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34-732: Though Iranzamin school developed out of the American Community School , its roots go back to Alborz College and the efforts of Justin Perkins , an American Presbyterian missionary in Iran in the 19th century, who founded a church, school and printing house in Urmia in c.  1839 . Iranzamin School was a founding participant in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Organization and

68-527: A big improvement, but there was a downside. It was located at the end of a dead-end street in a dangerous part of the city where unrest and riots were particularly common during the late 1970s. The class of 1979 was the last and final class to hold a graduation ceremony on the main campus in June of that year, after which its doors were closed forever. Ahmad Shah Qajar Ahmad Shah Qajar ( Persian : احمد شاه قاجار ‎; 21 January 1897 – 21 February 1930)

102-600: A delicate relationship with the Persian government, which found it easier to appease irritation in the Islamic establishment by restricting Christian religious activities at the school. After the accession to power of Reza Shah , the influence and presence of Britain and Russia increased in Iran despite the pro-axis leanings of the Shah who refused the Allies' use of the trans-Iranian railroad. He

136-510: A permanent Saturday through Wednesday schedule (with Friday as the common holy day). With the exception of some of the Americans, most of the students spoke two or more languages. The expatriate population of Persia in the early 1900s, in the reign of Ahmad Shah Qajar , was very small and consisted mainly of British people; Persia was in both the British and Russian Empire's sphere of influence during

170-532: A religious school in Iran, including government objections and interference, Mr. Hill also moved the school in the direction of a secular international school. I pledge allegiance to my country, and to the United Nations of which it is a part, one world brotherhood of peaceful nations, with liberty and justice for all. Someone once called the Community School "a laboratory of democracy at work." Besides

204-494: A traditional school for boys which followed a curriculum created by the government. This Iran school-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Community School, Tehran 35°41′39″N 51°26′23″E  /  35.694033°N 51.439627°E  / 35.694033; 51.439627 Community School ( Persian : مدرسه كامیونیتى ) was a boarding school in Tehran , Iran , originally intended for

238-473: The Iranzamin School , with Irvine its new headmaster. This parting of ways caused many hurt feelings, and many of the people involved bore strong grudges lasting years. Ms. Sahakian, a school icon, went to Iranzamin School; Ms. Amin, another school icon, stayed at Community School. After the departure of Mr. Irvine, the missionary board hired Douglas Hill as the next headmaster. Given the problems of running

272-505: The Americans, there were students from prominent Iranian families and children from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, whose families were living temporarily in Tehran. Their parents were diplomats, exiles, military, professionals, oil industry personnel, etc. CHS represented 28 nationalities and eight religions. Christians , Jews , Moslems , and Zoroastrians blended without a problem. Above

306-636: The First Majlis, did not lead to any relevant accomplishment. The Majlis was rendered ineffective because the central government was weak and did not have enough influence to rein in the changes that it had proposed. In 1917, Britain used Persia as the springboard for an attack into Russia in an unsuccessful attempt to reverse the Russian Revolution of 1917 . The newly born Soviet Union responded by annexing portions of northern Persia as buffer states much like its Tsarist predecessor. Marching on Tehran ,

340-611: The High Council of Education’s adoption of the International Baccalaureate. As a result of the Islamic Revolution (1979), the school was winded down. In 1980, the last International Baccalaureate (IB) class graduated from Iranzamin, only numbering 24 students. In the 1980–1981 academic year, the new Islamic government of Iran allowed the relationship between Iranzamin and IB to lapse, and transformed Iranzamin into

374-500: The Majlis for minorities: two seats for Armenians , and one seat each for Jews , Zoroastrians , and Assyrians . The Majles also democratized the electoral system, diminished the electoral dominance of Tehran, and even lowered the voting age from twenty-five to twenty. Not much is known about Ahmad's early life before his succession to the throne. Due to his young age, his uncle, Ali Reza Khan Azod al-Molk , governed as regent. Ahmad Shah

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408-563: The Red Army along with rebels and warlords ruled much of the countryside. On 21 February 1921, Ahmad Shah was pushed aside in a military coup by Colonel Reza Khan , Minister of War and commander of the Persian Cossack Brigade , who subsequently seized the post of Prime Minister. During the coup, Reza Khan used three thousand men and only eighteen machine guns, a very bloodless coup that moved forward quickly. One of Khan's first actions

442-719: The Soviet Union . In 1943, the Allies met for the Tehran Conference as a measure of its importance to the Allied war effort. During the war, the Presbyterian missionary hospital, later to become the Community School campus, was taken over for use as a military hospital. After the war, increasing United States involvement with Iran meant more Americans in Iran, and the Community School was the only school in town for their children's education. In 1953 Headmaster Richard Irvine stated that he

476-477: The Soviets extracted ever more humiliating concessions from the Persian government – whose ministers Ahmad Shah was often unable to control. The weakness of the government in the face of such aggression by an atheist foreign power sparked seething anger among many traditional Persians – including the young Ruhollah Khomeini , who would later condemn both Communism and monarchy as treason against Persia's sovereignty and

510-457: The affairs of the state and poor health had prompted him to leave Persia on an extended trip to Europe. He was formally deposed on 31 October 1925, when Reza Khan was proclaimed Shah by the Majlis, as Reza Shah Pahlavi. This terminated the Qajar dynasty. The coup of 1921 rendered Ahmad Shah politically weaker and less relevant. In 1923, Ahmad Shah left Persia for Europe for health reasons. Later,

544-562: The age of majority, Ahmad Shah was formally crowned on 21 July 1914. On 16 July 1909, Mohammad Ali Shah was overthrown by rebels seeking to restore the 1906 Constitution . The rebels then convened the Grand Majles of 500 delegates from different backgrounds, which placed Ahmad Shah, Mohammad Ali's eleven-year-old son, on the Sun Throne . The Grand Majlis enacted many reforms. They abolished class representation and created five new seats in

578-462: The beginning of a period of economic growth; many Iranians were stimulated to seek a western education for their children. In 1967 there was some tension in the school; the school population was about half Iranian and mostly non-Christian. Although the school atmosphere was open and tolerant, the Presbyterian missionary board thought the school was straying from its charter. By this time Mr. Irvine and board member, Dr. Khodadad Farmanfarmaian had come to

612-516: The children of Presbyterian missionaries from the United States who were stationed in Iran since the 1830s. However, it soon served expatriates of all stripes raising children while in Iran. In the late 1940s, the school moved from its original location at Saint Peter Church at Qavām os-Saltaneh Street, to a location at Kucheh Marizkhaneh (Hospital Drive) near Jaleh Street. In the summer of 1979, it

646-563: The era (the Great Game ). Some of the expatriate population included Swedish officers of the early Persian Gendarmerie , and Russian officers of Cossack brigades which largely made up the Iranian military. It was from such a Cossack brigade that Reza Shah came to prominence. The American presence in Persia was small at that time and consisted largely of missionaries. The Presbyterian missionaries had

680-567: The formal termination of the Qajar dynasty by the Majles turned Ahmad Shah's 1923 European tour into exile. Ahmad Shah died in 1930 at Neuilly-sur-Seine , outside Paris, France, and was buried in his family crypt in Karbala , Iraq . His brother, former crown prince Mohammad Hassan Mirza , assured the continuation of the dynasty through his descendants. French publications at the time reported that his estate

714-450: The laws of Islam. By 1920, the government had virtually lost all power outside the capital and Ahmad Shah had lost control of the situation. Ahmad Shah has also been described as "pleasure-loving, effete, and incompetent". The Anglo-Persian Agreement , along with new political parties, further immobilized the country. The Moderates and Democrats often clashed, particularly when it came to minority rights and secularism . The debates between

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748-503: The missionaries to be used as the school campus and J. Richard Irvine was hired as its headmaster in 1951. The large, tree-filled shady compound had several buildings, a small church, and walking paths. The Presbyterian missionary school established itself in the early 1900s in Hamadan , Western Persia (as it was known by the West then), growing from a "home school" into a formal school. In the 1930s

782-564: The school entrance, in Persian calligraphy, were the words from the Book of John , 8:32, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Some students learned the United Nations pledge of allegiance to the individual countries and flags and sang the United Nations hymn, the "Song of Peace," set to music by the Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius . The school facilities on the new campus were

816-547: The school moved to Tehran due to logistical considerations, located on Qavām os-Saltaneh Street and had slightly more than 200 students. By the 1950s only a few of the students were children of missionaries as the number of Iranians and foreign students increased. It was commonly called the "American School" because students were taught primarily in English , with French and Persian as secondary languages. Classes met Monday through Thursday and on Saturdays, eventually switching to

850-587: The two political parties led to violence and even assassinations. The weak economic state of Persia put Ahmad Shah and his government at the mercy of foreign influence; they had to obtain loans from the Imperial Bank of Persia . Furthermore, under the Anglo-Persian Agreement, Persia received only a small fraction of the income generated by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company . On the other hand,

884-455: The view that the Community should be developed into an International school , and should take on the role of secular college preparatory school. They formed a committee to explore the possibility. The missionary board thought Mr. Irvine and Dr. Farmanfarmaian were leading the school away from its missionary charter, and emotions flared up. The need for international schools in Iran was strong and

918-432: Was a natural source of conflict and turmoil for the board. At that time, chapel was voluntary, but bible class was required. The missionaries were unhappy: The school had largely become a school for upper-class Iranian children. The missionary board reacted negatively to the committee promoting an International school. Over the summer of 1967, Community School headmaster Richard Irvine and Dr. Farman-Farmanian left to found

952-497: Was deposed and exiled to South Africa in favor of his son in 1941, three months after the launch of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. The American Army's Persian Gulf Command used Iran as a conduit for materiel to the Soviet Union, other routes being far more hazardous. By 1945, 150,000 assembled trucks, jeeps, aircraft, and even fire engines were transhipped from Khorramshar through Qazvin by truck and Tehran by train and then north to

986-648: Was formally crowned on 21 July 1914, upon reaching his majority. He attempted to fix the damage done by his father by appointing the best ministers he could find. He was, however, an ineffective ruler who was faced with internal unrest and foreign intrusions, particularly by the British Empire and Russian Empire . Russian and British troops fought against the Ottoman Empire forces in Persia during World War I . The Second Majlis convened in November 1910 and just like

1020-454: Was going to limit the number of Americans at Community School. The school did this to preserve a balance in the cultures among the student body. A separate American School of Tehran was established shortly afterward. President Truman's Point-Four program put a heavy strain on Community School because it brought many more American students. It also brought Iran closer to the US politically, and marked

1054-1051: Was licensed for the International Baccalaureate by Iran’s High Council of Education. Other founding IB schools were the Geneva International School, Atlantic College in Wales, the United Nations International School in New York, the Lycee International de St. Germain in France and the Goethe Gymnasium in Germany. The International Baccalaureate curriculum, culminating in a set of examinations, qualified successful secondary school graduates for admission to colleges and universities wherever they wished to study, including enrolling in higher education in Iran by virtue of

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1088-470: Was permanently shut down by the new government of the Islamic Republic after the fall of the Shah. After the revolution, the school was renamed Modarres Shahed school which is reserved for the children of the war veterans. The new campus had been an old Presbyterian missionary hospital during World War II where the last Queen of Iran, Farah Pahlavi Diba, was born. After the war, it was returned to

1122-555: Was the Shah of Persia ( Iran ) from 16 July 1909 to 15 December 1925, and the last ruling member of the Qajar dynasty . Ahmad Shah was born in Tabriz on 21 January 1897 and ascended the throne at the age of 12 after the removal of his father Mohammad Ali Shah by the Parliament on 16 July 1909. Due to his young age, his uncle, Ali-Reza Khan , took charge of his affairs as Regent. Upon reaching

1156-526: Was to rescind the unpopular Anglo-Persian Agreement. In addition, he signed the Russo-Persian Treaty of Friendship . This agreement canceled all previous treaties between the two countries and also gave Persia full and equal shipping rights in the Caspian Sea . Stripped of all his remaining powers, Ahmad Shah went into exile with his family in 1923. Ahmad Shah's apparent lack of interest in attending to

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