American Collegiate Institute
Encyclopedia
Founded in 1878, the American Collegiate Institute (“Özel İzmir Amerikan Koleji” in Turkish), commonly referred to by the acronym ACI, is a private co-educational high school in Goztepe, İzmir
, Turkey
. ACI was founded, and is now run, by the charity foundation SEV, Sağlık ve Eğitim Vakfı. The school’s motto is “Enter to Learn; Depart to Serve”, and the school song is “Hail Alma Mater Fair”.
In pursuit of our mission, our goal is to provide excellence in holistic education so that each student:
and the ensuing Turkish War of Independence
, the relocation of the school’s campus was not possible until 1923. Even after the relocation, Turkish authorities did not officially recognize the school and named the school “İzmir Göztepe Amerikan Mektebi” (Izmir Goztepe American School). In early 1900s, as the tension loosened up, the school was officially recognized as The American Collegiate Institute.
After its foundation, the school was subject to dramatic changes. At 1986, ACI started accepting male students and became a co-educational school.
In 2004, in the archives of the Bristol Hall, a handwritten document named “Alma Mater” was found. The document is signed by a former teacher at ACI, S. Ralph Harlow. Although it is not dated, the document there is chance that it is the first version of the school song today, “Hail Alma Mater Fair”
There are 17 buildings with various functions over the campus. The Blake Auditorium, renovated in 2007, holds a total of 600 people with its first floor and balcony. The Hill Science Center is a three story building with each floor dedicated to one of the core branches of science; chemistry, physics and biology. Each floor has a laboratory and two classrooms, all equipped with Smartboards that were added in 2006. Most 10th, 11th or 12th grade classes are thought in the Beacon Hall. This hall also withholds the Turkish Language, English Language, Social Studies and Second Foreign Languages department offices, and also the vice-president’s office. The newest building Taner Hall, which was constructed in 2009, includes the only-girl dormitory and classes for Preparatory (“prep”) grade and 9th grade. Until 2009, the Parsons Hall was dedicated to prep and 9th grade classes, however, with the construction of the Taner Hall, it now embraces the Second Foreign Language classes. Parsons Hall also includes the Nurse’s Office and the Business Office.
The school has an athletic complex named Shepard Sports Center consisting of a basketball/volleyball court, a weight room, three dance rooms, the Physical Education Department Office, and girls’ and boys’ locker rooms. There are also three table tennis equipments in Shepard. In addition, scattered around the campus, there are three outdoor soccer fields, two outdoor tennis courts, one beach volleyball court and two outdoor basketball courts.
The American Collegiate Institute has a library of its own including both Turkish
and English
material: The Naomi Foster Library. There are approximately 50,000 material; books, journals, gazettes, CDs
, VCDs
and DVD
. The students can access 118 online journals and five databases the library is subscribed to. In addition, there are computer labs in the Taner Hall and the Naomi Foster Library.
Sharing ACI’s campus, there is as well an elementary school sponsored by SEV. At 2006, this elementary school, named SEV Elementary School, moved to a newly built building next-door to ACI’s campus
. Due to the regulations of the Turkish Ministry of Education, the International Baccalaureate (“IB”) diploma candidates are also required to take the courses required for the Turkish Ministry of Education High School Diploma. Although some classes are common in the diploma syllabuses, this is a “rigorous curriculum” as defined by the school faculty.
In addition to these, participating in at least one of the social services ACI offers is a requirement for any diploma.
Since its foundation, ACI’s graduates have been accepted to some of the world’s most prestigious schools, including Harvard University
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Stanford University
, California Institute of Technology
, Yale University
, New York University
, Johns Hopkins University
, University of Southern California
London School of Economics
, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
, King's College London
, University of Pennsylvania
, University of Oxford
, University of Cambridge
, McGill University
, University of British Columbia
, Columbia University
, Dartmouth College
, Princeton University
, University of Chicago
, Williams College
, Amherst College
, Brown University
, Cornell University
, Northwestern University
, and Georgetown University
.
An alumnus of the American Collegiate Institute, Gül Güner Akdoğan studied biochemistry in University of Geneva. Afterwards, from 1975 to 1984 she did her studies for a doctor’s degree and a post baccalaureate degree at Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine. At 1985 she received the title “Doctor”, and at 1992 she received her second title “Professor”.. She started working as the director at the Dokuz Eylul University Institute of Medical Sciences at 2000. She was the editor and the president of the Training Session of the Congresses of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies at 2002 and 2005; coordinator of the Problem-based Learning Workshop of the 2004 Congress in Warsaw; and one of the two representatives of the Europe Commission of Biochemistry Education at the Biochemistry Training Workshop held in Sofia, in October 2008. She is also an editor for the Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education published in the USA.
At 1996, Baris Attila graduated from ACI and then studied in Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul, Turkey and received his B.F.A there. Afterwards, he earned his Master’s Degree in Communications Design from Pratt Institute in New York in 2003. He is a motion graphic designer concentrating on film titles, trailers, and feature marketing. He began his career at Miramax Films and continued to work for the motion picture industry in Los Angeles. On numerous Hollywood productions and award-winning independent films; he received the Golden Trailer Award and was nominated for a Key Art Award; he and his work have been featured internationally. Furthermore, in 2010 he joined the faculty of Pratt Institute
, New York as an Adjunct Instructor.
Janet Akyuz Mattei
was a Turkish-American astronomer who have directed the American Association of Variable Star Observers
for years.
club annually participates in The Hague International Model United Nations (“THIMUN”) conference and Turkish International Model United Nations (“TIMUN”) conference. The club also participates in either Saint Petersburg International Model United Nations (“SPIMUN”) or Saint Andrews Model United Nations ("SAIMUN") biyearly.
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. ACI was founded, and is now run, by the charity foundation SEV, Sağlık ve Eğitim Vakfı. The school’s motto is “Enter to Learn; Depart to Serve”, and the school song is “Hail Alma Mater Fair”.
Goals
The American Collegiate Institute defines its goals as:In pursuit of our mission, our goal is to provide excellence in holistic education so that each student:
- Practices a clear commitment to the ideals of AtatürkMustafa Kemal AtatürkMustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
. - Achieves the fullest possible realization of his/her individual potential.
- Develops mind, body, and spirit to live as a well-balanced individual who can pursue higher education and lifelong learning.
- Learns critical thinking, social and communication skills.
- Shows commitment to justice, mutual respect, human rights, ethical behavior, tolerance, and self-discipline.
- Is committed to bilingual and multicultural interaction for the appreciation of diversity of perspectives and cultures.
- Shows environmental awareness and is dedicated to environmental protection.
- Adapts creatively and innovatively to life and work using scientific inquiry, literary and artistic approaches, information technology, and the social sciences.
- Embodies responsibility, initiative and follow through, honesty and generosity, effective teamwork, and democratic leadership.
- Participates fully in democratic processes and philanthropic organizations as part of lifelong service to humanity.
History
The American Collegiate Institute, the oldest private high school in Izmir, was founded in 1878. At those times Izmir, now metropolitan city on the western coast of Turkey was known as Symrna In its first years, the school was an American/Christian missionary school that only accepted girls as students. This all girl schools first campus was in Basmane, a district of the city Izmir. The land ACI now occupies was bought in 1912 to relieve overcrowding at the school’s old site in Basmane. However, due to the tension caused by the World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the ensuing Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
, the relocation of the school’s campus was not possible until 1923. Even after the relocation, Turkish authorities did not officially recognize the school and named the school “İzmir Göztepe Amerikan Mektebi” (Izmir Goztepe American School). In early 1900s, as the tension loosened up, the school was officially recognized as The American Collegiate Institute.
After its foundation, the school was subject to dramatic changes. At 1986, ACI started accepting male students and became a co-educational school.
School song
ACI’s song is named “Hail Alma Mater Fair”. This song is sung by the graduating class in their Commencement every year. The lyrics of the song are as the following:-
- Hail Alma Mater fair,
- Loved by sons and daughters,
- Golden the hours that we
- Spent at thy knee entrancing.
- Mem'ries precious and tender
- Friendship firm and enduring
- Strong is the faith that we
- Cherish for thee alway
- Alma Mater fair.
-
- Shadows are fleeting by
- Years speed ever onward.
- Time cannot dim the truth
- Of thy words eternal,
- "Not myself to serve, but
- All mankind and my country."
- God keep us loyal all
- Faithful in heart and home
- 'To the pledge of our youth.
In 2004, in the archives of the Bristol Hall, a handwritten document named “Alma Mater” was found. The document is signed by a former teacher at ACI, S. Ralph Harlow. Although it is not dated, the document there is chance that it is the first version of the school song today, “Hail Alma Mater Fair”
Campus, buildings and ffacilities
The American Collegiate Institute inhabits a verdant 7 acres (28,328 m²) campus. Pine trees and a variety of flowers make up the vegetation.There are 17 buildings with various functions over the campus. The Blake Auditorium, renovated in 2007, holds a total of 600 people with its first floor and balcony. The Hill Science Center is a three story building with each floor dedicated to one of the core branches of science; chemistry, physics and biology. Each floor has a laboratory and two classrooms, all equipped with Smartboards that were added in 2006. Most 10th, 11th or 12th grade classes are thought in the Beacon Hall. This hall also withholds the Turkish Language, English Language, Social Studies and Second Foreign Languages department offices, and also the vice-president’s office. The newest building Taner Hall, which was constructed in 2009, includes the only-girl dormitory and classes for Preparatory (“prep”) grade and 9th grade. Until 2009, the Parsons Hall was dedicated to prep and 9th grade classes, however, with the construction of the Taner Hall, it now embraces the Second Foreign Language classes. Parsons Hall also includes the Nurse’s Office and the Business Office.
The school has an athletic complex named Shepard Sports Center consisting of a basketball/volleyball court, a weight room, three dance rooms, the Physical Education Department Office, and girls’ and boys’ locker rooms. There are also three table tennis equipments in Shepard. In addition, scattered around the campus, there are three outdoor soccer fields, two outdoor tennis courts, one beach volleyball court and two outdoor basketball courts.
The American Collegiate Institute has a library of its own including both Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
material: The Naomi Foster Library. There are approximately 50,000 material; books, journals, gazettes, CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, VCDs
Video CD
Before the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD became the first format for distributing films on standard 120 mm optical discs. The format is a standard digital format for storing video on a Compact Disc...
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. The students can access 118 online journals and five databases the library is subscribed to. In addition, there are computer labs in the Taner Hall and the Naomi Foster Library.
Sharing ACI’s campus, there is as well an elementary school sponsored by SEV. At 2006, this elementary school, named SEV Elementary School, moved to a newly built building next-door to ACI’s campus
Enrollment and preparatory year
Entrance to ACI is through a competitive national exam, just like any other high school in Turkey, which students take at the end of their 8th grade year. Enrollment into ACI is solely based on this exam. The school used to test its new students level of English by an English promotion exam. Students with a passing grade would directly start the school from 9th grade while those failing to pass would be required to study an English-intensive preparatory year, which is often called "the prep year". Now, however, the exam’s purpose and consequences have changed. Now, the prep year is mandatory. Now, all students study for the extra English-intensive year and the exam’s results place students into one of the three levels of English class they take in their prep year. With these changes that were made in 2009 only to affect the new coming students, the core school program is five yearsInternational Baccalaureate
Starting from the 2006-07 academic year, authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization (“IBO”), the school began offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (“IBDP”)IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...
. Due to the regulations of the Turkish Ministry of Education, the International Baccalaureate (“IB”) diploma candidates are also required to take the courses required for the Turkish Ministry of Education High School Diploma. Although some classes are common in the diploma syllabuses, this is a “rigorous curriculum” as defined by the school faculty.
In addition to these, participating in at least one of the social services ACI offers is a requirement for any diploma.
Graduates in universities abroad
There are graduates of ACI who want to study abroad and apply to universities abroad. The Overseas University Counselor of ACI helps the students in such desires.Since its foundation, ACI’s graduates have been accepted to some of the world’s most prestigious schools, including Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
, King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
, Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, and Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
.
Prof. Dr. Gül Güner Akdoğan
An alumnus of the American Collegiate Institute, Gül Güner Akdoğan studied biochemistry in University of Geneva. Afterwards, from 1975 to 1984 she did her studies for a doctor’s degree and a post baccalaureate degree at Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine. At 1985 she received the title “Doctor”, and at 1992 she received her second title “Professor”.. She started working as the director at the Dokuz Eylul University Institute of Medical Sciences at 2000. She was the editor and the president of the Training Session of the Congresses of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies at 2002 and 2005; coordinator of the Problem-based Learning Workshop of the 2004 Congress in Warsaw; and one of the two representatives of the Europe Commission of Biochemistry Education at the Biochemistry Training Workshop held in Sofia, in October 2008. She is also an editor for the Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education published in the USA.
Bariş Attila
At 1996, Baris Attila graduated from ACI and then studied in Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul, Turkey and received his B.F.A there. Afterwards, he earned his Master’s Degree in Communications Design from Pratt Institute in New York in 2003. He is a motion graphic designer concentrating on film titles, trailers, and feature marketing. He began his career at Miramax Films and continued to work for the motion picture industry in Los Angeles. On numerous Hollywood productions and award-winning independent films; he received the Golden Trailer Award and was nominated for a Key Art Award; he and his work have been featured internationally. Furthermore, in 2010 he joined the faculty of Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, New York as an Adjunct Instructor.
Janet Akyuz Mattei
Janet Akyuz Mattei
Janet Akyüz Mattei
Janet Akyüz Mattei was a Turkish American astronomer, educated in both Turkey and the United States and with a U.S. career, who was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers from 1973 to 2004....
was a Turkish-American astronomer who have directed the American Association of Variable Star Observers
American Association of Variable Star Observers
Since its founding in 1911, the American Association of Variable Star Observers has coordinated, collected, evaluated, analyzed, published, and archived variable star observations made largely by amateur astronomers and makes the records available to professional astronomers, researchers, and...
for years.
Extra-curricular activities
ACI offers more than 50 clubs and committees to its students. These include many worldwide known clubs like Model United Nations (“MUN”), International Schools Theatre Association (“ISTA”), Junior Achievement, etc. The MUN and the ISTA clubs participate in international conferences/festivals.Model United Nations
The Model United NationsModel United Nations
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
club annually participates in The Hague International Model United Nations (“THIMUN”) conference and Turkish International Model United Nations (“TIMUN”) conference. The club also participates in either Saint Petersburg International Model United Nations (“SPIMUN”) or Saint Andrews Model United Nations ("SAIMUN") biyearly.