Damascus Community School is an unlicensed American school founded by the former US secretary of state

John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat who served as United States secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 until his resignation in 1959. A member of the ...

in 1957 in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

.Asia Times
/ref> The school was built to promote

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

ideals and culture and to help steer

away from becoming a Soviet satellite. Since 2012, due to the situation in Syria, the school has been effectively shut down.

Mission

The Damascus Community School laid its foundation with the help of Syria's former foreign minister Salah al-Bitar, who was one of the co-founders of the Baath party. After much controversy between the school and the Syrian government, Damascus Community School, was finally able to obtain full license from the government. However, throughout the decades the school has seen itself become part of a political tug-of-war between the Syrian and American government whenever the relations of the two countries become sour. Annual tuition reaches to about US$17,000. After an American raid into Syrian territory on October 26, 2008, the Syrian government decided to shut down the Damascus Community School. The Americans defended the action as self-defense under

Article 51 Article 51 may refer to: * Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter#Article 51: Self-defence * Fourth_Geneva_Convention#Article_51:_Recruitment_of_Protected_persons * Article 51 of the Constitution of India {{disambiguation ...

of the

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, citing their belief that Syria was responsible for providing "sanctuary to terrorists". However, DCS Board of Directors voted to reopen Damascus Community School for 2010–2011 school year, grades pre- K through 8. Dr. James Leibzeit returned as a director. Following the 2011 unrest in Syria the school was shut down on January 22, 2012, and until further notice.

References

External links

Damascus Community School official website
{{International schools in Syria Schools in Damascus International schools in Syria 1957 establishments in Syria Educational institutions established in 1957