What we teach
Our instructional continuum begins with a holistic approach to learning, based on Finnish pedagogy in the primary years, transitioning to project-based, experiential learning in the middle years.
Our high school program of study exposes students to rigorous, college preparatory courses with an opportunity for students to be challenged by the unique academic content of the International Baccalaureate Diploma, which connect directly to our 5Cs. At every level of instruction, Dar Essalam American School provides a comprehensive counseling and student support program, which allows for all students to learn through a variety of modalities.
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 is 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 will 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 will familiarize themselves with the latest technology equipment.
These specially designed environments for learning and growth provide a link between instruction and interests. Activities will be offered and promoted in the areas of athletics, visual arts, music, and theater. Students will also be encouraged to pursue new avenues such as community outreach services, student leadership, and mentoring. The intersection of curricular and co-curricular activities will be 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!

Jaana Errajia
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Christopher Borges
VOCAL MUSIC AND CHOIR TEACHER
Satu Labigne
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Ingrid Kopke Donado
SCIENCE TEACHER
Zineb Benmakhlouf
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Lodi Pertovt
ENGLISH TEACHER
Elisabeth Lefort
FRENCH COORDINATOR ET TEACHER
Gavin Hopwood
MATH TEACHER
Adam Benabbès
FRENCH LANGUAGE TEACHER
Alex Maros
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
William Watter
COLLEGE COUNSELOR
Sanna Aman
LIFE X-PERIENCE TEACHER
Shalin Guillen
PREK TEACHER
Alisha Brizicky
ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE TEACHER (EAL)
Chris Kelly
DRAMA ARTS TEACHER
Diaritza Diaz
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Annie Almekinder
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Léo Lefort
VISUAL ARTS TEACHER
Adil El Megaless
ARABIC TEACHER
Michelena McPherson
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
John Ariail
SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER
Ali Bougrine
Health and Physical Education Teacher
Mohammed Omari
ARABIC TEACHER
Chantal Butzbach
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Heather Purcell
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN
Megan Skaggs
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Raija Perttunen
ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL
Kim Ariail
ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE TEACHER (EAL)
Meriem Bellamine
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Laurent Labigne
WELLNESS (PE) TEACHER
Andrew Thompson
ATHLETICS AND CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR
Tinja Heimo
LEARNING SUPPORT TEACHER
Bouchra Slaoui
LIBRARY ASSISTANT
Lyubov Borisova Waters
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELOR
Benjamin Newton
MAKERSPACE TEACHER
ELEMENTARY TEACHER
Jaana Errajia
Jaana Errajia teaches Grade 3 at DAS. She is from Finland, where she has spent the past 17 years teaching.

VOCAL MUSIC AND CHOIR TEACHER
Christopher Borges
Christopher Borges is the Vocal Music and Choir Teacher for Grade PreK4 to 9. He is an American citizen and has been teaching for over 25 years in the United States and Brazil.

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.

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.

TEACHING ASSISTANT
Zineb Benmakhlouf

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

DRAMA ARTS TEACHER
Chris Kelly
Chris Kelly is the Drama Arts Teacher for Grade 1 to 9. He is from Australia and has 25 years’ experience teaching at schools in Australia, Egypt, and Brazil.

TEACHING ASSISTANT
Diaritza Diaz
Diaritza is an American, originally from New York City. She is a multilingual teaching assistant at DAS, who has experience working with children for over 10 years in the U.S.A, Jordan, and Morocco. Being multilingual enables her to understand students from different backgrounds and tailor to their individual educational and emotional needs. Her objective is to help students be aware and understand the wider world and their place in it. To promote compassion, creativity, curiosity and encourage a passion for learning.

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Annie Almekinder
Annie Almekinder is an American who was hired as our director of educational technology. She brings more than 25 years of experience, having worked primarily in the United States and later in Bangladesh.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

SCHOOL LIBRARIAN
Heather Purcell
Heather Purcell is the Librarian for the entire school. She is originally from the United States. Her international experience spans 23 years, including the United States, South Korea, Egypt, and Brazil.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

LIBRARY ASSISTANT
Bouchra Slaoui

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.

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.
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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 will be making more choices about their learning in these years, considering their preparation for the International Baccalaureate(IB).
This diploma program encompasses a set of rigorous courses that make students college-ready and puts them on the path toward success. Subjects of study include the traditional American curriculum courses in math, science and history with the international addition of 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 will receive counseling support that builds their self-esteem and social development while also working on career planning and college selections.
During these final years of secondary schooling, students at Dar Essalam will be encouraged to find their voice and move toward their global calling.
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.
FAQ
This program is made through a synergistic collaboration of two world-class organizations. The students will experience English as their language of core instruction, French and Arabic language classes, and learner-centered academic and co-curricular activities with the focus on developing 21st-century skills. The unique features are individualized learning paths for our youngest learners, a model of innovation and practicality for global endeavors that include the skills for growing a child holistically.
Having more questions? Check out the FAQ page