Since 1998, George Washington Academy (GWA)’s caring faculty and staff have provided students and families with an educational atmosphere and culture captured best in their Vision Statement:
GWA inspires students to become multilingual lifelong learners who pursue excellence, model integrity, and honor cultural diversity. We educate the whole person by quipping minds and building character, empowering students to serve Morocco and the global community with wisdom and compassion.
This mission dictates everything that the school does. As a nonprofit school, GWA has no shareholders; All fees paid by families go towards educating its students.
GWA Graduates Are…
Lifelong Learners who are empowered to be inquisitive and perseverant. They seek new learning opportunities and grow in the pursuit of academic, career, and personal interests.
Critical Thinkers who are analytical consumers of information, working to identify problems, collaborate with others to find novel solutions, and evaluate them for their feasibility and efficacy.
Of Strong Character, demonstrating ethical and moral integrity in all pursuits. They persevere through life’s challenges, recognizing the value of resilience.
Global Citizens who contribute to the world by interacting respectfully, compassionately, and productively in their communities, the environment, multiple cultures and belief systems. They use their talents and abilities to make the world a better place.
Creative Innovators who utilize creativity not only for self-expression, but also to solve problems.
Practitioners of Healthy Lifestyles who demonstrate belief in the development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social, emotional, and physical wellness in their pursuit of success.
Effective Communicators who express ideas clearly and information confidently and creatively in multiple languages through diverse models of communication.
The Multilingual Pedagogy
GWA employs 21st century American pedagogy to grow students as critical thinkers and problem-solvers equipped with digital literacy, global awareness, and interpersonal soft skills that prepare them to address real-world issues with confidence, creativity, and the ability to collaborate effectively leading and working with others.
GWA’s unique Language Acquisition Program gives young students a multilingual foundation in English, French, and Arabic. Oral instruction in Discovery (three year olds) is in spoken English with support in French and Arabic. In PreK, Kindergarten and grade 1, students are taught literacy in French as the home language of a majority of
GWA students. In grade 2, students start to read and write in English at an accelerated pace, transferring the literacy skills they learned in French to English. Oral instruction in Arabic begins in grade 1 and written instruction begins in grade 3.
The Promise of Best-in-the-class IB Education
The International Baccalaureate Program, based on the IB Learner Profile, has challenged and prepared students around the world since 1968 for collegiate success and lifelong learning. At GWA, students apply in Spring of 10th grade and spend two years (Grades 11-12) completing a rigorous and well-rounded curriculum that culminates in:
Subject tests;
CAS hours spent focused on and writing about creativity, action, and service;
And composition of a 4000-word extended essay based on original student research.
The American/Moroccan Degree Equivalency
GWA is one of five official American schools in Morocco conforming to the Bilateral Agreement of 2012 between the governments of the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco. Graduates receive an American high school diploma from GWA that also allows them to request a Moroccan baccalaureate diploma, facilitating them with degrees recognized by both countries.
The Inspiring Infrastructure
Largest Library in Morocco: GWA proudly houses the largest children’s library in the Kingdom of Morocco. Designed according to modern standards with innovative reading nooks and study spaces, the library includes distinct areas created especially for elementary, middle and high school students to meet their respective reading, study, and research needs.
The library also features the ‘Blue Room’ – a multi-use space with theatre seating for presentations, class meetings, story time, and various other purposes.
The MakerSpace: The MakerSpace provides a learning space where students turn imagination into reality both in regular classes and after school activities program. Combining high-tech equipment, hand tools, and other resources, students channel their creativity through the design process in order to build what they dream. The MakerSpace nurtures creativity, teaches problem-solving, and other skills important to 21st century pedagogy.
Robotics Lab: GWA’s after school robotics program has trained students for success in national and international competitions. Starting early childhood students with Souris robots and basic block coding; continuing with elementary students programming ‘Dash and Dot’ and WeDo robots; and older students building and programming Spike Prime and EV3 robots.
Robots inculcates many valuable skills such as creativity, problem solving, social awareness, and teamwork as well as the engineering and coding required to build and program robots that perform tasks and solve problems.
The Athletics Arena: GWA student-athletes compete over three seasons each year in the Maroc-American Schools Athletic Conference (MASAC) in badminton, boys/girls basketball, boys/girls soccer, boys/girls track and field, boys/girls volleyball, and swimming. GWA has a full-sized field, miniature football pitch, and a lower school and upper school gym.
All-round Development
GWA features an engaging After School Activities (ASA) program with dozens of athletic and enrichment offerings led by a mix of teachers and contracted coaches/facilitators for students in elementary, middle and high school. School-wide over 40 percent of students participate in at least one ASA activity each year.
Additionally, students get involved extracurricular-ly in a myriad of clubs and organizations that include drama/musical, First LEGO League Robotics and the World Robotics Olympiad, Green Council, Interact Rotary, Model United Nations, Mustang Athletic Council, National Honor Society, Speech and Debate, Technology Club, and more.
The ‘STEAM’ Drive and the Annual Musical
GWA is committed to S(science)-T(technology)-E(engineering)-A(arts)-M(mathematics) education as a crucial part of the 21st century education, offering an array of classes taking advantage of the school’s designated MakerSpace, Robotics, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts spaces available for students’ development.
At GWA, students hone their creativity through both visual and performing arts in the lower and upper schools. Beginning in kindergarten, students have both music and arts classes each week. In middle school, students explore focusing on art, music, and drama interests with a variety of courses that challenge them to grow their creativity, talent and skill.
Each spring, the visual and performing arts department stages a musical with a cast of middle and high school students who audition in Fall for their roles. GWA’s annual school musical provides middle and high school students an opportunity to sing, dance, and act in a full stage production.
In addition to on-stage opportunities, students get involved in the musical through leadership roles in areas such as set construction, stage crew and choreography for the shows.
The Scholarly Head of School
Colin Webster started his career as an elementary teacher in the Czech Republic at the International School of Prague. Spending a few years as a middle school teacher at Dubai American Academy before taking some time to work on a doctorate in Pennsylvania, Colin Webster then became Secondary Principal at the ICARDA International School of Aleppo in Syria. This followed with a position at Ruamrudee International School in Bangkok, and most recently, he spent four years as Head of School at the Asmara International Community School in Eritrea. All great American International Schools.
Colin understands that parents wish to know the history and qualifications of the Head of School to feel comfortable and confident in choosing GWA and especially in times like these but emphasizes that a school is made up of the entire teaching and learning faculty – with a great leadership team in place in Primary and Secondary and a great teaching staff who will be joined with great new teachers this fall.
“For myself, I believe in building relationships with families. I believe in a high-quality learning environment. I believe in enriching children’s lives with active involvement in not just the academic but also in the athletic and artistic. I also believe that parents and teachers all want children and students who are generous and desire to make the world a better place,” concluded the prominent Head of School, Colin Webster.
