Khaled and Leah Bitat moved to Khaled’s native country of Algeria in 2010 with their 8 year old son, Sami, who had only ever lived in the United States and only spoke English. Sami was eager to learn all about his Algerian culture, heritage and languages, and Khaled and Leah were eager to lend their skills and experience to Algerian development efforts.

Leah arrived in Algeria with decades of experience in educational design and school management in the United States, and a Masters in Education from Harvard. While trying to find a good school for Sami, Leah was working herself in training teachers across Algeria, getting first hand experience with the needs and opportunities to strengthen teaching quality at schools at all levels. In particular, Leah noticed that teachers needed help to include exceptional students at all levels – for foreign-born Algerian students like Sami, for children of international families, as well as for Algerian students with any learning differences ranging from dyslexia to autism and physical disabilities, or simply a difficulty learning classical Arabic. She was determined to find a way to bring her knowledge and expertise to create a supportive and inclusive learning environment in Algeria.

Leah’s professional expertise in education design along with her and Khaled’s very personal experience as parents inspired the creation and launch of Les Aures, an Algerian school committed to creating an inclusive community of diverse learners who embrace the journey of becoming citizens of the world.r