# Bahrain School

Bahrain School is a Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) school located in Juffair, Manama, Bahrain.

## Overview

The school is operated by the Bahrain International School Association (BISA) with the United States Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) and takes students from Kindergarten to Twelfth grade. Graduating seniors can earn an American diploma and from 1982 to 2023 an International Baccalaureate Diploma.
Bahrain School is the only DoDEA school in the Persian Gulf area. The closest DoDEA school to Bahrain School is George C. Marshall School in Ankara, Turkey. It provides education primarily to the children of the United States Navy stationed in Bahrain, but historically, about half of the student body has been local enrollment, usually the dependents of diplomatic personnel and ARAMCO employees, as well as wealthy Bahraini citizens. The Navy dependent population declined in July 2004 when dependents were sent home due to security concerns. In July 2009, dependents were again authorized to return to Bahrain.
As of 2013, there were 435 total students enrolled in both the middle and high schools, with 69% of the students in grades 10 to 12. 57% of the students at the time were American citizens, with the remaining 43% representing approximately 68 countries.
Also as of 2013, the middle and high school employed forty-three teachers, seven supporting professionals, and seven support staff for a total of fifty-seven teachers and staff. Of those, eighteen were male and thirty-nine were female.
In 2024 a rain storm damaged the school, and so it closed for three weeks. Jim Banks (R-Indiana) sponsored an addition to a bill stating that US military employees in Bahrain could instead use money from the federal government to send their children to private schools. Banks cited the rainstorm and accused the school of "struggling with poor teaching" and "[celebrating] a notorious antisemite." The addition was removed from the bill in 2024.

## Accreditation

Bahrain School is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to offer an American diploma. The College Board authorizes Bahrain School to offer Advanced Placement courses: Calculus AB, Microeconomics, Chemistry, Physics, and Spanish. On March 1, 1982, the school became the first in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the second in the Middle East after the American International School in Amman, Jordan in 1981, to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma under the accreditation of the International Baccalaureate Organization.

## Sports

Bahrain School has many of the sports that typical American schools have such as basketball, soccer, baseball, volleyball, track and field and cross country. The school competes against other schools on the island. Since the school is a part of DoDDS Europe, they also compete in the DODDS European championships.

## Notable alumni

* Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the Bahrain Defence Force.
* Brent Brandon, Outstanding Graduate from the United States Air Force Academy, Two-year winner of the National John F. Kennedy Fellowship - Harvard University, Winner of the Gilroy Award for Leadership and Flying - USAF Electronic Warfare Officer School, Nominated for Silver Star and awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for Heroism in Aerial Combat in EF-111 aircraft on first wave attack in Desert Storm; chairman of the Board - Boise Classical Academy
* Summer Bishil, American Independent Spirit Award-nominated actress.
* Shakira, Colombian-Lebanese singer-songwriter