Cities / Amman / American Community School Amman
American Community School Amman
The default expat school in Amman for American and English speaking diplomatic families, opened in 1955 and the largest US curriculum option in Jordan. Most embassy and UN families end up here.
In brief
The default expat school in Amman for American and English-speaking diplomatic families, opened in 1955 and the largest US-curriculum option in Jordan. Most embassy and UN families end up here.
PreK to grade 12 on a purpose-built campus in West Amman, with a US program, AP courses across roughly 15 subjects, a 25-metre pool, a 500-seat theatre and Middle States accreditation. About 750 to 800 students across more than 40 nationalities. Recruitment leans on overseas hires and the package for foreign teachers is unusually generous, which shows up in classroom quality.
Parents speak well of teachers and the elementary years. The high school can feel cliquey, with some divide between expat and local students, and a few families have pulled children mid-year when the fit is wrong. Fees sit at the top of the Amman market. If you want an American track and a familiar transition between embassy postings, this is the obvious choice.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Early Years Program | 4 | JOD 7,182 |
| Kindergarten | 5 | JOD 10,128 |
| Grades 1-5 (Elementary) | 6 | JOD 12,617 |
| Grades 6-8 (Middle School) | 11 | JOD 15,897 |
| Grades 9-12 (High School) | 14 | JOD 19,880 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Application Fee (non-refundable) | JOD 106 | |
| Registration Fee (one child) | JOD 2,556 | |
| Capital Fund Assessment Fee | JOD 8,520 |
Reviews
The default landing spot for American diplomatic, UN, and NGO families in Amman, and one of the oldest international schools in the country. American curriculum end to end, more than twenty Advanced Placement courses on offer, and the AP Capstone Diploma as a stretch option. The community is genuinely mixed, with US, Jordanian, and third-country families making up roughly equal slices, and the school sits inside the State Department's overseas-school network rather than running as a for-profit. Fees sit at the top of the Amman market once the capital fund assessment is added in, and the campus is firmly inside the city rather than on the outskirts.
Positives
- Diplomatic and expat default. Most American and English-speaking expat families in Amman end up here, and the US embassy routes new arrivals towards it. UN and diplomatic kids dominate the international slice.
- Curriculum breadth. Full American programme from early years through grade 12, with more than twenty AP courses from grade 10 and the AP Capstone Diploma available alongside the US high school diploma. No IB pathway.
- Mixed international community. Roughly 800 students from over forty nationalities, with US, Jordanian, and third-country passports each making up a meaningful share. Class sizes in the high school are spoken of as manageable rather than crowded.
- Faculty and retention. Around half of teachers are US-hired, with Jordanian and third-country staff filling out the rest. Long-running benefits package and low turnover keep an experienced core in place across grades.
- Accreditation and oversight. Middle States accredited through 2027 and listed as a State Department assisted school, which gives the governance a layer of external scrutiny that purely private operators do not have.
Considerations
- Cost. Tuition runs to around USD 26,000 at the top of high school, and a capital fund assessment of USD 7,500 per child sits on top of that, paid over four years. Add bus and registration and the all-in figure climbs further.
- Urban setting. The campus is inside the city near Abdoun rather than out on green fields. Parents describe Amman as a busy, crowded place where outdoor space for younger children is not the easiest thing to find.
- Fit. Talk of the school suiting some families more than others surfaces from time to time, particularly around the transition into high school. Not the universal best fit it is sometimes assumed to be by new arrivals.
Leadership
Joelle Basnight
Joelle Basnight began her international career in 1995 as a teacher and counselor at Colegio Americano de Quito. She subsequently served as a counselor at the American Embassy School New Delhi and Shanghai American School. Her administrative experience includes roles as Vice Principal of High School in Shanghai, and Principal at Lincoln School Buenos Aires, Cairo American College, and American International School Chennai, where she also served as Deputy Head and Interim Head of School. She holds a BSc in Biology and History of Art, an MA in Counseling, an MA in Educational Leadership, and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA).
Accreditations
- Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools 01
Academic results
- Result SAT 2025 mean 1271 (636 ERW, 634 Math)
- AP Exam Results 2025 82% scores of 3+