The American Community School of Abu Dhabi (ACS) has broken ground on its new six-hectare campus on Saadiyat Island.
Scheduled to open in 2023, the campus aims to advance education in the region with a more personalised, collaborative and innovative learning environment, the school said in a statement.
As the only non-profit American school in the emirate, the generous support of the Abu Dhabi government continues to enable ACS to educate generations of leaders from the UAE and around the world, it added.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak, ACS alumnus, who is now chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority and CEO of Mubadala, was among those at the ground-breaking ceremony.
“ACS is still a big part of my life. I was in the first graduating class and now, almost 30 years later, my children attend ACS,” said Al Mubarak. “As a family, we are proud to be part of the school’s long history of academic innovation and excellence.”
“ACS is a living example of the long-standing relationship between the US and the UAE. We are deeply grateful to the Abu Dhabi government and other key stakeholders that have enabled us to achieve this transformational moment,” added Matt Ayoub, ACS alumnus and chair of the board of Trustees. “This new campus is central to our strategy and will ensure that ACS delivers excellence for generations to come.”
The new campus will be located 400 metres from New York University of Abu Dhabi (NYUAD).
ACS will double the size of its current site and grow to serve 1,600 students annually.
Features include design-technology labs focused on robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and virtual reality; a greenhouse in a fully-equipped science wing that will serve as a hands-on classroom for teaching about food security and energy conservation; a 650-seat professional theatre; and an expansive indoor-outdoor art studio and gallery.
The athletic complex includes two swimming pools, three full-sized indoor basketball courts, a FIFA-sized football pitch, a six-lane running track and a wellness centre dedicated to social and emotional health.
“Our new facility provides the space for greater innovation, creativity and collaboration to prepare our students – the leaders of tomorrow – to thrive as global citizens in an increasingly complex and rapidly-changing world,” said Monique Flickinger, ACS superintendent.
“We are committed to sharing our educational learnings and vision with other schools and organizations to do our part in advancing the UAE as an international educational hub.”
The campus will enable ACS to deliver expanded programs and new initiatives, including engineering, theatre production, renewable energy, space entrepreneurship and an Arabic Institute of Excellence, which will pioneer new approaches to teaching and learning the Arabic language.
Follow us on
