The Guivy Zaldastanishvili American Academy in Tbilisi

The Director of the American Academy in Tbilisi Mr. Richard Lussen

The Academy was founded in 2001 to provide a high-quality, western-style education for Georgian students and to be a model for reform of Georgian secondary education The Academy sends its graduates to colleges and universities all over the world; our first graduating class, the Class of 2001, will graduate from their universities in 2009. The Academy employs the following practices, almost all of which are unique in Georgia.

A highly trained and well paid faculty trained abroad for one year in the U.S. at The Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard University, and Simmons College.

An American style grading system.

Small classes serving a maximum of 15 students.

The "Harkness method" using interactive instruction that stresses analysis and discussion.

Instruction in English in all classes except Georgian and Russian.

A jury system of student evaluation.

A system of student advisories.

A student council.

A parents’ council

The use of American textbooks in English, mathematics, history, biology, chemistry, physics, art, music, and a survey of religion.

The pervasive use of technology, every student and staff member having a personal computer account, all computers networked with the school server supplying Internet access.

A school library housing 5000 volumes, 50 computer stations, 120 audiotapes.

An extracurricular program of activities including drama, debate, photography, music, and archeology.

Biology, chemistry, and physics laboratories integrated into science instruction.

200 individual student lockers to house personal belongings.

A physical education program, including football, tennis, swimming, basketball, aerobics, rugby, and rock climbing.

An Academy lecture series.

A college preparation course for seniors.

One term senior courses in art, music, and a survey of religion

A senior independent project

A senior interdisciplinary course in "Great Ideas".

No other school in Georgia comes close to offering this volume of innovative practices, each designed to provide a working model for Georgian students, parents, and teachers to observe, to join, and/or to emulate.

We welcome your interest in the Academy and are anxious to serve you in the best Georgian tradition of hospitality.

Receiving US State Department grants of over two million dollars, the school was founded to be a model for the transformation of Georgian education as the country of Georgia made the transition from the Soviet system to a democratic free-market economy. For education, this meant abandoning the rote methods popular during Soviet times for an interactive classroom that stresses critical analysis, writing, and creative thinking.

The founding teachers at the Academy were sent to the United States where they received training and Master’s Degrees from Harvard University and Simmons College. These teachers form the core of the Academy’s staff and are committed not only to using modern methodologies in their classes, but also to spreading these methodologies to other Georgian teachers through seminars offered through an NGO established specifically for this purpose.

To date the American Academy’s Educational Development and Research Center has offered six seven-week seminars over the past three years and has presented an intensive week-long summer program in Telavi in 2005 and a similar program in Kutaisi in 2006. All together these programs have reached over 500 local teachers. Generous U.S. State Department grants underwrote the Telavi and Kutaisi programs. In 2005 the Academy graduated its first class of seniors, and since then each class has built on the success of the previous one.

We now have Academy alums attending colleges and universities throughout the US, the UK, Europe, and in Tbilisi, at institutions like Harvard, West Point, Middlebury, Williams, WPI, Bard, American University in Paris, CEU, Bocconi, and St. Andrews University in Scotland. We are justly proud of these students.

While current western pedagogical methods are utilized at AAT, tremendous importance is placed upon fostering and maintaining a viable knowledge of and pride in the Georgian cultural heritage. To this end Georgian history and culture are woven into the three year history program, the three year Russian program, and the four year Georgian language program. In addition to this formal course work, lectures and special speakers and programs are scheduled regularly throughout the year.

The Guivy Zaldastanishvili American Academy in Tbilisi has created a reputation for excellence which our current students are maintaining here in Tbilisi and our alumni at their colleges and universities in Europe and the US. We will continue to work to maintain our position as the best high school in Georgia.

Changing Society: An Assessment

The American Academy in Tbilisi was created to prepare Georgians for life in the 21st century, by bringing discussion, writing, and an emphasis on critical analysis into the classroom. By now, three classes have graduated from AAT and the fourth did so in the spring of 2008.

Each of these classes has sent students to universities in the US, the UK, Europe, and Georgia.

How are they doing?

Our alumni often come back and visit, and of course we want to know how they are doing in their university programs. A large number of our graduates have been given scholarships recognizing their social commitment and leadership abilities, and they are living up to the expectations of these programs. To a person they report that their work at AAT has been excellent preparation for their studies at their universities. Many report GPAs of 3.5 to 3.9, which means they are in the A range, at universities like Harvard, Trinity, Middlebury, Simmons, and a host of others. AAT students are continuing the pursuit of excellence they started here.

What are they doing?

Many of our graduates are already giving back to Georgian society through charitable organizations, internships, and special programs of their own creation. Supplying computers and training to local orphanages, organizing a summer program for needy children, working with professional social scientists to develop data bases for the study of Georgian social problems — these are just some of the activities that our recent graduates have been involved in. Our alumni are working hard to use their talents to help Georgia.

AAT’s Impact on Georgia

Part of the mission of AAT is to be a model for the renovation of Georgian education. In this realm the teachers and administration of AAT continue to have a huge impact. Several former employees of AAT now hold jobs in the Ministry of Education, where they have significant influence on the development of national policies. AAT has also provided consultants to the Ministry in Math, Science, Georgian, Russian, History, and Professional Development. AAT’s NGO, the Educational Development and Research Center, continues to work with teachers in Tbilisi and the regions to provide training in the modern teaching techniques used by AAT.