Tuesday, January 16, 2001

By Terry Boyd
Turkey bureau

Terry Boyd / Stars and Stripes Ankara School's international character is everywhere, even when cheerleaders rehearse their moves below flags of all the nations represented at the school. Katherine Vu falls into the waiting arms of Emily Gendrolis, left, and Leigh Percival during practice before an upcoming road trip, a sports day at Incirlik Air Base.

ANKARA, Turkey — At most DODDS schools, they open the doors and in pour the sons and daughters of American military personnel.

At George C. Marshall School here, they have to work a little harder. And it shows. Ankara School, as they call it, is one of the most cosmopolitan in the system. Joining only 60 American students are 155 non-Americans from 30 nations speaking 26 languages.

Ambassadors, diplomats and corporate types in this capital city select Ankara over other less expensive private schools because Principal Joe Robinson and his staff "hustle" to maintain a reputation for excellence, said Lt. Col. George Turner at the Office for Defense Cooperation in Ankara.

Ankara School students consistently score among the highest in standardized test scores of all Department of Defense Dependent schools. For example, on their latest SATs, Ankara students scored 545.5 verbal, 587.2 on math. By comparison, DODDS-Europe’s 1999 SAT verbal average was 507, just above the national average of 505. The math average was 502, lower than the national average of 511.

As much as any DODDS school can be, Ankara is an entrepreneurial school. Teachers — almost all with master’s degrees — come up with innovative ideas. Robinson prints up brochures touting his 8-to-1 student/teacher ratio and facilities: gyms, track and soccer fields, and well-equipped computer labs all on a secure Turkish base. Non-U.S. government employee families must pay an average annual tuition of $13,000 per child.

"Ankara School needs tuition-paying students to say vibrant — and open," said Army Col. David Knack, deputy commander of the Office for Defense Cooperation.

If Ankara School were stateside, it would be a model school, with puffed up administrators pontificating about their techniques and philosophies. Instead, Robinson almost berates himself for doing an interview, saying, "I don’t want anyone to get jealous of us and shut us down."

He is serious because of worries that some in the DODDS systems may care more about enrollment figures than sky-high standardized test scores. There’s barely a U.S. military base left after the post-Cold War drawdowns of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1960, Ankara was a boarding school for the entire Middle East, with 1,000 students, Turner said. But when Ankara Air Base closed in 1994, it became the Ankara Support Element. The military community dropped from a peak of 5,000 in the late 1970s to about 550 now, including Marine guards, ODC officials and U.S. Embassy personnel.

"We’ve been working really, really hard to stay above 200 [students]," said Robinson. "If a big family pulls out, it could kill us."

The school was going to close six or seven years ago, and Robinson credits then-deputy ambassador Frank Ricciardone for petitioning DODDS to keep it open.

"He was a friend of the school" and his two daughters attended.

Tall, thin and bearded, Robinson has the alert eyes of a scholar. But his intensity is softened by the accent of a southern gentlemen, and the Florida native has an "aw, shucks" manner.

The truth is, he says, is that Ankara stands out more than anything because it has unbelievably good kids. His motivated students come mostly from concerned, educated families.

"It sounds so tacky to say it, but it IS like a family. They care about each other," Robinson said. "It’s almost like a <CF22>Leave it to Beaver</CF>" school, Robinson added, referring to the ’50s television sitcom. "It’s like a time warp."

In other ways, the school is the antithesis of <CF22>Leave It to Beaver</CF> simplicity. Its exotic population — students come from Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia and many former Soviet states — outnumbers Americans. English is a second language for 40 percent of students. But rather than being a drag on the American students, the non-American students push the Americans academically.

Some are better at math, some "even speak better English," said Serrah Coruh, a Turkish teacher.

Knack says the tiny population means that the kids can’t remain anonymous, alienated or unengaged.

"When you’ve got eight kids in the senior class, you can’t afford to be mean to each other," said Knack, who also is the school’s officer.

"Everyone is someone at that school, and you can do anything [scholastically]."

Junior Leigh Percival says the school compares well to high-caliber Virginia schools she attended, though she rates Virginia higher.

That said, "It lives up to its reputation" as one of the best schools in DODDS, said Percival, who has lived in Washington, D.C., Austria, Switzerland and Germany, among other places.

Ankara School is not perfect, Robinson said. It just has different sorts of problems. An ambassador from United Arab Emirates gave his son a new BMW, whereupon the son promptly quit coming to class.

"I had to call his father and say, ‘Sorry, we’re just not being successful here.’ "

He also has problems recruiting staff members who might not know anything about Turkey. "When I get ’em here, they love it. But it’s just getting them here."

Last week, Robinson was excited about the prospects of landing a new student from China.

"Exciting, huh?" he said casually, adding, "though that could cause a stir with the Taiwanese."

Somehow, you get the feeling that given all the challenges, peaceful coexistence of the two Chinas will be piece of cake.

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