A brief history of our school

The Armenian Evangelical Central High School was founded on May 16, 1922, by Rev. Yenovk Hadidian in the slums of Camp Adana — a shanty town on the seashores of central Beirut. The ramshackle building was constructed of corrugated sheets of tin and surrounded by a 3-foot-high canvas fence. Passersby could easily observe the close to 120 students huddled in a handful of classrooms under the direction of Miss Jemile Kardashian and Ms. Rahel Yacoubian.

In 1923, it moves to a larger building that serves as primary school during weekdays and as church on Sundays. In the 1930-31 academic year, the school, now renamed the Armen ian Evangelical Co-Educational School, moves to an area on a high plateau in the Ashrafieh district, not far from the current location.

As other evangelical schools begin to sprout in the different suburbs of Beirut in 1928-1936, principal George Gaidzagian establishes communication with them, and the school is once again renamed to Armen ian Evangelical Central School . In the 1933-34 academic years, the student population reaches 850, with a faculty of 25 teachers.

With a generous donation from Rev. Henry Riggs, work starts on a new school building and church in the Ashrafieh area — now home to a growing and vibrant Armen ian community. The buildings are dedicated to the memory of Rev. Riggs' wife and daughter, who had perished during World War I while serving Armenian refugees.

By 1938 the school serves classes up to the sixth grade. The following year the seventh and eighth grade classes are added, making it a junior high school, under the directorship of Hagop Boujikanian. Ten primary schools begin sending their graduates to CHS .

First high-school graduate class

During the first months of 1943, the Board of Directors decides to raise the standard to a full secondary school in order to serve the needs of graduates in their pursuit of higher learning. Later in the year, the school adds ninth grade class and, the following year, tenth. The school graduates its first high school class in the academic year 1944-45 and yet again is renamed Armen ian Evangelical Central High School. Two of the graduates succeed in the entrance exams of the freshman class of Women's Junior College of Beirut.

Rev. Manasseh Shnorhokian assumes the directorship of the school for the next four years.

After celebrating its 25th anniversary in 1947, the school adds 11th grade and completes its kindergarten-elementary-secondary academic structure.

In 1950, American University in Beirut officially recognizes CHS as an accredited institution of secondary education and admits the graduate students into its freshmen class, without the need for entrance exams and simply by the recommendation of the principal. The recognition remains in place for the next 16 years, until the Lebanese Ministry of Education establishes a Second Baccalaureate as an official prerequisite for entrance into institutions of higher learning. Kegham Mississian becomes principal in 1950, after Rev. Shnorhokian resigns.

During the years 1943-50, in successive steps the school undergoes further changes:

In 1965, the school starts implementing the official state educational program with its three levels of examination: Certificate (6th grade), Brevet (9th grade), First and Second Baccalaureates (11thand 12th grades).

The new four-story building is dedicated in 1969, accommodating the kindergarten and the elementary classes. Two years later, a business and economy curriculum is developed for the secondary classes, whose students participate in London Chamber of Commerce exams for typing, shorthand, bookkeeping and accounting. In 1977, during the lull in the civil war, the secondary division is completed with the addition of a senior Baccalaureate class for applied sciences.

The school celebrates its 60th anniversary in 1982 with commemorative events and its 65th in 1987 with a concert of performing arts. The publication of a large-format anniversary scrapbook/photo album marks the 70th anniversary. In 2002, church and community leaders, government ministers, academic representatives, school principals and others join the school family and its alumni in a public 80th anniversary grand jubilee in the Royal Plaza Hotel.