Dhahran Elementary Middle School

Dhahran Elementary Middle School is an accredited, not-for-profit school offering an American curriculum to culturally diverse students from kindergarten through grade eight. With an uncompromising commitment to educational excellence and a strong partnership with parents, our dedicated staff ensures optimal student learning in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. We inspire innovation and compassionate action.

Like a magician’s trick or grandma’s secret cookie recipe, a successful journey through elementary and middle school can sometimes seem like an elusive concept. It doesn’t have to be. DEMS is proud to help students find clarity in that journey; we do this not by ignoring the growing pains, but instead by embracing them. DEMS provides a wonderfully diverse student population a safe and secure learning environment in which to explore, succeed and exceed. Students are held to a high standard of excellence, because DEMS teachers see educational struggles not as failures, but rather as opportunities for growth.

The school implements standards-based curricula and assessments, and teachers believe in collaborative planning practices to guarantee the fidelity of every child’s education. DEMS teachers educate the whole child, and encourage students to take agency over their own educational path. Cultivating a sense of community ranks as a top priority, as it should be in every school, but it is especially essential in international schools. Knowing each other and about each other is the natural first step in being compassionate toward each other. Therefore, we implement Responsive Classroom, including daily meetings focused on fostering a sense of friendship and community; also used is a student mentoring program for new students transitioning in. Students will feel welcomed by DEMS staff and students alike, as they collaboratively strive toward independence.

Kindergarten at Dhahran Elementary Middle School is a place where strong foundations are built for a lifetime of learning. Our Kindergarten teachers believe it is a privilege to help open young minds, and to encourage them become explorers in ways that will stand set them up to become happy, enquiring students with good oral and social skills.

From the earliest grades, Dhahran Elementary Middle School students are active learners; they analyze and question, take risks and learn from failure in a supportive environment and are given opportunities to express themselves through writing, presentations, and discussions. In Elementary School, we work on building children's self-confidence and self-advocacy. As well as the core curriculum subjects, our young learners have regular sessions in physical education, art, music, arabic and visits to the school library. Experiential learning beyond the classroom through field trips keeps them engaged in learning in the wider world.

The transition from Elementary to Middle School brings its own unique challenges and DEMS teachers are sensitive to this. Guided by a distinctive Middle School philosophy, we provide a carefully structured, well-balanced curricular and co-curricular program designed to support students' development. In line with recognized US educational standards, our middle school program focuses on meeting the educational and social needs of the young adolescent.

Appropriate content knowledge in all subjects is carefully balanced in order to guide students through these years of significant social, physical, emotional and cognitive development.

We have much to be proud of here at DEMS, offering an excellent academic program on a safe and secure campus, complemented by a comprehensive specialist and elective schedule of classes. Our student support programs and extensive after-school activities offer all students the chance to thrive in a multicultural environment where creativity is nurtured along with academic achievement and lots of physical activity.

Our campus is shared by Dhahran High School and the Dhahran British Grammar School. The advantage of this arrangement is having access to excellent shared facilities that enhance our program for example, our library is one of the best in the Middle East. Added to that is the vibrancy and stimulation of being part of a thriving educational community, making our students confident and outgoing. They are accepting of others, open-minded and keen to learn every day is both challenging and rewarding for them.

DEMS provides a full American Curriculum for its students. Much emphasis has been placed on moving away from the traditional model of teaching from a textbook and designing courses based from standards. The backwards model of course and unit design has brought many challenges for teachers but has shown to be more innovative in terms of moving to more student centered classrooms focused on learner agency. Coupled with this have been newly adopted standards that have been carefully implemented to maximize professional learning and support.

Our continually updated curricular areas are designed with learner outcomes as our focus, and excellent text materials are used as primary sources of information. Teachers have multiple supplementary resources available to help them effectively address the outcomes, including our outstanding library.

Dhahran Academy (now DEMS) was founded in 1962 as a school for US Consulate employees, and is now one of three schools located adjacent to the American Consulate. 650+ students and 50 staff members work, learn, and play together in a diverse community of over 50 nationalities. With an uncompromising commitment to excellence, the mission of our staff, parents and community is to ensure optimal student learning and success.

DEMS provides a full American Curriculum for its students. Much emphasis has been placed on moving away from the traditional model of teaching from a textbook and designing courses based from standards. The backwards model of course and unit design has brought many challenges for teachers but has shown to be more innovative in terms of moving to more student centered classrooms focused on learner agency. Coupled with this have been newly adopted standards that have been carefully implemented to maximize professional learning and support.