American Children’s Early Schooling

Faculty School later American Community School ca. 1906

Daniel Bliss II Collection

When Dr. Howard Bliss succeeded his father as President of the Syrian Protestant College (SPC) in 1903, he hired a British governess, Miss Winifred Thomson, to teach his four children in Marquand House. By 1905, other American faculty families had joined these informal lessons, prompting discussions about establishing a proper school for their children. With strong encouragement from Amy Blatchford Bliss, Howard Bliss’s wife, the Faculty School later known as American Community School (ACS) was founded that same year. In his recollections, alumnus Archie Crawford (Class of 1918) described the early days of the school, recalling how classes were held first in Dorman House and later in a small one-story building on the hospital grounds—an area that would later undergo many transformations.

Following the American public-school model, the Faculty School opened with 18 pupils, most of them children of SPC faculty. By the 1910s, it began admitting other students, including many children of American missionaries. In 1922, with a gift from Mrs. Howard Bliss, a new property was acquired, providing the school with a more permanent home and marking a new chapter in its development.

Ladies Luncheon 1923

The relationship between the university community and its neighbors was marked by mutual care, respect, and generosity. Each side contributed in its own way—through help, favors, and acts of kindness—fostering a bond built on trust and shared humanity. Over time, this spirit of cooperation and goodwill became a defining feature of life in Ras Beirut, reflecting the harmony between the university and its surrounding community and the shared understanding that shaped their histories. The university also organized activities to bring together alumni, faculty, and local residents. As early as May 1923, a ladies’ luncheon was held, welcoming the wives of alumni, faculty, along with graduate nurses.