The British Army School is established in Glyfada (southern Athens suburb) for the British military stationed in Greece at the end of World War II.

The Anglo-American school as it’s renamed, starts admitting children of American military personnel. Campuses open in Kolonaki, Psychico and Filothei.

Superintendent: Howard Dickie

The first High School yearbook, the Evzone, is published, highlighting the accomplishments of a graduating class of six seniors. The school is now housed in the northern Athens suburb of Kifissia. Junior School is housed in Kalamaki, for the children of the American military, until its operations were transferred to a building on the American base later in the decade following an airplane accident.

The Anglo-American School becomes the American Community Schools of Athens, chartered in Delaware.

Superintendent: Alexander Kirby

Superintendent: Glenn Grant

School obtained land in northern Athens suburb of Halandri (then a farming area).

Superintendent: Harold Erickson

Construction of the Middle School building is completed. Academy building construction is completed in 1963. The Academy holds its first Commencement Ceremony in the Halandri campus with 22 graduates. There were 380 students attending the Academy that year.

A small postal plane of the American aircraft carrier that was in the Piraeus port, flying to southern Athens suburb Ellinikon, suffered engine damage and while trying to make an emergency landing on the streets of Filellinon and Androutsou, it crashed with one of its wings into the building of ACS and fell in the house of a villa where it caught fire. Both pilots were killed. (The American School was right across from the villa - the school at the time accommodated children of the Hellenikon US base personnel). School buses with students of the school had just left for the day and no injuries were reported. Following this tragic incident, the school moved to the northern suburbs.

The school begins to admit students from the wider American and international expatriate communities in Greece. The Academy receives academic accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The first Parent Teacher Association PTA is established.

The first two stories of the current Annex building were erected to house the Elementary school.

Superintendent: Floyd Worley

Superintendent: Roy Blake

Greek Government (via King’s Decree) recognized the American Community Schools of Athens, Inc. as a member of the American Council of Volunteer Organizations.

Superintendent: Alexander Gottesman

First two stories of the current Elementary School were built.

A branch of ACS Athens was established on the island of Rhodes, for the approximately thirty children of Voice of America personnel stationed there. The station personnel originally worked on a floating radio station powered by a medium wave 150 KW transmitter, aboard a ship called Courier, which was anchored in Rhodes and had its antenna mounted on a balcony. The ACS branch was in operation until 1981.

The LANCER becomes the official mascot of the school. Official colors are changed to Navy/Gold.

American Academy building

Superintendent: James Bernard

One of the most important classes at ACS Athens is created - which continues today - the Honors Humanities course; a challenging two-year interdisciplinary course focused on the questions "What Makes Us Human?" and "How Does Belief Shape Civilizations?"

ACS Athens is one of the founding member schools of Forensics Society, now known as the Pan-Hellenic Forensics Association.

Superintendent: Stanley Haas

The school's directors committed themselves to a development plan that resulted in the building of the structural bridge containing science labs, administrative offices and a conference room. This bridge connected the Academy and the Middle School; the cafeteria, the amphitheater; and finally, the current library and fine arts classrooms.

ACS Athens students took part in Model United Nations for the first time in 1975, representing Algeria and Tunisia at The Hague. Environmentally aware students created a Jolly Green Giant Club. New clubs added were the Ping Pong Club, Forensics Society, and an Actors Workshop.

ACS Athens is authorized and accredited to offer the IB Diploma. It becomes the only school in Greece to offer students the opportunity to earn an International Baccalaureate diploma while pursuing their high school studies.

Superintendent: Philip Runkel

American Author John Updike visits ACS Athens

Superintendent: Gordon Bennett

ACS Athens purchases the land where the tennis courts are now situated.

The original school license was amended, and ACS Athens was officially recognized by the Greek Ministry of Education as an educational institution for the international community in Greece.

The ACS Athens Residential Life Department was established in 1981. Originally housing a group of forty students whose parents worked in Saudi Arabia, the residence hall with adult supervision for those students was located in various area hotels. As a result, the student body expanded to include many children of expatriate Americans and foreign personnel working in the oil fields of the Arabian Peninsula. The Residential Life Department was housed in a Glyfada hotel (Fenix Hotel) until it was eventually moved to the American Club in Kastri, then to Kefalari, and then to Rafina until it finally moved to Mati.

Superintendent: John Dorbis

Middle States Association expands its accreditation to the Elementary and Middle School. ACS Athens becomes the first American school overseas to be accredited for all K-12 grades.

First American overseas school to be accredited by Middle States Association on a K-12 basis.

ACS Athens established the ACS Writing Project in 1985 to promote the teaching of writing as a tool for learning across the disciplines. The Writing Project was introduced to help students utilize writing as a form of communication in all facets of the school curriculum.

In 1986, ACS Athens closed the Kifissia Elementary School, and all school operations were consolidated on the Halandri campus, which had been expanded yet again with the building of new computer labs adjacent to the library.

The closing of the American military bases during the 1992-93 school year, coupled with the Greek government's decision to allow Greek citizens to attend ACS Athens after completion of their compulsory education, resulted in yet another transformation in the makeup of the student body, establishing ACS Athens as the premier international school in Greece.

Superintendent: Frances Rhodes

ACS Athens became the only overseas school represented in the “Close Up Washington” program, designed to give students a better understanding of American government and the workings of Washington DC.

ACS Athens hosts the first Model United Nations conference in Greece, in collaboration with the United Nations Information Center and the US Embassy.

Superintendent: Peter Nanos

The first AntiDrug Basketball Tournament is held

Superintendent: George Besculides

One of the Academy's staple Social Studies projects, the "Truman Trial" is introduced to the 10th grade. What was going to be long-standing tradition for the Academy of ACS Athens, the Truman Trial is a mock trial of President Harry S. Truman re-enacted by the entire 10th grade, during which they are called to decide whether President Truman was guilty of crimes against humanity. Each year a different trial date is set, and students conduct in-depth research for that specific era and choose various roles for the trial. What starts as an in-class presentation, it has evolved into a multimedia, live-streamed production, emphasizing research and presentation skills. 

The ACS Athens campus becomes a giant construction site. Eventually the noise, dust and upheaval on the school grounds gave way to a heated indoor pool and a FIBA approved basketball court/gym. A professional theater with seating capacity for 530 was built and continues to be used by ACS Athens students for theatrical productions, ceremonies and countless school activities. It is also open to groups and businesses outside the ACS Athens community seeking a professional theater space.

The Greek Ministry of Education authorizes ACS Athens to offer classes and examinations leading to awarding the equivalency of the Greek “Apolitirio” (Greek High School Diploma).

President: Stefanos Gialamas

In 2005, ACS Athens welcomes twenty public and private schools from Greece and Cyprus aiming to promote the basic principles of UNESCO, focusing on Cultural Heritage.

ACS Athens hosts the 1st International Conference on Learning Differences, which will continue annually for 9 years. Attendees include educators, professionals, parents and the wider community, who come to participate in workshops and lectures from world renowned specialists in Learning Differences.  

The ACS Athens Summer Camp was re-launched, an endeavor open to the entire community. It was originally created in the 70s and it continues to be a popular place for many young people who participate from all around the Attica region.

ACS Athens starts offering annual Athletic/Academic scholarships to 4 bright young boys and girls who are Academy candidates and strong basketball athletes. Suheil and Samir Sabbagh sponsor the “Diana W. Tamari & Hasib J. Sabbagh”' Athletic Scholarships, that opened the door to many academically qualified young student/athletes over the years to attend ACS Athens, compete in local and international school meets while aiming for higher educational institutions in the United States and Europe.

The first issue of ACS Athens Ethos Magazine is published, featuring all the exciting, innovative and educational programs and activities of the school, celebrating its successes and highlighting the accomplishments of its community. Ethos starts as bi-annual magazine but evolves through the years into an annual magazine/journal with writers that include academics, faculty, administrators, parents, students and alumni.

ACS Athens establishes the Institute for Critical and Creative Thinking, with a full-time Director. The Institute mission is to offer online HS courses for credit, Innovative programs for K-12 students, grant underwriting for major projects, adult education courses and evening & weekend programs. A highlight of the Institute is the Summer Leadership program for High School students.

A new governance structure for the school was created and implemented. The 8-member Board of Education becomes an 18-member Board of Trustees, establishing and implementing a new structure of strategic governance. A series of policy decisions of the new Board would safeguard what it is that makes the school unique in the long term, in particular, focusing on managing growth, ensuring that ACS Athens remains an international school embracing American educational principles for many years to come. Also in 2007, ACS Athens received the maximum seven years accreditation from the MSA using the Accreditation for Growth protocol.

In 2007, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation bestowed a grant to ACS Athens for the establishment of the Stavros Niarchos Learning Center to house its innovative ACS Athens Optimal Match Program (currently known as the Optimal Learning Program).

ACS Athens deploys Moodle®, an online Learning Management System that supports online teaching and learning. This becomes the cornerstone of the school’s i²Flex hybrid modality of teaching and learning, that made ACS Athens the first school in Greece to go fully online for all its grades, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced all schools to close in 2020.

The ACS Athens Institute for Innovation and Creativity (IIC) is awarded the prestigious Nikolai N. Khaladjan International Award by the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA). ACS Athens is recognized for its pioneering programs promoting innovative teaching and learning through the creation of authentic collaborations with premier colleges and universities. The AAUA recognizes ACS Athens Summer Leadership Institute as a model of educational best practices. 

Αdjoining land is purchased for the school campus, and in 2013/14 construction work was completed for a new Fifth grade building at a total cost of 1,000,000 euros in operational money coming mainly from individual  contributors.

Featuring elite coaches from the NBA, NCAA, Euroleague and Greek league level, and attracting coaches from around the world, the International Basketball Coaches Clinic at ACS Athens starts in 2010 and brings the basketball community together to share knowledge and expertise with other basketball enthusiasts.

“Dogs in Learning” started in Elementary School. The goals of the program embedded within the ACS Athens (K-5) School Curriculum are simple and forward: to link empathy as well as social and emotional learning within an academic context that highlights behavioral concepts, facilitates learning as well as instills «Ζωοφιλια» - a love for animals as sentient beings. 

The ACS Athens Board of Trustees decided to establish an Elementary School state-of-the-art Science lab, that offers Elementary students the opportunity to experiment on the science they are taught in their classroom, with the support of the Science Division.

The first ever global effort to provide a platform for ACS Athens alumni, community and friends brings the establishment of the ACS Athens Global Association. It is a site and directory designed to be used as a tool to professionally connect, network and maintain ties within the global ACS Athens community.

www.acsathensglobal.org

In its way to get re-accredited by MSA with the Sustaining Excellence protocol, ACS Athens holds is first Colloquium showcasing the validation of evidence for its educational model, with the participation of the entire community. Educational leaders from around the world and local international schools attend this 2-day celebration of teaching and learning. 

ACS Athens becomes the only international school, and one of six in total, to be accredited by the MSA with the Sustaining Excellence protocol. Through this accreditation, MSA identified ACS Athens as "a leading school that achieves a high level of student performance, has an excellent understanding of the antecedents for those results and will likely continue achieving those results over time."

The Incubator of Students’ Creative Ideas (ISCI) is established in a specially designed space in the Learning Commons. ISCI is a student-run initiative, designed to facilitate and organize “learning projects.” Participation in these learning projects allows students to take control of their own learning, by giving them the chance to choose what they would like to learn, how they want to learn it, and ultimately decide in what way they wish to apply the knowledge they have acquired in order to produce something meaningful for themselves and their community. ISCI co-hosts and co-organizes the Annual Innovation Summit, along with other international schools, including the Pinewood School of Thessaloniki and the Hisar School of Turkey.

The “Suheil Sabbagh Media Studio” is established in the Learning Commons. The Media Studio is available to everybody in the school. Projects include: Media pre-production, production, post-production, AV language initiation, Workshops on a variety of topics, Video CV’s, Exploration of new media technologies, Group projects, Independent study with personalized support in AV projects, audio/video podcasting, live streaming, etc.

The Home Project, in collaboration with the US based Shapiro Foundation, offered 18 ACS Athens scholarships to children of The Home Project, an Athens-based, UN recognized non-profit organization which offers shelter and work for children and young refugees in Greece. The announcement was a first of its kind opportunity to grant full-time scholarships for the American Community School (ACS Athens) during the academic year 2018-2019.

ACS Athens becomes the new publisher of the International Schools Journal. ISJ is a prestigious publication that acts as a forum for educators, professionals and administrators from K-12 and higher education institutions to connect, collaborate and enhance the dialogue between international K-12 and higher education institutions for the benefit of all learners.

President: Peggy Pelonis