While pursuing the Middle Leadership Certificate from ECIS in 2018 and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell in 2023, I acquired a wealth of valuable insights. Notably, both programs equipped me with a toolkit to drive constructive transformations, initially within specific domains such as my department, and subsequently across broader dimensions of the school culture. In particular, I learned the value of establishing norms and expectations for collaboration in committee meetings, building and maintaining successful relationships even when conflict occurs, and finally, using diverse ideas to synthesize and assemble collaboratively a whole new solution to a puzzle or problem.
When I participate in international conferences, I enjoy sharing cultural exchange of innovative teaching methods, contributing to an accumulation of pedagogical diverse practices, and ultimately, a re-inspiring of teachers which leads directly to student learning outcomes. For example, when I presented for NESA in Singapore and KorCOS in Seoul about forming purposeful and effective student leadership structures, I was able to share with other teachers that are passionate about encouraging diverse populations of students to participate in government and ensuring that future leaders see positive results from their actions. More recently, at the SENIA in Johannesburg I collaborated with teachers about getting secondary subject specific teachers excited about all the possibilities that UDL provides for learners. In fall 2023, I will be continuing that work by sharing best UDL practices with IB and common core curriculums in Seoul.
As a math coach in California, and later in Egypt, I created professional learning activities to support “math talk” in kindergarten through 8th grade classrooms in order to support our school’s math goals and unique language acquisition needs. I also worked with classroom teachers to find new and creative ways to use ipads in the 4th -6th for targeted small group needs for Tier 2 and 3 support. More recently, in South Korea I have been able to participate in our annual “Teachers Teaching Teachers’ mini-conference to share culture building activities for secondary classrooms, and convey the importance of building relationships in peer-to-peer committee groups but also with our students.
I believe cultivating student leadership is a school-wide challenge, that logically should include the students themselves. To support the importance of this issue, I have researched the lasting effects on students of leadership training and the immediate improvement caused by participating in school decisions. In Egypt, in order to restructure the male-dominated student government and clubs structure, the Middle School Student Council investigated corporate models designed to empower stakeholders, particularly those that have been adapted for education. I am proud to say that in the years I was the faculty advisor the elected leaders were 50% female as were the leadership positions in clubs I did not advise. When my middle school leaders transitioned to high school they took the tool for equality and justice with them. Likewise, in Seoul there were few opportunities for middle year students to demonstrate and learn leadership skills in between all their extra curricular and after school opportunities when I first suggested an after school leadership club. But after four years of hard work in collaboration with the middle school counselor we have a thriving leaders-in-training club with many of our first participants going to found and lead their own clubs at the middle school.
In the lead up to SFS WASC and IB accreditation process, I participated in two committees that were of most importance to me. Firstly, I was a member of Category D about the Environment chapter of our school’s self study. But secondly, I lead the committee for the self-study Questionnaire area of “0202 Student Support” which included bimonthly meetings to collect evidence, synthesize our finding for the MYP and DP programs, and then get a group of 20 educators in various disciples to draft justifications for each of our assessments. This process required resilience, and not a small amount of conflict resolution. Currently I am a part of the committee working with our MYP Coordinator to pilot a whole-school IDU week which will incorporate 9 IDU units over all five years of the MYP, require all 85 MYP teachers on campus, and will be first of its kind in the IB.
In my experience learning communities have strong inclusion cultures when they are committed to continue improvement, collective responsibility, and have clear shared goals. This growth mindset can be achieved when leaders develop their own abilities to advocate, support, and celebrate individuals and see conflict as an opportunity for learning. Leaders are the shapers of the climate for a community with clear expectations, consistent relationship building, and by being a role model to reinforce expected behavior. When a community’s climate is strong, each individual has a shared perception that they belong, that they are an essential member of the community, and that it is their uniqueness that is most valued and integrated. When all members of a community feel they belong, you have a strong leader.
During SFS’s accreditation preparation and review I played a leadership role to develop an integrated MYP 1-5 science curriculum through an extensive review of prominent global programs with my co-chair. This required a shift in thinking for our colleagues from a concentration-specialist view (similar to that in the DP) to a more inclusive and accessible cross-disciplinary unit model. Ultimately our whole department set goals to enhance students’ comprehension of scientific concepts, nurture critical thinking and creative thinking, and to train them to approach potential problems with a scientific curiosity.
Post Accreditation at SFS, I took a new leadership role in the process of vertically integrating MYP mathematics with Common Core standards within the IB framework. Our department aligned curricular content, skills, and assessment strategies across all grade levels and several sections of the school. We placed an emphasis on fostering coherence between the MYP, PYP (Primary Years Programme), and DP (Diploma Programme) courses. The 2023-2024 is focusing on collaborative planning to put this curriculum into practice and strengthen connections between concepts, skills, and interdisciplinary elements. The goal is to enhance students’ understanding of mathematics and its uses across different disciplines and areas of interest.
Seoul, South Korea
