Dubai Arabian American Private School
Weak Muhaisnah, Dubai · American
- KHDA rating
- Weak
Below minimum standards and under KHDA improvement notices. From the 2023–24 inspection cycle — now more than two years old. KHDA has not completed a full cycle in two consecutive years, so this rating, and every rating on every other site, is older than it looks.
- Annual fees
- AED 15,134 to 35,411 a year
Varies by year group; confirm current fees with the school. 2026–27 fees are frozen by KHDA directive.
- Curriculum
- American
- Established
- Founded 2006
- School transport
- Bus service available
- Location
- Muhaisnah, Dubai
District-level pin for Muhaisnah — use the Google Maps link for the exact gate.
Link verified against a live domain, July 2026.
Check travel time from your location
Opens live directions in Google Maps — real traffic from your own address beats any published estimate. School-run traffic peaks roughly 7–8am; test your route at drop-off time.
How far is this from another school? What the bus costs
If your children may end up at different schools, the distance that decides your mornings is the one between them, not from home to each.
In context
Its mid-range fee is about 32 per cent below the median for American schools in this guide (AED 37,000). It is one of 2 schools in this guide currently rated Weak.
Worth comparing: Philadelphia Private School (AED 18,514 to 31,704 a year) — a lower-fee option in the same area.
These comparisons are computed from the verified data in this register, not editorial opinion.
What the inspectors said
Paraphrased from the last full DSIB inspection we could verify (2023–24 cycle) and its published record — read the complete report on the official KHDA directory. These findings are from the 2023–24 cycle and are now more than two years old. Leadership, staffing and provision can change substantially in that time — see the note below on why every rating in Dubai is older than it looks.
Strengths the inspectors named:
- Inspectors and parents both credit a safe, well-maintained building, a nurturing Kindergarten section, improved attainment in Arabic, and a strong grounding in Emirati values and culture — the school teaches a US curriculum built on California standards and NGSS alongside Ministry of Education Arabic and Islamic Studies.
- Affordable for a full KG1 to Grade 12 American pathway at roughly AED 15,100 to 35,400, with a sibling and staff discount programme.
- Parents describe a friendly environment and a genuine community feel, and the school has served this part of Muhaisnah since 2006.
What they asked the school to improve:
- Rated Weak in February 2024, down from Acceptable — one of only two schools in Dubai to hold that rating, and the most serious judgement in this register. KHDA’s published table records the two Dubai focus areas as Acceptable and Weak.
- Inspectors identified problems with curriculum implementation, teaching quality in English, mathematics and science, leadership stability, and limited resources for literacy, and asked the school to ensure the curriculum fully meets the needs of all students with sufficient extracurricular provision for a wider range of abilities and interests.
- This matters urgently for Emirati families. UAE national students are not permitted to enrol in schools rated Weak or below — and at the last inspection more than 395 of roughly 600 students here were Emirati. Any Emirati family considering or currently at this school should speak to KHDA directly about what the rating means for enrolment.
- Enrolment has collapsed: over 1,100 students in 2018–19, close to 650 in 2022–23, and under 600 by February 2024. A falling roll puts pressure on staffing, subject choice and extracurricular breadth, and is a fair thing to raise with leaders.
- Girls and boys are taught separately from Grade 4 — a defining feature to weigh rather than a fault.
Inclusion (students of determination): Acceptable — taken directly from KHDA’s official Inclusion Rating Table, and above this school’s Weak overall judgement. We previously published that no separate inclusion figure could be found; that was wrong, and the correction is in our change log. The distinction matters: a school can be failing on core provision while still handling inclusion at the least KHDA accepts, and for a family whose child needs support that is a materially different picture from the headline rating. Given the overall judgement, a family whose child needs structured support should treat the questions on our key findings page as the starting point: which of the four statutory inclusion roles are filled and by whom, is the child’s name on the SEND register rather than merely known to a teacher, and what is charged for beyond the standard tuition. See the special educational needs guide for the questions to ask on a visit.
Inspector summaries are being added school by school as each report is read — 212 of 212 so far, dated per cycle, never invented. A school without a summary yet is unread, not unjudged.
Visit kit
Questions worth asking on a tour — tuned to this school’s rating and curriculum:
- Who leads inclusion here — and may we meet them before enrolling?
- How much staff turnover did you have last year, and why?
- What are actual class sizes this term — not the maximum?
- How and how often will I hear about my child’s progress?
Saved only on this device — never uploaded, never shared.
Special educational needs? Read the inclusion guide before you visit.
Other schools in Muhaisnah
- Primus Private School — Good, AED 9,000 to 16,000 a year
- SMM High School Muhaisnah — Good, Fees not listed — confirm with the school
- United International Private School — Acceptable, AED 5,457 to 11,990 a year
- Philadelphia Private School — Good, AED 18,514 to 31,704 a year
Work at this school? Correct or update this record — verified corrections are made promptly and logged publicly.