This is the first Ramadan Hassan is spending at the school, he said. Before moving to East Lansing because of his father’s new job, he attended a public school in Cincinnati. His mother wanted him to go to an Islamic school so he could learn more about being Muslim, Hassan said.

“At my old school there were people who were mean to me because of my religion,” he said.

Students at the school often feel like they’re in a more supportive environment since many of them are fasting as well, said the school’s principal, Karen Elsadek.

The overall feeling of the school isn’t much different from a public school, although students do pay a tuition, which is based on household income, she said. There are about 90 students ranging from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade, and the classes are split so two grades are in each class, Elsadek said.

Students take courses in language arts, math, science, social studies and also take standardized tests, she said. Twice a week, teachers from East Lansing Public Schools come to the school to teach the students art and physical education, she said.

The school follows the same curriculum for its courses as the East Lansing school district does, Elsadek said.

And just last year, the school got its first school bell and lockers, she said.

What sets the school apart is its addition of Islamic studies classes, Quran and Arabic, which means the students’ school days are a little longer than those at public schools, she said.

Sumaya Malas, a fifth grader, has been going to the school since kindergarten and said her favorite classes are Islamic studies and Quran.

“I like (the school) a lot because it teaches me about my religion and I learn the language of it,” she said.

Since Muslims are required to pray five times a day, the students take time out of their day to go the mosque — which is located in the attached Islamic Center of East Lansing — and pray, Elsadek said. After washing their hands, faces and hair to ensure they are in a pure condition, students follow a leader in a prayer that lasts about 10 minutes, she said.

During Ramadan, Elsadek, who also teaches a morning pre-kindergarten class, said teachers try to give the students less homework because many students are visiting their families.

Malas said she looks forward to having a fast-breaking meal, or Iftar, with her family after a day at school.

“(Fasting) helps me spiritually because I get more self-control from not eating much,” she said.

The school used to have the students who were fasting bring in their blankets and books so they could rest in the mosque for their lunch hour during Ramadan, Elsadek said.

“We did it so they wouldn’t burn off energy, but they want to run around and play,” she said. “They’re not like the adults — they can handle it.”