Al Durrah International School, Sharjah

Al Durrah International School is governed by a Board of Governors chaired by H. E. Al Sheikh Mohamed Bin Abdullah Al Qassimi, with day-to-day leadership currently held by Principal Samar Abu Marasa. The 2022 SPEA inspection report named Principal Simone Elias Saad as the leader at the time of review, indicating a principal change has occurred since that inspection. This represents a leadership transition parents should note, though the inspection itself credited the then-principal with establishing a clear strategic direction and vision in a short time — a foundation the current leadership inherits.

The SPEA inspection, conducted in October–November 2022, rated the school's overall effectiveness as Good — a meaningful step up from the Acceptable rating recorded in 2018. Within the Leadership and Management standard, inspectors highlighted that the principal and senior leaders had established a clear strategic direction, that governance was supportive and effective, and that the established partnership with parents had directly contributed to improvements in school performance. These are substantive findings, not routine praise. The self-evaluation and improvement planning process was, however, identified as an area requiring strengthening — a gap that the current leadership team will need to close to sustain upward momentum.

On staffing, the inspection recorded 139 teachers and 22 teaching assistants at the time of review, with Syrian teachers forming the largest nationality group. The school's student-to-teacher ratio stands at 1:13, which is marginally more favourable than the Sharjah city average of 1:13.6 across all private schools, and broadly in line with the norm among American curriculum schools in Sharjah. [MISSING: staff qualification data — percentage holding postgraduate degrees not available in inspection sources.] One staffing metric that warrants attention is the teacher turnover rate of 22.83% recorded at the time of inspection. This is a notable figure — roughly one in five teachers leaving annually — and while the inspection did not flag it as a critical concern, sustained turnover at this level can disrupt continuity of learning, particularly in the lower school phases.

Parent engagement is cited as a genuine strength. Inspectors noted an established partnership with parents, supported by parent surveys conducted during the review, and reported that parents have confidence in the school's safeguarding and care provision. The school community is described as operating with respectful and harmonious relationships between students and staff — a cultural signal that reflects well on leadership tone. The school was founded in 2015 and is NEASC-accredited, adding an internationally recognised layer of external accountability to SPEA oversight. Among the 42 American curriculum schools in Sharjah, only 1 holds a Very Good rating and 1 holds Outstanding, meaning ADIS sits within the largest rating band for its curriculum type — Good — alongside 22 peers. There is clear headroom to improve, and the trajectory from Acceptable to Good suggests the leadership culture is capable of driving it.