Lahore American School
School Profile:
410 students, 4-18 yrs.
Address
c/o American Consulate General Lahore (LAS),
Unit 62216, APO AE,
09812-2216, USA
Tel: (+92) 42 576 2406 ;
Fax: (+92) 42 571 1901
Email: las@las.edu.pk;
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The manner in which we do business at Lahore American
Society School is defined in our Mission Statement, specifically,
we utilize American Principles of Education. The Board
of Directors has identified the following Ten Principles that they
have identified as critical for teachers and students embracing
an educational approach utilizing American Principles of Education.
1. An American educational approach values and encourages a High
Degree of Student-Faculty Contact.
Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of class is the most
important factor in student motivation and involvement. Faculty
concern helps students get through rough times and keep on working.
Knowing a few faculty members well enhances students' intellectual
commitment and encourages them to think about their own values and
future plans.
2. An American educational approach values and encourages Cooperation
Among Students.
Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort than a
solo race. Good learning, like good work, is collaborative and social,
not competitive and isolated. Working with others often increases
involvement in learning. Sharing one's own ideas and responding
to others' reactions improves thinking and deepens understanding.
3. An American educational approach values and encourages Active
Learning.
Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just
sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged
assignments, and repeating back answers. Students must talk about
what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences,
and apply it to their daily lives. Students must make what they
learn part of themselves.
4. An American educational approach values and encourages Prompt
Feedback.
When a student understands what he or she knows, as well as, what
he or she doesnt know, it focuses the student's learning.
Students need appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from
instruction. In getting started, students need help in assessing
existing knowledge and competence. In class, students need frequent
opportunities to perform and receive suggestions for improvement.
At various points during their educational path, and at the end,
students need chances to reflect on what they have learned, what
they still need to know, and how to assess themselves.
5. An American educational approach values and encourages Time
on Task.
Time plus energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time
on task. Learning to use one's time well is critical for students
and professionals alike. Students need help in learning effective
time management. Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective
learning for students and effective teaching for faculty. How an
institution defines time expectations for students, faculty, administrators,
and other professional staff can establish the basis for high performance
for all.
6. An American educational approach values and communicates High
Expectations and Provides Multiple and Ongoing Assessments of Student
Growth.
Expect more and you will get it. High expectations are important
for everyone--for the poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert
themselves, and for the bright and well motivated. Expecting students
to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when teachers
and institutions hold high expectations for themselves and make
extra efforts. Students receive multiple formal and informal assessments
each year to allow for continual adjustments by the teacher to allow
for successful student growth. Measurement is never based on a single
high-stakes snapshot.
7. An American educational approach values, respects, and responds
to Diverse Talents and values, embraces, and engages Diverse Ways
of Learning.
There are many roads to learning. Students bring different talents
and styles of learning to the classroom. Brilliant students in the
seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio. Students
rich in hands-on experience may not do so well with theory. Students
need the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that
work for them. Then they can be pushed to learning in new ways that
do not come as easily.
8. An American educational approach values and encourages a Rigorous
Academic Preparation in All Academic Disciplines prior to students
entering the post-secondary experience.
Students study broadly and deeply and gain a rich background in
a solid educational preparation. The temptation to have students
make a definite choice on their course of study is resisted until
students have a knowledge base from which to make the decision combined
with the emotional maturity to do so. The selection of a course
of study is not engaged until students are deciding on which university
to attend. At this point, the rich preparation in an American educational
approach allows students to have all options available to them and
they have the maturity and course exposure to make an informed decision..
9. An American educational approach values and requires the security
of a solid Standards-based Curriculum for students which assures
a deep and specific knowledge base upon graduation while also providing
opportunities for students to explore other areas of study for personal
enrichment.
Students are provided a thorough knowledge base upon graduation,
which is enhanced by the student being provided a rich array of
elective study opportunities. This combination enables students
to graduate with the additional benefit of a broad and enriching
background that will best prepare them for university study and
a love for life-long learning.
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10. An American educational approach values and requires an Extensive
Extra-curricular Program where learning continues beyond the limits
of classroom walls and has equitable program opportunities for both
genders.
An inherent component of the American educational approach is a
rich program of extra-curricular activities that are available to
students on a voluntary basis. Learning on the basketball and volleyball
courts, in the debate halls, in the band and choral rooms, in the
yearbook and newspaper journalism labs, and on the playing fields
of the school are seen as essential opportunities to which learners
may avail themselves. This rich banquet of opportunities is available
to all who are passing their classes.
An American Educational Approach is based on the following assumptions:
A belief in the equality of all and an appreciation that
education is the greatest of equalizers among free people
A commitment to democratic discourse and respectful tolerance
and appreciation for varying viewpoints
Educational opportunities are gender-blind; both genders
have equal opportunity according to the criteria set for all learners
in the school
A strong sense of shared mission among all participants in
the educational process
Concrete support from administrators, faculty, and Board
Members for the mission
Adequate funding appropriate to carry forth the mission
Policies and procedures consistent with the mission
Continual, planned, and cyclical examination of how well
the mission is being achieved. This examination is based on conclusions
derived from empirical data with a student learning focus.
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