This page has information, pictures and videos about the program at Choate as well as what we are currently working on. Unique among American secondary schools, the AMES program at Choate Rosemary Hall was established in 2010 as a response to a growing interest in both the Arabic language and the study of the cultures and history of the Middle East and the larger Arab world. The program marks the
reawakening of an Arabic language program dormant at our school since the 1970s, enhanced by the interdisciplinary collaboration of language, history and English teachers and reconnections with several universities and secondary schools in the Arab world. Staffed by a Lebanese native trained in the teaching of Arabic as a foreign language, as well as teachers of history and literature from Europe and the United States, this program offers students a working knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic supported by guided study of the history, art, culture and architecture of the classical Arab world and of the history and politics of today's Middle East. Students do not apply for this program early in their high school careers, but rather earn their way through it by successfully completing the required coursework. Supported by the Mounir Saa'dah Fund for AMES, this program regularly consults educators in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Lebanon regarding the currency and relevancy of its curriculum. Additionally, beginning fall of 2012, Choate will begin to offer a third level of Arabic and will expand the program to include sophomores.
