What We Teach
Our instructional continuum begins with a holistic approach to learning, based on a unique blend of American and Finnish pedagogies and curricula in the primary years, transitioning to the project-based, experiential learning of the American curriculum in the secondary years.
Learning at Dar Essalam American School promotes students' skills in:

Creative and critical thinking
Problem-solving
Understanding different viewpoints
Ethical decision-making
Proactive and interactive goal-setting
Learning Spaces
Created by the world-renowned American architectural firm, FXCollaborative, in partnership with Omar Alaoui, Morocco’s preeminent architect, the school was designed with modular and agile spaces to offer total flexibility for learning activities.
State-of-the-art spaces include the Black Box Theater, where students have the freedom to explore traditional and alternative performance techniques, express their art in different forms, and organize events; and the Makerspace, a universe dedicated to design, exploration, and experimentation, where learners familiarize themselves with the latest technology equipment.
These specially designed environments for learning and growth provide a link between instruction and interests. Activities are offered and promoted in the areas of athletics, visual arts, music, and theater. Students are also encouraged to pursue new avenues such as community outreach services, student leadership, and mentoring. The intersection of curricular and co-curricular activities are a central part of the extended community at Dar Essalam.
Our teachers
Relationships. Teachers. More often, research tells us that the relationship students develop with their teachers goes a long way to making a difference in their educational success.
This idea has guided us as we recruited our teachers for Dar Essalam American School. Our teaching staff this first year is made up of teachers with extensive international teaching practice. They have over 16 years, on average, of teaching experience.
Hailing from the UK, Australia, the US and Finland, we have gathered a strong group of educators who are ready to do their finest work here in Morocco. We are excited to introduce them to you!

Lodi Pertovt
ENGLISH TEACHER
Shalin Guillen
PREK TEACHER
Laurent Labigne
WELLNESS (PE) TEACHER
Kim Ariail
ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE TEACHER (EAL)
Michelena McPherson
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Elisabeth Lefort
FRENCH COORDINATOR ET TEACHER
Megan Skaggs
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Benjamin Newton
MAKERSPACE TEACHER
John Ariail
SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER
Zineb Benmakhlouf
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Mohammed Omari
ARABIC TEACHER
Adil El Megaless
ARABIC TEACHER
Tinja Heimo
LEARNING SUPPORT TEACHER
Meriem Bellamine
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Alex Maros
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Raija Perttunen
ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL
Adam Benabbès
FRENCH LANGUAGE TEACHER
Alisha Brizicky
ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE TEACHER (EAL)
Satu Labigne
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Lyubov Borisova Waters
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELOR
Ingrid Kopke Donado
SCIENCE TEACHER
Chantal Butzbach
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Léo Lefort
VISUAL ARTS TEACHER
Andrew Thompson
ATHLETICS AND CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR
Gavin Hopwood
MATH TEACHER
Sanna Aman
LIFE X-PERIENCE TEACHER
Ali Bougrine
Health and Physical Education Teacher
William Watter
COLLEGE COUNSELOR
ENGLISH TEACHER
Lodi Pertovt
Lodi Pertovt is the English Teacher for Grades 6 to 9. He is Australian and has been teaching in different schools in Australia for the past 6 years.

PREK TEACHER
Shalin Guillen
Shalin Guillen teaches students in PreKindergarten at our school. She is from the United States and for the past 5 years has taught at schools in France, Morocco and the USA.

WELLNESS (PE) TEACHER
Laurent Labigne
Laurent Labigne teaches Wellness to Grades 6 to 9 at DAS. Originally, from France, he has spent the past 10 years working in France and Finland.

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE TEACHER (EAL)
Kim Ariail
Kim Ariail teaches English as an Additional Language (EAL) for Grades 1 to 5. She comes from the United States, but has over 20 years’ experience teaching overseas in China and Indonesia.

ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Michelena McPherson
Michelena McPherson teaches Grade 5 at DAS. She is American and has over 24 years’ experience teaching at schools in Japan, USA, China and Vietnam.

FRENCH COORDINATOR ET TEACHER
Elisabeth Lefort
Elisabeth Lefort is our French Coordinator and Teacher. She is French and has 21 years of international experience having taught in Ethiopia, Dubai and London.

ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Megan Skaggs
Megan Skaggs teaches Grade 1 at DAS. She is from the United States and has spent the last 10 years at different schools in the USA, Egypt, Albania, and China.

MAKERSPACE TEACHER
Benjamin Newton
Benjamin Newton is the Makerspace Teacher for Grades 6 to 9. He is from the United States and has 22 years’ experience teaching in the United States, South Korea, and China.

SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER
John Ariail
John Ariail is the Social Studies Teacher for Grades 6 to 9. He is American and has over 24 years of experience teaching in the USA, as well as in China and Indonesia.

TEACHING ASSISTANT
Zineb Benmakhlouf

ARABIC TEACHER
Mohammed Omari
Mohammed Omari teaches Arabic Language to Grades 1 to 9. He is Moroccan and has been teaching Arabic at various schools in Morocco for the past 6 years.

ARABIC TEACHER
Adil El Megaless
Adil El Megaless teaches Arabic Language to Grades 1 to 9. He is from Morocco and has been teaching at different schools in Morocco for the past 16 years.

LEARNING SUPPORT TEACHER
Tinja Heimo
Tinja Heimo is the Learning Support Teacher for PreK through Grade 9. She is originally from Finland and has been a classroom and special education teacher for 7 years now.

TEACHING ASSISTANT
Meriem Bellamine
Meriem Bellamine is a Moroccan multilingual teaching assistant at DAS. She is a former student of the Casablanca American School, where she also worked for 5 years. She is passionate, loving and caring person who also loves new experiences and challenges. She lived in Switzerland and Spain and loves sharing and learning about different cultures.

ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Alex Maros
Alex Maros is the teacher for Grade 4. He is from the US and has been teaching at different schools in the USA for the past 6 years.

ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL
Raija Perttunen
Raija Perttunen is from Finland. With 40 years of experience in education, Raija has been recruited as elementary principal for PreK4 to Grade 5.

FRENCH LANGUAGE TEACHER
Adam Benabbès
Adam Benabbès is a French Language Teacher for Grade 1 to 9. He is from Morocco and has been teaching at different schools here for the past 10 years.

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE TEACHER (EAL)
Alisha Brizicky
Alisha Brizicky teaches English as an Additional Language for Grades 6 to 9. She is an American with over 12 years of experience at schools in the United States, China and South Korea.

ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Satu Labigne
Satu Labigne is Finnish and has over 15 years of experience teaching children from PreK4 to Grade 4, having worked in Finland and China. We have recruited her as an elementary teacher.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELOR
Lyubov Borisova Waters
Lyubov Borisova Waters is our Elementary School Counselor. She is an American citizen with over 27 years of experience working as a school counselor and principal.

SCIENCE TEACHER
Ingrid Kopke Donado
Ingrid Kopke Donado is the Science Teacher for Grades 6 to 9. She is from Colombia and has over 17 years of experience in education, having worked in Colombia, Germany and most recently Panama.

ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Chantal Butzbach
Chantal Butzbach is our Kindergarten Teacher. She is from the United States and has over 19 years of experience teaching in Morocco, Congo, and China.

VISUAL ARTS TEACHER
Léo Lefort
Léo Lefort is the Visual Arts Teacher for Grades 1 to 9. He is French and has spent the past 14 years teaching at international schools in Ethiopia, Dubai, and London, prior to which he was an art director and graphic designer.

ATHLETICS AND CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR
Andrew Thompson
Andrew Thompson is Athletics and Co-Curricular Activities Director for all grades. He is from the United Kingdom and for the past 12 years taught in China and the United Kingdom.

MATH TEACHER
Gavin Hopwood
Gavin Hopwood is the Math Teacher for Grades 6 to 9. He is from the United Kingdom, and came to DAS from Panama after more than 26 years teaching in Russia, Colombia, Qatar, Hong Kong, and Germany.

LIFE X-PERIENCE TEACHER
Sanna Aman
Sanna Aman is the Life X-perience Teacher. She is a Finnish citizen and came to us after 6 years teaching this subject in Finland.

Health and Physical Education Teacher
Ali Bougrine
Ali Bougrine is a Wellness Teacher for Grade PreK4 to Grade 5. He is from Morocco and has taught at international schools in Morocco and Indonesia for the past 7 years.

COLLEGE COUNSELOR
William Watter
William Watter is the school’s College Counselor. He is from the United States and has 12 years of experience in the USA, China, and South Korea.
Schedule a virtual or in-person appointment with a member of our admissions team
Book an appointment
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We begin our early years program with four year olds. Along with our Kindergarten classes, they will be our youngest group to start their journey with many hands-on and active learning experiences with a teacher and assistant in each classroom.
Students in grades 1 to 5 will be assigned to a homeroom teacher and a grade level assistant. They will combine core subject lessons in math, science, social studies and English with supplemental learning in art, music, crafts and physical education. Their time is not limited to in class work, but also outdoor learning experiences with much time for recreation and movement activities. Students will be exposed to the Arabic and French languages from the early years program, through song, dance and storytelling. They will continue in subject classes for both languages with additional opportunities to practice the language during selected units for classes in art, music and other subjects.
Our Cultural and Entrepreneurial paths begin in these elementary years and provide students with true experiences in Moroccan culture as it relates to their learning objectives.
In the middle years of grades 6 to 8, students go through a transition that expects more independence and responsibility.
At this level, core classes are taught by a variety of teachers and students must move from room to room, with materials and supplies needed. Similar supplemental classes are offered, although there is more choice and unique opportunities. This is where our Makerspace curriculum will begin in earnest, as well as lessons on daily living skills through our Life X-perience course. Language learning continues for these years, with an emphasis on literacy and conversation in both Arabic and French.
During these 3 years of learning, students will continue on the cultural and entrepreneurial exploration of Morocco, with trips and experiences outside of the four walls of the school.
Our high school program begins in Grade 9 and continues through Grade 12. Students have the opportunity to make more choices about their learning in these years, preparing them for university and putting them on the path to success.
Subjects of study include the traditional American curriculum courses in English, math, science, and history, with the addition of international language and cultural options.
We also incorporate some 21st century choices such as Robotics and Coding, as well as other elective classes. High school students receive counseling support that builds their self-esteem and social development, while also working on career planning and university selections.
During these final years of secondary schooling, students at Dar Essalam are encouraged to find their voice and move toward their global calling.
Our boarding program is open to students starting in Grade 7. Students follow the same course of study as their day-school peers, with the added benefit of complete immersion in DAS’s student-centered, multilingual learning environment, plus 24/7 social-emotional support and mentorship from caring and qualified boarding staff.
Our secondary teachers support the boarding program through regular pastoral care, involving additional subject-area instruction, individualized academic support, outings across Rabat, and dynamic extracurricular activities.
Students also benefit from supervised, after-hours access to DAS’s state of the art learning environments, plus the boarding program’s very own “Atelier”, a digital design and media lab.
Student Supports
We offer students learning support in the area of English language acquisition and overall academics. Our programs are inclusive and developed alongside classroom teachers and their instructional program.
Our English as an Additional Language program (EAL) provides supplemental teaching of skills that are essential to reading, writing and speaking English in the classroom. We use the teacher’s lessons to reinforce vocabulary, practice fluency and increase production in written tasks. Students will be monitored using the WIDA language assessment and will work towards a proficiency level to be independent in their core classroom learning.
Our Learning Differences program (LD) is designed to support students with mild to moderate learning needs. The services are provided to flexible groupings and are tailored to the students’ strengths and areas for development. We serve students inclusively with the classroom teacher and other staff working together to adapt lessons and create a variety of opportunities to show their learning.
Calendar

Our school year calendar has 180 instructional days, spread out over ten months. Students will be given the national Moroccan holidays, as well as breaks in the fall, winter and spring. The school year will be divided into two semesters with twice a year report cards and meetings with parents, teachers and students.
Contact us
Please complete the form below to send your enquiry to our team.