1. The Future Looks Bright
Presented by Dar-us-Salaam & Al-Huda School
2. About Dar-us-Salaam
Dar-us-Salaam is a community committed
to sharing Islam through sincere action.
Education Qur’an Media Unity
Al-Huda School Hifzh School The Muslim Link Muslim FunFest
Adult Education Qur’an Institute FAITH Publications DC Hidayah
Classes
3. About Al-Huda School
Prominent Educational Projects
Al-Huda School is a full-time
Kindergarten - 12th Grade
Islamic School with 542
Students currently enrolled.
It is the FIRST Islamic
School accredited by the
Middle States Commission
on Elementary, Middle, and
High Schools.
4. Pre-School & Hifzh School
Prominent Educational Projects (Continued)
• A Pre-School with 85 students
(ages 1-5).
• A Hifzh School where students
dedicate themselves to memorizing
the Qur’an full-time.
In total, there are 51 Hifzh School
graduates to date. 15+ Masjids are
serviced during Ramadan.
5. From High School to University
Al-Huda’s Success, By The Grace Of Allah
6. From High School to University
Students in the first two
graduating classes have been
accepted into 16 different
four-year universities. 8 of
them are ranked Best 100
Universities in America.
These students have been
awarded with over $350,000
in scholarships.
8. Al-Huda Alumni
Where Are They Now?
Noor Nahavandi,
Class of 2011, was accepted
into the Honors College at
George Mason University, the
University of Maryland, and
the University of Virginia.
He opted to attend Penn State
University, where he was
awarded with a full-tuition
scholarship.
9. Al-Huda Alumni
Where Are They Now?
Zunara Naeem, class of
2012, was accepted into
American University and
offered a $50,000
scholarship.
She opted to attend George
Washington, where she was
accepted into the Elizabeth
Somers program.
10. Al-Huda Student Achievements
Placed top three in Tri-County
Regional Science Fair competition
2 years in a row.
Ranked Top 14th School in State-
Wide Math League Competition.
Won First Place for 9 consecutive
years in the Muslim Inter-Scholastic
Tournament (MIST).
12. Al-Huda School Timeline:
1995-2007
9th Grade of
Elementary & High School
Middle Schools Added
Accredited
Hifzh School
Middle School Starts
Al-Huda Added 2007
School Starts
2006
2002
1999
1995
13. Al-Huda School Timeline:
2010-2012
Dar-us-Salaam faces
Al-Huda celebrates 1st challenges to continued
high school graduation. growth, expansion.
The total enrollment
High School gets reaches 1,000 students.
accredited and
fully completed.
2012
2011
2010
14. Challenges for Al-Huda School
• There’s no more room at the location in
College Park, Maryland.
• Ever-increasing enrollment demand
• Run out of usable classroom size and space
• Current building lacks necessary
education facilities such as gym, computer
labs, library, etc…
• Zoning laws have halted expansion and
needed renovations.
Start with du’a: Bismillah,wal-hamdulillah, wassalatuwassalamualaaRasoolillahMany of you may have heard of Al-Huda School, one of the educational projects from the Dar-Us-Salaam community.Tonight, I hope to give a short presentation about Dar-Us-Salaam and Al-Huda School and cover some of the recent achievements Allah has blessed Al-Huda with. We’ll take a look back at the organization’s progress over the last two decades, a quick glimpse of students who’ve graduated from Al-Huda, and I’ll conclude with the topic we’ve been calling “The Home of the Heart,” which refers to a bold next step for Al-Huda School and a historic Endeavor for all Muslims living in America’s East Coast. (click for next slide)
You may be wondering what is Al-Huda School, what is Dar-Us-Salaam, and what’s the difference between the two? Aren’t they the same thing?{click} To easily understand this, picture Dar-us-Salaam as an umbrella. Underneath that umbrella, Dar-Us-Salaam has several projects operating simultaneously; each one designed to serve a specific need within the Muslim Community.{click} One of those projects that focuses on education is Al-Huda School.Other education projects operating under Dar-Us-Salaam are the {click}Hifzh School and a full-time daycare or Pre-School.{click}
So what is Al-Huda School?It’s a Full-Time Kindergarten to 12th Grade Islamic School with 542 Students Currently Enrolled.It is also the very FIRST Islamic School to receive accreditationby the Middle States Commission on Elementary, Middle, and High Schools.The Middle States Commission is an organization approved by the United State’s Department of Education and is designated as an authority on the quality of education. They currently review over 3,000 schools and education facilities throughout the mid-Atlantic region in the US and in more than 85 countries around the world.{click}
As I mentioned earlier, some of the other education based projects offered by Dar-us-Salaam include the Pre-School and the Hifzh School.{click}The Pre-School is a full time day care servicing 85 students from the ages of 18 months and 5 years. The Pre-School places heavy emphasis on kindergarten preparation through early development of reading, math, and writing skills.{click}The Hifzh School is a school where students dedicate themselves to memorizing the Qur’an on a full time basis. In total, there have been 50 students to graduate from the Hifzh School.{click}
So let’s focus a little bit on Al-Huda School. Alhamdulillah, by the grace and mercy of Allah, Al-Huda has recently crossed several milestones.Two years ago, Al-Huda celebrated their very first High School graduation: the class of 2011. Students from both class of 2011 and graduates from last year, the class of 2012, have now moved on to University where they are pursing degrees and preparing for their future careers.{click}
In fact, students from these first two graduating classes have been accepted into 16 different four-year Universities, eight of which are ranked as the top 100 best Universities in AmericaThese students have also been awarded with a total of $352,000 in scholarships to fund their higher education. ALLAHU AKBAR!Here, you can see a picture of a few of the graduates from the class of 2011.{click}
Where are the graduates now? They have been accepted into Southern Methodist, American, George Washington, University of Virginia, Penn State, Tulane, Trinity, New York University, University of Maryland, as well as others shown here.{click}
One particular graduate I’d like to highlight is Br. Noor Nahavandi, who graduated from the class of 2011. Noor was accepted into several universities including the Honors College at George Mason, the University of Maryland, and the University of Virginia. However, he decided to attend Penn State University where he was awarded a full tuition scholarship.{click}
Another graduate, Sr. ZunaraNaeem, who graduated as class of 2012 was accepted into American University and offered a $50,000 scholarship. She eventually chose to attend George Washington University, where she was accepted into the prestigious Elizabeth Somers program, a program specializing in developing future women leaders.{click}
But Al-Huda School’s achievements aren’t limited to only what their graduates have done. Al-Huda’s current students have already padded their resumes with some very impressive work.{click}For two years in a row,Middle and High School Students participated in the tri-county regional Science Fair competition, placing in the top three finalist positions and earning several prestigious community recognitions and awards.{click}In the past 5 years, students have participated in the State-Wide Math League competitions and each year Al-Huda School placed within the top 14 ranks out of all participating schools.{click}For the past 8 years, Al-Huda School has participated in the Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament, a competition amongst different high schools across Maryland and Virginia. Al-Huda students have won first place each year, besting other students in various subjects such as photography, digital art, website design, Poetry, Essay, Public speaking, and debate.{click}
With all that said, this success from Allah did not happen overnight. So where did Al-Huda School come from? Truth-be-told, Al-Huda is a Project 17 years in the making…{click}
It was first started in 1995 with only 26 students and three grade levels: Kindergarten through 2nd grade. More grade levels were added over the next few years.{click} In 1999, Al-Huda opens up the middle school with the introduction of 6th Grade.{click} In 2002, Dar-Us-Salaam starts the full-time Hifzh School.{click} Four years later, Al-Huda receives accreditation for their Elementary and Middle Schools.{click} And in 2007, Al-Huda opens up the High school with the introduction of 9th Grade.{click}
Three years after that, Al-Huda completes High School with the start of 12th grade.{click} In the same year, Al-Huda receives full accreditation for the High School{click} In 2011, the total enrollment for all of Dar-Us-Salaam’s education programs reaches 1,000 students{click} and the first senior class, consisting of 14 students, receive their diplomas and graduate.{click} And today, in 2012, Dar-Us-Salaam embarks on their Home of the Heart project; a solution to several challenges facing Islamic Education.{click}
Currently, Al-Huda School faces several challenges:Faced with ever-increasing enrollment and demand by parents all across the region, we’ve run out of usable space at Al-Huda’s current building. There is no more room to build more classrooms, and class sizes have already crossed their limits.The current College park building still lacks many educational facilities such as a gymnasium, computer labs, and a library.Futhermore, present zoning laws have completely halted expansion and renovations on the property.In light of these challenges, Dar-Us-Salaam has spent the past 6 years searching for a permanent, long-term solution. They’ve visited over 200 different properties, considered all possibilities and options, and recently have found a potential solution to fit the needs and long-term vision of Islamic education in America for many decades to come.{click}
As you can see, circumstance has necessitated the absolute exhaustion of all possible space to make classrooms in places they wouldn’t normally be.{click}
Additionally, our computer lab is in fact a mobile lab, stocked with laptops rather than desktops, that must be shuttled from class to class as necessary, given that there is no available room to dedicate to a fully functional computer lab.{click}
That solution, with the help of Allah, is the Woodmont Academy, located in Howard County, MD.Formerly a Catholic private school, the Woodmont Academy sits on a rural 66-acre property.{click}
It has lots of furnished classrooms and plenty of empty land to build even more classrooms.{click}
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It also comes with a fully furnished computer lab.{click}
And, my personal favorite, a fully equipped, indoor basketball court{click}
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Dar-Us-Salaam’s future vision, as seen in this concept drawing, entails building a large education and community campus complete with sport fields, individual multi-story buildings to house Al-Huda’s pre-school, elementary, middle, and high schools, Dar-Us-Salaam’s university project, called Tooba University, an outdoor walking and biking track, a welcome and dawah center, and many more features.With the help and support of Allah, and the generous support of communities like yours, we hope to build something that all Muslims on living on the east coast can benefit from. With this much space to grow, imagine the possibilities.
Dar-Us-Salaam’s future vision, as seen in this concept drawing, entails building a large education and community campus complete with sport fields, individual multi-story buildings to house Al-Huda’s pre-school, elementary, middle, and high schools, Dar-Us-Salaam’s university project, called Tooba University, an outdoor walking and biking track, a welcome and dawah center, and many more features.With the help and support of Allah, and the generous support of communities like yours, we hope to build something that all Muslims on living on the east coast can benefit from. With this much space to grow, imagine the possibilities.