Facilities and Equipment
Al-Iman School is located in Jamaica, Queens on main Van Wyck Expressway, making it easily accessible from almost any borough of New York City. The magnificent 75,000 square foot customized building, crowned by the traditional Islamic dome and minaret, is a fine blend of modern and Islamic architecture.
The building which is centrally air conditioned, is equipped with spacious classrooms, science laboratories, computer lab, library, conference room, congregation hall, assembly hall, in door and out door basket ball courts, and lunchroom. Plans for extending the existing building with a gymnasium, an Olympic size swimming pool, additional classrooms and laboratories are in the works.
Classrooms
Al-Iman School’s classrooms are custom-built to accommodate up to 25 children per class. From Pre-K to Grade 6 classroom, each one has a cubicle for personal belongings of the students including books. Desks with individual chairs are also used to store students’ books and writing instruments. The teacher has either an exclusive bookshelf or a lockable closet for supplies and storage as well as a desk with lockable drawers. Pre-k and Kindergarten classrooms are equipped with the state of the art portable computers and comfortable seating on colorful desks and chairs for the budding citizens of tomorrow to play, experiment with and learn through computers. Modern software have been installed to ensure that children get the best of what is available in Math, Language Arts, and Science. Social Studies and Reading as well as in Computer skills, intellectual games and Art.
From Grades 7 upwards, there are individual subject classrooms with one teacher in charge. Students move to the appropriate room for a particular subject. Herein each teacher has a desk with lockable drawers and a closet for supplies and storage. Students have individual desks and chairs and their books and personal belongings are safely kept in individual lockers with combination locks provided by the school.
Each classroom is equipped with a chalkboard, wall-charts and pictures to enhance teaching and learning.
Science Laboratories
The School’s science lab is split into the teaching and experimentation areas. Adequate scientific furniture, equipment, chemicals and objects enable students to do their compulsory as well as elective practical science projects including dissections and boiling and igniting. Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science, Botany and Zoology are taught and learnt in these class-cum lab rooms.
Computer Lab
Al-Iman School is on board with Super Information Highway and Internet Technology. The Computer lab is used by faculty and students for word-processing, surfing the web, researching and teaching and learning core as well as additional subjects offered at the School including Arabic language and recitation of The Qur’an. The School’s computers are connected to the internet through dedicated T-1 lines and loaded with useful and updated software. Plans are afoot to provide each student with a personal laptop fully loaded with software that obviate the need for bulky, outdated books. Reproduction facilities of Imam Al-Khoei Foundation for tapes, cassettes, CDs and DVDs support this effort of the school to modernize and use advanced methods of teaching and learning.
Library
More than ten-thousand volumes on all aspects of Al-Islam, including Comparative Religion, in several languages adorn the Imam Al-Khoei Foundation’s research library that has reached its maximum space utilization. This reference library is available to the community at large and Al-Iman faculty and students for quiet study and reference and research. Al-Iman School has been receiving assistance from The State and City Education Department. Part of this assistance is in the form of books and audio-visual equipment for the School library. Formal library periods are incorporated in the day’s schedule for each grade to be able to familiarize itself with and use the multiple library resources to enhance learning experience and broaden the vista of knowledge and understanding. Students can borrow books, CDs and DVDs from the school. Through the library program, Al-Iman School also enjoys the services of expert remedial reading teachers from the Education department who test, assess and coach students in English language arts and reading to bring them up to par and integrate into the mainstream classroom lessons.
Resources permitting, the Foundation’s library will soon upgrade its facilities and provide Internet-ready computers for research and surfing and printing facilities to the community and the students.
Conference Room
The 200-person capacity Conference Room of the Center is available to the School every Thursday for its Islamic society Club meetings whereby lectures, discussions, dialogues and presentations are delivered. Debates are also held here.
Congregation Hall
The huge 1000-seating capacity, well-lit congregation hall is regularly used for prayers, celebrations and commemorations. Al-Iman School uses the facility that has a stage and pillars for display of exhibits during the Science Fair, Heritage Day, and for Graduation for Kindergarten and High School. On Fridays, Al-Iman School Students from Grades 1-12 join the rest of the community in Friday Prayers.
Programs from this hall may be seen on line LIVE, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.
Assembly Hall
Every morning and afternoon students assemble in the prayer-cum assembly hall in the School to remember Allah SWT with recitation from The Qur’an and also to make small oral presentations to improve verbal skills and delivery in front of an audience.
Mid-day adhaan is followed by congregational prayers in the Assembly Hall.
Indoor and Outdoor Basket Ball Courts
Sports Facilities at Al-Iman are both of outdoor and indoor type. A small indoor basketball court that is also used to play limited soccer, practice martial arts and health education is regularly used, come rain or shine by the students according to the schedule allotted by the School and during the breaks for lunch etc. in the presence of a teacher. Boys and girls in the same grade play separately.
The outdoor Court can be used on good days when it is not too cold and is heavily utilized during Summer School. The Outside Court can also be used for limited soccer practice, besides full-scale basket-ball.
Lunchroom
An unnourished child cannot concentrate in class. Hence, Al-Iman School is a recipient of partial assistance from United States Department of Agriculture’s Program of meals in schools. Fresh, in-house, halaal, nutritious breakfast and lunch is served to students everyday. Younger children are also nutritionally fortified with snacks and milk during the day. Constraint of space calls for staggered lunch breaks for the younger and older children. A constant supply of tea and coffee is available for faculty and staff throughout the day.
