American Islamic Association

AIA Weekend Islamic School History

 In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. May Allah give His blessings to theProphet Mohammad (S), his family and companions. May Allah grant us peace, His mercy andblessings. The American Islamic Association (AIA) is thankful to Allah who blessed us with anIslamic Center including a Masjid and an Islamic School.

The AIA Weekend Islamic School (School) was founded in 1978 by a small group of families toprovide Islamic education to the Muslim children and protect their Islamic identity. They rentedclass rooms in the Hickory Creek Middle School in Frankfort for this purpose. The school startedwith a group of about 30 students and a staff of three teachers. There were only two classesof about 15 students each. Initially they were taught Islamic Studies and Hadith/Seerah of theProphets. A few weeks later Quran reading/Surah memorization class was introduced in thecurriculum. After couple of years the School lease expired and a building was rented in TinleyPark. The classes were held in that building for one year. The AIA felt a desperate need for theirown place for prayers, Islamic School and other activities.

The AIA purchased a 14-acre property at 8860 St. Francis Road, Frankfort in 1981. The propertyincluded a farmer's house and an airplane hangar. The AIA remodeled the house and thehangar to accommodate the increasing number of students in the School. Students from agesfive to sixteen were registered in the School. The registration in the School had increased toabout 50 to 60 students by that time. The students were divided into seven classes. Threesubjects, Quran reading/Surah memorization, Islamic Studies and Hadith/Seerah were taught inthe School.

In the mid eighties, a Hafiz-e-Quran was hired by the School to put more emphasis on readingQuran/Surah memorization. Since then a large number of students have finished reading theQuran and have memorized a large number of Surahs. The students participated in variouscompetitions organized by the AIA and other local Muslim organizations and earned prizes. Anoutdoor basketball hoop was installed for the children to play during recess. A voluntary lunchprogram for the students was also introduced in the mid eighties.

By the turn of the Century the registration in the School reached to about 75 students.More structured programs were added to improve the efficiency of the School. A StudentHandbook was published at the beginning of each school year which contained informationabout School activities, policies and curriculum. An annual Quran/Adhan Competition anda Islamic Knowledge Quiz Competition were also introduced. A few years later, Parents-Teachers Conferences were held yearly. This gave parents a chance to meet the teachers andan opportunity to discuss their children's progress at the School. The parents were encouragedto make suggestions and present ideas to improve the School performance. Extracurricular activities were arranged for the students at the school premises. Field trips were also arrangedfor the students.

The Muslim population in the south suburbs increased with time and a bigger place for theIslamic School was needed. To fulfill the needs of the community for Islamic activities a buildingproject was introduced. Plans to build an Islamic Center was considered a few times in the pastbut could not be implemented. By the Grace of Allah and sincere efforts of the AIA Board ofTrustees and community members this important project was accomplished in 2005.

The new facility provided the much needed additional space for increased school programsand activities. The new building included five classrooms for the Islamic School. The old prayerhall in the hangar was converted into two more classrooms. A Recreational Room was recentlyadded in the old classroom building which includes a ping-pong table, a pool table and afoosball table. This provided the children with some indoor fun activities during recess time.

A more formal structure for classes with specific age groups was established, along with astandardized textbook-based curriculum. A methodological system was introduced for selectingqualified volunteer teachers, assistant teachers and substitute teachers. A few years ago, aPC-based School Manager Software was implemented that allows for computerized studentregistrations, fee payment accounting and an official grading system for printing report cards.

One of the newer programs introduced was the after-school Surah Club, which is held in everyMarch and April. The students recite as many Surahs as they have memorized . Gold, silver andbronze medals are awarded to the students depending upon the number of Surahs memorized.This gives an incentive to the children to memorize more Surahs. This program has provedhighly successful Masha'Allah, where students eagerly participate and push themselves tomemorize as many Surahs and Dua's as they are capable. An early hour Quran/Tajweed classwas started in 2009 for those students who needed extra help in reading Quran and catch upwith the regular students in the class. Several students have benefitted from this class.

A Supervised Recess Program was implemented a couple of years ago. It helps with monitoringthe safety of the children during recess time. Also the first ever professional-quality School YearBook was published last year (2010). It is a good collection-item for students to remember theircolleagues, teachers and their school experiences.
For the past few years, the School has also been holding a one-month Summer School programin July. There are two separate program, one for boys and one for girls. On average, about 15boys and 30 girls have participated in the summer programs.

Due to the growth of the School, along with the administrative position of the School Principal,a position of an Associate Principal was introduced in 2008. In general, the role of the Associate Principal is to assist the Principal - whereas the Principal is involved in the overall Schoolbusiness and administration (course syllabus, school policies, financial responsibilities, etc), theAssociate Principal is responsible for day-to-day running of programs and classes (arrangingsubstitute teachers, school supplies, managing School Manager Software, etc.)

It is the goal of the School to improve its academic standard and provide Islamic educationand environment to the Muslim children. To achieve this goal, the School is continuing tocarry out all the activities and programs that were carried out by the previous administrations,and adding new programs. The School has a very dedicated group of teachers including 15regular and 6 assistant teachers. They devote their time and energy, and make extra effortsto teach the students, prepare lectures, quizzes, homework assignments and tests etc, alongwith attending Teachers Training Seminars and Workshops. Teacher's meetings are frequentlyheld to share information between the teachers and administration, and find ways to improveSchool performance.

The School is open to Muslim children ages 5 to 16 years. The classes are held on Sundays from11:00 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. starting in the second week of September and ending in the third weekof May. Currently, 115 students are registered in the School. A formal lunch system is in place,arranged by a group of dedicated Lunch Moms every school-day. Catered lunch is provided bythe School at 12:25 p.m. A calendar of events for whole year and the curriculum is distributedbefore the beginning of the school year. A Student Assembly is held on the first day of Schoolyear to inform the students and the parents about School programs, activities and disciplinepolicy. The textbooks and Student Binders are provided to the students on the same day.

Over thirty years have passed since the establishment of AIA Weekend Islamic School. Itwas the vision, struggle and endless efforts of early members of the AIA who took upon theresponsibility to found an Islamic School to provide Islamic education to the Muslim childrenand protect their Islamic identity. Since then several brothers and sisters have contributedtheir services to the School to achieve this goals. It is now an institution where children gainIslamic knowledge and implement it in their daily life. Alhamdulillah, past students are activelyparticipating in the School activities. A few past students are now regular class teachers, andsome are assistant teachers at the School. This progress would not have been possible withoutthe help of Allah and sincere efforts of the brothers and sisters of this community.

Prophet Mohammed (S) said that all actions of a person come to an end after his death exceptfor three things from which one still gets the rewards from Allah. Providing knowledge in oneof the three things from which a person continues to get the reward. May Allah reward all theteachers, past and present, for their services to the School and providing Islamic knowledge tothe Muslim children from which Insha'Allah they will benefit. May Allah reward all the brothersand sisters who helped the School in any capacity. May Allah forgive our shortcomings and our mistakes. Let us pray to Allah that the coming generations follow the teachings of Islam andpropagate its message to the World and may Allah give us the highest place in the Heavens.Ameen!

LIST OF PRINCIPALS

PRINCIPAL'S NAME	YEARS SERVED	Picures
Mansoor Mozaffar	1978-1980
Mohammad Afzal Firdausi	1980-1986
Rafiq Sheriff	1986-1988
Syed M. Younus	1988-1990
Khalid Anwar Saiyed	1990-1992
Yakub Patel	1992-2008
Abdul Khalique	2008 - to date

Abdul Khalique, Ph.D.
Principal
AIA Weekend Islamic School

(Note: I have tried my best to compile the history of the School with the available information. Iapologize for any error in the text and if I missed to acknowledge the services of any member ofthe AIA. May Allah give them twice the reward).