: HISD opens new Arabic Immersion Magnet School

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Fox Houston. Retrieved on August 31, 2015. and it is one of the first Arabic language immersion schools in the United States. It is a part of HISD's efforts to increase the number of bilingual students.Mitchell, Corey.
Houston to Open Arabic Immersion Elementary School
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Education Week ''Education Week'' is an independent news organization that has covered K–12 education since 1981. It is owned by Editorial Projects in Education (EPE), a nonprofit organization, and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland in Greater Washington ...

''. December 12, 2014. Retrieved on August 31, 2015. Prior to 2019 the school was in the

Houston Heights Houston Heights (often referred to simply as "The Heights") is a community in northwest-central Houston, Texas, United States. "The Heights" is often referred to colloquially to describe a larger collection of neighborhoods next to and including ...

. Mahassen Ballouli became principal in Summer 2017 after the founding Principal, Kate Adams, left.

History

On Thursday November 14, 2014 the HISD Board of Education approved the establishment of the school. The board approval was unanimous, and at the time there were no protesters. In May 2015 around 12 people complained about the future school to the HISD board.Baddour, Dylan and Ericka Mellon.
Protesters at Houston's Arabic Immersion Magnet School on first day of class

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''. Monday August 24, 2015. Retrieved on August 31, 2015. Its initial campus, in Block 21 of the

, previously housed Holden Elementary School and the

Energy Institute High School Energy Institute High School (EIHS) is a magnet high school in the Third Ward area in Houston, Texas. It is a part of the Houston Independent School District and is the first high school in the United States that focuses on the energy industry.Ra ...

. The district planned to upgrade the heating and cooling systems, restrooms, lighting, and technology of the former Holden building.HISD proposes new Arabic Language Immersion Magnet to meet needs of culturally diverse city

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. November 7, 2014. Retrieved on September 1, 2015. 490 applications for 132 slots for students were submitted. The school opened on Monday August 24, 2015 with 130 students,Mitchell, Corey.
Critics Protest Opening of Houston Arabic Immersion Elementary School
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''. August 24, 2015. Retrieved on August 31, 2015. all in preschool and kindergarten.Hernandez, Haley.
Protest held against new Arabic school in HISD

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KHOU-TV KHOU (channel 11) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Conroe-licensed Quest station KTBU (channel 55). Both stations share studios on Westheimer Road near Uptown ...

''. August 24, 2015. Retrieved on August 31, 2015. The school has plans to create one new grade level each year. The school ultimately plans to have the eighth grade as the highest level. On the opening day a group of about 30 protesters gathered around the school, accusing it of being anti-American and hindering assimilation. In May 2019 HISD announced that, effective fall 2019, AIMS will be located at the former

High School for Performing and Visual Arts Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Kinder HSPVA, HSPVA or PVA) is a secondary school located at 790 Austin Street in the downtown district of Houston, Texas. The school is a part of the Houston Independent School Distric ...

(HSPVA) in Montrose. It is on Blocks 12 and 13 of the Lockard Connor and Barziza Addition.

Curriculum

In 2015 each student spent half of their day learning in English and the other half learning in Arabic. The school focused on

Modern Standard Arabic Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Modern Written Arabic (MWA), terms used mostly by linguists, is the variety of Standard language, standardized, Literary language, literary Arabic that developed in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th ...

after an HISD cross-functional team deemed that it should do so. However, the school has now changed tack and has applied for IB (International Baccalaureate) status, causing for a rewrite of the school's curriculum. The IB authorization process takes two to three years, and it is expected that a new curriculum will have been developed by that time.

References

External links

Arabic Immersion Magnet School
{{coord, 29.8116, -95.4129, type:edu_region:US-TX, display=title Houston Independent School District elementary schools Public elementary schools in Houston Neartown, Houston Houston Heights Arabic language Bilingual schools in Houston Arab-American culture

History

Curriculum

See also

References

Further reading

External links