American School Dhahran is part of the International Schools Group (ISG), which was founded in 1962, originally to serve the needs of the U.S. Consulate employees. The school started with two teachers and six students and was known for decades as Dhahran Academy. By 1978, ISG had expanded to include other schools in Saudi Arabia and was the largest overseas school district in the world.
As a trailblazer in Saudi Arabia, our school was the first to offer an American curriculum high school in the Kingdom. In 1981, we were the first school in the Middle East to receive accreditation from a U.S. accrediting agency, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
As enrollment grew at the Dhahran campus, the school was divided into Dhahran Elementary Middle School (DEMS) and Dhahran High School (DHS). In 2021, the two schools were merged under the new name of American School Dhahran (ASD).
