Michael E. DeBakey High School

Michael E. DeBakey High School – Qatar (DHSHP at Qatar) is an award winning high school, offering students a college preparatory curriculum in science, mathematics, and medical science. It is an alternative to the traditional high school experience that prepares students for careers in medicine and science. In collaboration with the Outstanding Schools Oversight Committee (OSOC) of the Supreme Education Council (SEC), DHSHP was invited to bring the first medical science focused high school in the Middle East.

Our Vision is to provide a challenging and well-balanced college preparatory program focused on academic excellence and character development, while empowering students to lead productive and fulfilling lives. Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions at Qatar, an outstanding multicultural institution, provides a well-rounded program dedicated to academic excellence and character development. Our exceptional faculty prepares students to compete in a global society through a rigorous American curriculum focused on science, mathematics, technology, and health science. The DeBakey community works together to create a collaborative and mutually supportive family atmosphere in which every student succeeds.

We believe teaching should inspire and engage. Relying on a standards-based curriculum aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), DeBakey-Qatar values and implements engaging instruction that is differentiated by student readiness, ability, and interest. Each class includes a balanced blend of carefully scaffolded lessons that include direct instruction, modeling, guided practice, and independent practice and are centered around students engaging directly with the content and with each other.

Just as we believe that students can learn from each other, we also believe that, as educators, we can all learn from one another. As professional learning communities, teachers and administrators meet regularly to analyze student work, research best practices, and follow through with implementing instructional strategies aligned to the needs of our students.

To ensure DeBakey students are prepared academically for post-secondary education, we rigorously assess for success. In addition to administering school-wide semester exams that mirror the scope and tone of college assessments, our courses also include a range of summative and formative assessments to help students and teachers measure learning progress. These are all balanced by a set of external assessments that are both norm referenced and college-preparatory.

While respect and responsibility are weaved into regular classroom practice, we also explicitly focus on creating a safe, caring environment through character development and responsibility. We believe in positive reinforcement, rather than punitive measures, and practice a proactive approach to teaching responsibility. All students are required to complete 100 hours of community service and are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities. Students in health science classes are also required to complete “practicals” in clinical settings and advanced health science students must further get hands-on clinical experience through 8-week “rotations”.

As a specialized international school focused on healthcare and engineering, we take great pride in being the only school offering this unique curriculum in Qatar. Our college preparatory curriculum is led by a faculty who offer visionary leadership with vast experience in the disciplines taught, thus preparing our students with the requisite skills required to be productive global citizens. Our school prides itself in having Students’ success as our number one goal. We aim to develop and maintain a rigorous college preparatory academic environment. This will enable our students to become productive 21st century citizens and inculcate the belief of lifelong self-directed learning.

The Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions (DHSHP@Qatar) was established to provide a comprehensive and challenging precollege academic educational program to motivate and enable students to pursue postsecondary studies in science, math, medicine, engineering, and technology. Students attending the DeBakey – Qatar will follow the prescribed four-year course sequence. As a result, each student will exceed the minimum graduation requirements. The course sequence of each subject is determined by the student’s preference. Advanced Placement (AP) courses are subject to acceptance policy. Students are expected to complete a minimum of 100 volunteer hours prior to graduation.