P 4 P 7 P 14

the bi-annual newsletter of the Association of International Schools in Africa

AISAAssociation of International

Schools in Africa


Schools in Africa

Wider stripes logo

Wider stripes logo on black

P 4Meet the AISA 2016 Art Challange Winners

P 7AISA Educators Conference

P 14AISA Leadership Conference

February 2016 Edition


Schools in Africa

2 | February 2016 Edition

1. Connect with the AISA Executive Director 3

2. AISA News and Events 42.1 Announcing the AISA 2016 Art Challenge Winners 4

2.2 Measuring the Value of Professional Learning 5

2.3 AISA GISS 2016: Funguka – Are You Ready? 6

2.4 AISA Educators Conference (AEC) October, 2016 7

2.5 AISA Professional Learning Institutes 12

3. Learning Connections 143.1 Towards a ‘Code of Governance’ for AISA Schools 14

3.2 Getting the Story Straight: Effective Governance and Communications 18

3.3 Coaching for Learning 21

3.4 Connected From the Start: One School’s New Approach to Strategic Planning 22

3.5 At The American School of Kinshasa (TASOK) Parents Learn Too! 25

4. School Connections 264.1 Corona School Trust Celebrates 60 Years 26

4.2 Kaduna International School Celebrates 30 Years 27

4.3 Service Learning at Lincoln Community School, Ghana: An Oral History Project 27

4.4 Windhoek International School Turns 25 28

4.5 The American Intentional School of Cape Town 29

5. Associate Connection 305.1 AISA and Pioneer Join to Launch a New Student Scholarship Opportunity 30

Do you have school news to share? Perhaps an update on:

• School or student awards

• School celebrations

• Campus development

• Service learning programs

• Innovations in the classroom

Then we’d love to hear from you and share your news with the rest of the AISA community. Or, if you would like to advertise in Connexions then contact us. All enquiries and submissions can be sent to [email protected]

P.O. Box 14103-00800Peponi Road | Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: +254 20 269 7442 or +254 20 8076067

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.aisa.or.ke

1. Connect with the AISA Executive DirectorTable of Contents

Connexions is the biannual newsletter of the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA), a non-profit education association supporting the professional learn-ing and school improvement strategies of international schools on the continent of Africa.

Through our programmes and services AISA provides for the varying needs of nearly 27,000 students and over 3,000 teachers and school leaders in 72 member schools across 34 countries in Africa.

Membership of AISA is open to elementary and secondary schools in Africa which offer an educational programme using English as the primary language of instruction and offer an international curriculum to suit the needs of its culturally diverse student body. Businesses and organiza-tions who support the mission of AISA are also invited to join as Associate Members.

Connexions is produced by:Editor: Chanel Ryall - AISA Director of Partnerships and Communications Creative: Kboodl

2 | February 2016 Edition February 2016 Edition | 3

Happy New Year from all of us at AISA. I hope you had a restful holiday and an opportunity to reflect on the more important aspects of life. But now the holiday is done, and it’s back to work for us all. Here in the AISA office we’re preparing for the upcoming AISA Leadership Conference (2016 ALC) in Cape Town (March 4-6). There is a special feature in this edition of ConneXions in which Teresa Arpin and I introduce you to the ‘AISA Code of Governance’. We will be speaking more about this important new addition to AISA’s knowledge bank at the 2016 ALC. Effective school governance will also be a focus at the upcoming inaugural AISA Heads Retreat in Zanzibar in September (more to follow on this ‘AISA Heads Only’ event soon).

Also in this edition of ConneXions we introduce the con-ference programme line-up for the 2016 AISA Educators Conference (AEC) in Johannesburg next October. Our Director of Professional Learning (Graham Watts) and his team on the AISA Professional Learning Working Group have designed what will surely be our best Educators Conference yet. Innovative, differentiated, needs driven, current, captivating, and fun are just a few of the words I’d use to describe the AISA 2016 AEC. Much more on our website soon about this so be sure to check in online at www.aisa.or.ke/aec2016.

We’re so excited about the upcoming AISA-Global Issues Service Summit (AISA-GISS) being hosted by the Interna-tional School of Tanganyika from 12-14 March this year. The theme for this year’s summit is ‘Funguka’- a Kiswahili word that means ‘to open up’, ‘stand up’, ‘advocate’. One day I hope all our member schools will be able to partic-ipate in one of our amazing AISA-GISS events. From their simple beginnings, our Global Issues Service Summits are now a key part of AISA’s wider Service Learning Programming. If you’re interested to know more please contact our Service Learning Coordinator – Tara Barton ([email protected]).

You may have noticed our publications have had a bit of a ‘face-lift’. Chanel Ryall (our Partnerships & Communica-tions Coordinator) has been working hard to revamp many of AISA’s publications and now we’re ready to launch our new logo. We feel this expresses more accurately our strong ties to Africa, our vibrant and innovative approach to what we do, and the joy and passion we bring to our work as a community of high quality, international schools.

We hope you like it. Let us know what you think on our facebook page. And speaking of high quality, international schools – please take some time to read the fascinating articles some of our member schools have contributed to this edition of ConneXions. We really are a diverse and talented lot!

Enjoy the rest of your year – hopefully we will meet soon at one of the many professional learning events we have lined up for you.

Dr Peter BatemanAISA Executive Director


Schools in Africa


The AISA Art Challenge is an exciting annual competition that seeks to foster and strengthen the connections amongst students and teachers from AISA member schools. Each year, AISA invites students from to submit art work for inclusion in the AISA yearly calendar. This year AISA received over 40 entries representing 13 different schools. We also posted a number of the submission on our Facebook page and received an overwhelming response. The AISA team had a hard time coming up with the 12 winners and we’d like to commend all students who shared their talents with us.

AISA would like to congratulate the following 12 students who will have their work published in the calendar and receive an Apple iPod Shuffle:

As we head into the second part of the school year we have a wide range of exciting Professional Learning Institutes (PLI’s) across the continent that offer highly specialised learning with world class facilitators. These learning opportunities fill fast so register soon. See Section 2.5 below to read more about these PLI’s and to book your place.

Measuring the value and impact of our professional learning on student learning and students as learners is very important to us and to our schools. The Professional Learning Working Group (PLWG) has been exploring new strategies that will allow us to better understand the return on investment for schools when an educator at-tends an AISA Professional Learning event. From January

2016, AISA is piloting an innovative approach to track and measure the impact of each of our PLI’s. Every PLI partic-ipant will be invited to report on the impact of a PLI on their knowledge, thinking and practice in the classroom. By collecting this data AISA will be able to verify how our PL events not only impact our teachers but our students also. This will in turn help us refine our programme so that we are better able to ensure students in AISA schools gain tangible benefits from AISA professional learning. This is an exciting pilot and outcomes will be shared in the next edition of ConneXions. For further details of the AISA PL Impact Measure Pilot, feel free to contact me; [email protected]

2. AISA News and Events2.1 Announcing the AISA 2016 Art Challenge Winners 2.2 Measuring the Value of Professional Learning

By Graham Watts, AISA Director of Learning

Yula KimThe International School of Uganda

Sarah SchimtzThe American School of Kinshasa

Alissar EidLincoln Community School

Michelle CheongLincoln Community School

Asanatou KantaInternational Communi-ty School of Abidjan

Aliyana ManjiInternational School of Tanganyika

Tolulope OsunkoyaIbadan International School

Megan HansonRosslyn Academy

Savannah VoneshAmerican Int School Cape Town

Shiran WangKhartoum International Community School

Vivian MillerAmerican International School of Lusaka

Yashvi ParmarBrookhouse, Kenya



Schools in Africa

“We must live in the radiance of tomorrow as our ancestors have suggested in their tales. For what is yet to come tomorrow has possibilities, and we must think of it, the simplest glimpse of that possibility of goodness. That will be our strength. That has always been our strength.”

Ishmael Beah, Speaker at AISA GISS 2016

2.3 AISA GISS 2016: Funguka – Are You Ready? 2.4 AISA Educators Conference (AEC) October, 2016

When March 12-14, 2016

Where International School of Tanganyika, Tanzania

Who AISA member school teams are warmly invited to join the host school for an unforgettable experience.

When October 16-19, 2016

Where Joburg, South Africa

Who AISA educators

The theme for this year’s AISA-GISS conference is ‘Funguka’. Funguka is a Kiswahili word that means ‘to open up’, ‘stand up’, ‘advocate’. A global citizen who embodies ‘Funguka’ is one that is open to new ideas, embraces different perspectives, speaks out and recognizes that positive change and responsible action starts from within.

For more information go to the web site:http://www.aisagiss.org/2016/

You Tube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLEAe60rVw0&feature=youtu.be

From the 16-19 October, 2016, AISA will hold its annual educators conference in Johannesburg, South Africa at the award winning Indaba Hotel.

With AISA’s move towards smaller, more targeted learning events, the AISA Leadership Conference (ALC) will now be held annually in March, while the AISA Educators Con-ference (AEC) returns to its October time slot. The AEC is purposefully designed for all those involved in teaching and learning, including counsellors and librarians. At AISA we believe that extended opportunities to learn have the most impact on improving your effectiveness. So we will keep our long format Learning Institutes (7.5 hours in total - divided over 3 days). You will be able to choose two of these Learning Institutes from the 24 we have programmed during the conference.

This year will also feature a newly created format called the AISA Learning Colloquium. The idea behind this is to create a space during the conference to foster a deeper level of participant engagement and a rich transforma-tional learning experience. Components of the Learning Colloquium will include:

• Learning Partners: These sessions, facilitated by AISA Associate Members, are designed to introduce you to new ideas, products and services that can add significant value to your school. The structure of these workshops will be informal, allowing delegates to ask questions and where appropriate, have a hands-on experience of the product. All our Associate Members are highly reputable organisations that we are confident meet the highest professional standards in their area of expertise.

• Innovative Practice Series: These sessions provide an opportunity for educators in our region to showcase their exemplary work. There is excellent practice taking place in AISA schools across the continent and we want to showcase this to honour the innovative and high impact approaches our teachers have developed. These workshops are facilitated by educators who meet our selection criteria. To learn more and to apply to lead an IPS workshop, visit our website and apply online.

• AISA Unconference: All AISA participants arrive with expertise, valuable experiences and questions of their own. The AISA Unconference is a structured time for participants to come together to discuss topics and address questions of their choosing. The flexible nature of the Unconference allows people to post a question or topic and for those who share the interest to meet together at a specified time to discuss and share ideas. When the discussion ends, participants can move on to another topic or break off into informal discussions. This peer led activity allows participants to talk with like-minds and to focus on their particular interest.

• Space To Be: New to the AEC will be dedicated times for delegates to, perhaps for the first time, try some mindfulness techniques. Sessions on offer will include mindful breathing and guided meditation. A yoga ses-sionwill also be on offer, so don’t forget to pack your work-out gear.



Schools in Africa


The AISA Educators Conference (AEC) Daily Programme

TimeDay 1

Sunday 16th Oct

Day 2Monday 17th Oct

Day 3Tuesday 18th Oct

Day 4Wednesday

19th Oct

8:30 - 11:00Morning Institute

Session 1Morning Institute

Session 2Morning Institute

Session 3

11:00 - 13:00 AISA Learning Colloquium

11:15 - 12:15AISA Learning

Partners PresentAISA Learning

Partners PresentAISA Lewarning Partners Present

11:15 - 12:15Open Space

UnconferenceYoga

Open Space Unconference

12:15 - 12:45AISA Innovative Practice Series

AISA Innovative Practice Series

AISA Innovative Practice Series

12:30 - 13:00Mindful Breathing

(12:30 - 12:45)Guided Meditation

13:00 - 15:30 RegistrationAfternoon Institute

Session 1Afternoon Institute

Session 2Afternoon Institute

Session 3

15:30 - 16:30Learning Cohort

MeetingsLearning Cohort

MeetingsFree Afternoon

Learning Cohort Meetings

16:30 - 18:00Welcome

Opening Plenary4 x 10 Ideation

Free Afternoon Conference Closes

18:00 - 19:00 Opening Cocktail Gala Evening

Focus Area Session Title Facilitator Level Session Time

Service Learning

Starting Service Learning through Community Engagement

Tara Barton

Discover & Explore

AM

Meaningful Integration: Service Learning in the Curriculum

Embed & Sustain

PM

Wellbeing

Mindfulness and the Brain

Tim Burns

Discover & Explore

AM

The Anatomy of Possibility:Integrating brain, body, and heart

intelligences for enhanced wellbeing, learning, creativity, and health

Discover & Explore

PM

Inquiry Based Learning

Creating Classroom Inquiry by Making Thinking Visible

Mark Church

Discover & Explore

AM

Developing Thinking Dispositions to Deepen Inquiry

Embed & Sustain

PM

Co-teaching

Co-teaching – Building on the basics to develop outstanding practice

Marilyn Friend

Embed & Sustain

AM

Co-Teaching: Classroom Partnerships to Ensure the Success of ALL Students

Discover & Explore

PM

Highly Capable

Easy is Boring; Impossible is Depressing. 10 Strategies for Task Differentiation

Ian Warwick

Discover & Explore

AM

Realising the Potential of More Able Students

Discover & Explore

PM

Technology/ Teaching Math

Using Excel as a Powerhouse Tech Tool for Teaching Math Margaret

Paterson

Discover & Explore

AM

Making Problems: Creating Constraints to Inspire Infinite Possibilities

Discover & Explore

PM

AISA EDUCATORS CONFERENCE (AEC) LEARNING INSTITUTE TITLESThis year’s AEC offers 24 Learning Institutes over 12 focus areas and led by 12 expert facilitators, ensuring a wide range of topics for all educators, no matter your experi-ence or the size of your school. In addition to the numer-ous focus areas, AISA is offering Learning Institutes at two different levels, depending on your previous experience and expertise. Differentiating our Learning Institutes in this way will help you choose the right session, at the right level, for your specific learning needs. Participants will

be able to choose from Explore and Discover Institutes for those who are exploring a topic for the first time or Embed and Sustain Institutes for those who are already very familiar with the topic and who are now looking for the next steps to develop good practice.

Full Learning Institutes details and information on all our facilitators can be found on the AEC web site at:www.aisa.or.ke/conference/AEC2016/

On three of the afternoons space has been created for Learning Cohort Meetings. These sessions have been designed to give participants time to reflect, discuss, apply and consolidate their learnings as the conference progresses.

In addition to the above, AISA will also host a number of social events such as the Opening Cocktail and the Annual Gala, a highlight of the AISA calendar.

Supplementing the conference programme will be exhibits from our learning partners, AISA Associate Members. The exhibition hall will be open for the length of the con-ference, with representatives from an array of Associate Members on hand to answer your queries and introduce you to products and services that will be beneficial to your school.


Schools in Africa

Focus Area Session Title Facilitator Level Session Time

Literacy: Teach-ing & Learning

Approaches Pre K - Grade 6

Personalising Learning in Literacy Workshops

Laura Benson

Embed & Sustain

AM

How to Set Up a Writing WorkshopDiscover &

ExplorePM

Technology

Finding Balance: Technology Integration for Teaching and Learning

Ryan Harwood

Discover & Explore

AM

Tipping the Scales: Advanced Technology Integration for Teaching and Learning

Embed & Sustain

PM

Blended Learning

Using Blended Learning to Engage Your Students

Mark Engstrom

Embed & Sustain

AM

Digital Platforms to Enhance LearningDiscover &

ExplorePM

Teaching & Learning

Igniting a Passion for Learning

Rich Allen

Discover & Explore

AM

High Impact Teaching in the XYZ Era of Education

Discover & Explore

PM

Action Research

Learning through YOUR Teaching: Action Research for Educators

Donna Phillips

Discover & Explore

AM

“It’s not my Job – Is It? Essential Academic Language and Literacy for High School

Content Area Teachers

Discover & Explore

PM

Teaching & Learning

"Don't Work Harder Than Your Students - Let Them Do The Thinking?"

Karen Boyes

Discover & Explore

AM

Developing Self-Directing Learners with Habits of Mind

Discover & Explore

PM

AISA EDUCATORS CONFERENCE (AEC) REGISTRATION

Registrations are now open for the AEC with significant discounts for those who register before the Early Bird deadline of 16th August, 2016.

To find our more information about the full programme and links to the online AEC Registration system go to the AEC website at:www.aisa.or.ke/conference/AEC2016/

AEC TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION AND VISA INFORMATION

This year the AEC will be held in beautiful South Africa. Please note that many passport holders will need to obtain a visa before you travel. Please read visa details carefully to ensure that you comply with South African Immigration procedures. Full details can be obtained on the AEC web site.

Hotel accommodation will be available at the Indaba Hotel, the venue for the 2016 AEC.

The 4 star hotel offers a peaceful environment, away from the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg. AISA has secured a special rate for AEC delegates:

Single Occupancy: R1,090, approximately US$75Double Occupancy: R1,650, approximately US$110


“The 2016 AEC will be the professional learning opportunity of the year for international educators in Africa, bringing international experts together with outstanding educators from across the continent will create a great opportunity to network with others. I hope to see you there!”

Graham Watts, AISA Director of Learning

AISA Educators Conference (AEC) FeesFull Members

US$Affiliate Members

US$Associate Members

US$

Early Bird $555 $630 $555

Full Registration $580 $670 $580


Schools in Africa


2.5 AISA Professional Learning InstitutesThere is still time to register for the remaining Professional Learning Institutes (PLIs) that are scheduled for the re-mainder of the 2015/16 school year. These final PLIs have a strong focus on some of the core support functions and extra/co-curricular activities that happen in our schools.

For more information on any of our institutes, see the AISA web site for full details or email us [email protected]

This institute will explore Service Learning, including the teaching and learning strategies that integrate meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

Learning Outcomes: Participants will• Understand service learning and how to integrate it into the curriculum• Compare and contrast the value and implementation of community action versus

service learning• Examine examples of good practice in the provision and implementation of service

learning• Learn how to examine and audit community needs• Examine service learning standards and benchmarks to measure impact and progress• Plan for implementation at their own school via a unit planning exercise

This Institute brings together PE and emerging technologies. Jarrod Robinson is a Physical Education teacher from Victoria, Australia, with a passion and enthusiasm for the role emerging technologies play within the teaching and learning of PE.

Jarrod’s work has included leading professional learning with teachers around the world as well as developing award winning apps under his pseudonym The PE Geek.

This unique three day Institute is at the leading edge of professional learning in the sphere of PE. It explores instant feedback in practical PE, video analysis & video based assess-ment, teacher efficiency and organisation tools, innovative teacher resources and global collaboration tools, assessment & portfolios in Physical Education, augmented reality & flipped instruction and Google Apps in PETo develop practical technology applications in PE classes.

As your school strives towards excellence how do you contribute towards this?

This institute has been designed specifically to build on many of the skills, behaviors, and confidence levels that Executive Assistants (EA), Personal

Assistants (PA) and Officer Managers need to reach their full potential and to successfully lead change.

The institute contains two days of essential ‘how to’ workshops that seamlessly empower EA’s and PA’s to lead, strategize and achieve.

The largest spend in a school budget is on human resources; how do you ensure this is money well spent and that your human resource management is leading to school effectiveness?

This institute has been designed specifically to meet the needs of HR managers in international schools in Africa.

In the fast changing context of international education, getting the best hires is essential for school success, so this institute will explore essential strategies and good practices for those leading HR.

WHEN 12-14 MARCH, 2016 – CONCURRENT WITH AISA-GISSWHERE SEA CLIFF HOTEL, DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA

WHEN 7-9 APRIL, 2016WHERE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL KENYA (ISK)

WHEN 16-17 APRIL, 2016WHERE ROSSLYN ACADEMY, KENYA

WHEN 16-17 APRIL, 2016WHERE ROSSLYN ACADEMY, KENYA

Tara Barton

Jarrod Robinson

Angela Gary

Claudia St John

Service Learning 101

Physical Education and Technology with the PE Geek

Achieving Excellence for Executive Assistants in International Schools

Achieving Excellence for Human Resource Manager in International Schools

Gabriel Limaverde


Schools in Africa

You may be asking:

Will this approach lead to role confusion?

How much time will it take to get Trustees ready for this work?

Will their deeper understanding of school life

place me, as the school leader, in a vulnerable position?

We will explore potential pitfalls, how to avoid them and how to begin this journey with school leaders and

Trustees during the 2016 ALC

Who is the AISA Code of Governance for?Head of School: in some schools, this personis called the Director, Headmaster, Superintendent or even Principal. It is the one person hired by the Board (or owner) to manage and lead the school. In a very small school this person may have a teaching role. In a larger school, this person will be supported by a team of principals, a business manager and other administrators.

Board: this is the body of people that is responsible to the school community for holding the Head of School accountable, overseeing the financial decision making, and for setting the vision and mission of the school. In some schools this could be an owner or owners. It could be a for-profit educational investment firm or a non-profit NGO. In many schools in Africa it is a group of elected and appointed parents.


When March 4-6, 2016

Where Cape Town, South Africa

Who AISA leaders

In this edition of ConneXions we feature a number of articles from facilitators at this year’s AISA Leadership Conference (ALC). If you’ve been wondering if the ALC is worth the investment of your time and resources, then perhaps these articles will convince you. And for those of you who cannot make the conference, we hope they provide some valuable insights to get you started.

The structures for governance in AISA member schools are varied, transitions are frequent and trustees often lack experience in the governance role. AISA school heads and school Boards may have limited access to support mechanisms and professional learning opportunities that would assist their work. Often the infrastructure is challenging, and the operating environment can be unsta-bleor unclear. Student learning and school effectiveness

are at risk when the Board and school leaders change often or lack experience in their roles. In such an environment, school the Board and school Heads must quickly learn to plan and work together, developing a relationship based on trust and understanding of their mutually supportive leadership roles.

Understanding that good governance is an essential part of school effectiveness, the AISA Board made a commitment to providing support to school leaders in this area. As a first step, the AISA Board identified behavioural indica-tors of effective governance during their October 2015 retreat. AISA’s Code of Governance1 addresses the basics, such as roles and responsibilities and fulfilling fiduciary requirements of school boards. These indicators aredi-videdinto seven domain areas:• Clear Roles & Responsibilities• Fiduciary Responsibilities• Effective Governance• Boards as Strategists and Visionaries• Sustaining the Head of School• Conducting the Business of the Board• Board Oversight of School Success

The accompanying indicators for each domain can be found on the next page.

1 With thanks to Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA) for the original draft of these indicators

3. Learning Connections

3.1 Towards a ‘Code of Governance’ for AISA SchoolsBy Teresa Arpin & Peter Bateman

As part of the governance strand of the 2016 Leadership Conference, we will introduce this code of effective governance and explore how school leaders can use the indicators contained therein with their Trustees. Partici-pants will be encouraged to share their own exemplars, allowing everyone to incorporate some new tools in their governance toolbox.

Consistent with emergent thinking about governance, the AISA indicators also embrace developing Trustees strategic and generative roles. The current work in generative governance is grounded in the work of Richard Chait, et al. The concept of generative governance reframes the role of non-profit boards as collaborators with school leaders in the process of generative thinking. The work of school leaders today often goes beyond solving technical prob-lems.It requires they work through adaptive challenges that require new thinking and new ways of interpreting situations, and therefore, operating. School leaders who see this adaptive work as their domain alone have fewer resources than those who are able to engage their Trustees in the collaborative process of generative thinking.

T his approach to governance requires that school leaders efficiently and effectively orient Trustees to their fiduciary roles so that they can introduce their boards to a more sophisticated and value-added role. In the governance strand of the 2016 AISA Leadership Conference in Cape Town we will explore how to develop Trustees under-standing and use of generative modes of thinking. Gener-ative governance also introduces new complexities to the governance landscape.

AISA School Headers RetreatSave the Date: 24th- 25th September, 2016 In response to feedback from our members, AISA is going to hold our first ever Heads Retreat in Zanzibar, Tanzania. This event is only open to our Heads of Schools. It will be a significant time to connect with other school heads, reflect and learn from each other. This really will be an event you won’t want to miss.

February 2016 Edition | 15


Schools in Africa


1. Clear Roles & ResponsibilitiesA highly effective and engaged board has clarity around roles and responsibilities, aligning its work and per-formance with organisational values and vision. This requires boards to work both strategically and insightfully in collaboration with the Head of School.

• The Board understands the nature and value of the fiduciary, strategic, and generative modes of gover-nance, and use mechanisms to distinguish among and promote each of these modes.

• The Board understands the meaning and value of good practice and ensure their own board practices and policies are so aligned.

• The Board establishes a process to ensure a current Policy Manual.

• The Board recognizes the difference between gover-nance (their responsibility) and operations (the Head of School’s responsibility).

• The Board understands the role of the officers of the Board and the unique responsibilities of the chair.

2. Fiduciary ResponsibilitiesSchool Boards have a legal responsibility to ensure finan-cial viability for the present and future generations of stu-dents of the school, focusing on both the short term and strategic development of the school. The Board also have an ethical responsibility to ensure transparency, avoid conflicts of interest and promote effective communication with the school community.

• The Board devises processes to assess and address risks.

• The Board ensures rigorous financial audit procedures are in place.

• The Board uses an annual declaration of “conflict of interest” as part of board policy.

• The Board operates in compliance with the laws of the host country and the country of their incorporation.

• The Board recognizes the critical attributes of effective crisis preparedness and response and articulate the board’s role and responsibilities in an Emergency Pre-paredness Plan.

• The Board understands the role of confidentiality in the board’s operation and addresses breaches when they occur.

• The Board uses a variety of practices that fulfil their fi-duciary responsibilities including indicators of financial health (emergency reserve levels, enrolment levels etc)

3. Effective GovernanceTo ensure effective governance, Boards have a responsi-bility to sustain membership, participate in professional development, reflect on the Board’s performance and demonstrate behaviours that the school community should aspire to emulate.

• The Board understands their By-Laws and governance documents and have maximized their effectiveness.

• The Board has strategies for identifying, recruiting, selecting, and inducting new The Board when vacancies occur.

• The Board annually conducts both ongoing and sum-mative appraisals of the Board’s performance.

• The Board has a plan for ongoing development to increase effectiveness.

• The Board organizes itself into committees and when necessary task forces to accomplish its work.

• The Board uses operational norms of behaviour and commit to “essential agreements” to model these norms in all school settings. The Board use strategies for preventing, intervening in, remediating and learn-ing from incidents of “misbehaviour”.

4. Boards as Strategists and VisionariesEstablishing and sustaining a strategic direction for the school is a responsibility shared by the board and HoS.

• The Board understands their school’s “mission,” “vision,” “values,” and “objectives,” and can articulate the purpose served by these guiding documents.

• The Board and HoS collaborate to implement processes to review and revise the school’s guiding documents

• The Board ensures that policies, procedures, and prac-tices are aligned with the precepts established by the school’s guiding documents (By-Laws, Mission, Vision, Objectives, etc.)

• The Board understands the importance of developing and sustaining a financial plan in order to support the school’s overall strategic intent.

• The Board ensures the school has a facilities master plan, understands its purpose and scope, and updates it annually as needed.

• The Board, in collaboration with the HoS, understands the “value add” benefits of strategic and generative governance and use specific mechanisms to stimulate and promote it as a regular part of their work.

5. Sustaining and Strengthening the Head of SchoolA successful, healthy school requires an open, supportive and mutually respectful relationship between the Head of School and the Board.

• The Board honours the role and perspective of the Head of School, recognizing the singular capacity and responsibility of the board to nurture, support and ultimately hold the HoS accountable.

• The Board uses policy and evidence-based standards to undertake a performance based appraisal process for the HoS that is linked to evidence, the job description, annual goals, and professional development plan.

• The Board understands and supports the unique rela-tionship between the board chair and the head.

• The Board has an explicit procedure for succession planning including an emergency succession plan for the HoS and a thoughtful search process for a new HoS.

6. Conducting the Business of the BoardThe Board establishes policies, procedures and essential agreements that define the Board’s behaviours and how it conducts its business.

• The Board reviews the relevance of the board’s struc-ture and operating procedures.

• The Board articulates the purpose of board, has pro-tocols for these meetings, including: development and structure of agendas, “rules” for the meeting itself, frequency and duration of meetings, use of “working” (or “executive”) session, and recording of minutes. The

Board develops and implements an annual working calendar.

• The Board understands the difference between com-mittees and task forces; has criteria and rationale for standing committees; and establishes terms of refer-ence indicating how they will function.

• The Board uses a Codes of Ethics consistent with their school’s stated mission, vision and values.

• The Board understands the importance of effective community relationships and follows communication protocols.

7. Board Oversight of School SuccessA responsible Board holds itself accountable for moni-toring the school’s success in fulfilling its mission, vision, values, educational objectives, and strategic intent.

• The Board identifies and uses performance indicators for monitoring and evaluating school performance.

• The Board translates data to “information” and, based on that, takes appropriate board action. They use perceptual data appropriately and use multi-year trend data to draw conclusions.

THE AISA ‘CODE OF GOVERNANCE’

TERESA ARPINTeresa is President of Transformation Systems, working with educational organizations both nationally and internationally since 1996. She specializes in leadership development, strategic planning and organizational transformation. She has worked with boards of edu-cation, schools and school districts large and small, across the United States and interna-tionally, including: China, Poland, France, Czech Republic, Malaysia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Puerto Rico, Russia, Japan, Singapore, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

DR PETER BATEMANBorn in Australia, Dr. Peter Bateman has worked in the education sector in Africa for the past 25 years during which time he has developed a particular interest in differentiated approaches to supporting Professional Learning for international educators.

Having been an educator and administrator in International schools, Peter also has an inter-est in developing and facilitating online Communities of Practice that enable collaboration.

Teresa Arpin

About the Authors

Dr Peter Bateman


Schools in Africa


STRATEGIC: NARRATING THE FUTURE OF THE STORY

If the fiduciary function of effective governance can be associated with proper stewardship of the story of our school, then it could also be argued that narrating the future of the story can be directly linked to the Board’s strategic role; after all, Chait explains, any organisation needs to look beyond stewardship of what it has to “future purpose, connection and fulfilment” (2005, 51).

The problem with strategic plans, however, is that they can quickly lead to disillusionment; either relegated to piles of wishful thinking that bear no resemblance to any financial, political or cultural realities, or devoid of any real ideas and bogged down in endless, burdensome bureaucracy and committee-based revisions.

The practice of storytelling may help us find a way through this impasse. After all, good stories – as with all effective plans – are often good precisely because of their ability to navigate extremes and offer a path somewhere in the middle-distance between too much and too little ‘reality’.

So rather than sitting down trying to engage in the myste-rious art of planning, try first pitching the future of your school as you would most like it to unfold in a story format. And if that doesn’t work, just take a long hard look at your school’s website. School websites often mirror exactly the dilemma that Boards face insofar as they are at one and the same time an expression of the kind of school that we are and the kind of school that we want to be.

GENERATIVE: STORYTELLING AS IMPROVISATION

Generative thinking, Chait explains, is where Boards have the opportunity to work ‘at the boundary’(2005, 111); to reflect, engage in conversation, and look for creative ways to frame and re-frame the story of the school through playfulness, hypothetical thinking, and honest questioning.

The communications imperative in this mode travels in two directions. First of all, effective communication must provide a mechanism whereby feedback from the wider community can flow into this playful arena and throw up new possibilities and alternative scenarios. In other words, communications by the Board in this moment

must begin by listening to the voices of others before paying attention to any collective voice of its own.

Properly done, surveys are an effective mechanism for lis-tening on a regular basis amongst large groups of people. Surveys give credence to the view that we are learning organisations and that we flourish – as do our students – in an environment where feedback is valued and regularly solicited. Assuming we are prepared to throw these thoughts, suggestions, ideas and comments in the melting pot of generative thinking, the question then is what do we do with them and how do we allow them to infiltrate the direction of the school without becoming blown about by the winds of individual opinion?

Key here is understanding the fact that improvisation never occurs in a vacuum; it always turns upon a theme, like a musical improvisation that, despite the playful melodic tunes of the artist, continues to turn upon an underlying direction, as well as the constraints of the piece as whole. Effective communications, in other words, is determined by our ability to listen and re-tell the story in such a way that, without diverting from the lexicon of our Mission and Vision, those around us feel embraced, included, and caught up in the story that is our mandate to narrate.

CONCLUSION

There can be little doubt that at the heart of effective governance is effective communication. The practice of storytelling can be helpful in understanding how communication is central to the fiduciary, strategic, and generative modes of Board work. After all, if it is in any sense true to say that Boards are guardians of the story of a school, it surely follows that the task is also to narrate the next chapter of this story in ways that all stakeholders understand, have participated in, feel connected to, and can support well into the future.

Richard Chait’s work framing of the work of non-profit Boards provides a natural starting point for any discussion on effective governance and the importance of a clear communications strategy. Boards, he suggests, have three modes – fiduciary, strategic, and generative.1 Here we examine the invaluable role storytelling can play within each mode, amplifying the effectiveness of each and thereby strengthening the board’s governance capacity.

FIDUCIARY: STEWARDSHIP OF THE STORY

The fiduciary function of effective governance turns upon the Board’s ‘duties of loyalty and care’ (Chait, 2005, 34). These goals are familiar and often assumed to refer to the practical and moral business of ensuring that resources are safeguarded, preserved and deployed to advance the school’s mission. However, the articulation of this mission - the story of the school – can sometimes remain overlooked or, at worst, ignored completely. A story un-told is a story that can all too quickly become the victim of unintentional drift and manipulation. Three words, in this respect, are key: intentionality, alignment, and voice.

IntentionalityThere is no doubt, as Gottschall explains in his recent work on The Storytelling Animal, that all humans are innately predisposed to storytelling.2 However, we some-times wrongly assume that having good communication tools at our disposal – a set of policies, a modern website, push email solutions, glossy publications, and so on – are somehow sufficient in and of themselves. Good gover-nance requires the energetic, passionate, intentional and ongoing effort of trustees, in partnership with the school’s leadership team, to find the right words and articulate where the school has come from, where it is today, and what its future might be.

1 Richard P. Chait et al (2005). Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards. John Wiley and Sons.

2 Jonathan Gottschall (2012). The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human. First Mariner Books.

Alignment Once upon a time, I had the opportunity to support a Board Chair who was extremely concerned about the fact that no one in his school community appeared to embrace the future that he and his fellow trustees were imagining for the organisation. In his view, the community was literally moving in several different directions at once. The more we talked, the more obvious it was as to why this was happening: there was no structural alignment between the key storytellers in the organisation.

This structural alignment can be simply described by thinking about four main storytellers in any school com-munity: the Board Chair, the Head of School, the Commu-nications Director (or whoever might be responsible for performing these tasks) and the Admissions Officer. Each of these actors literally ‘embody’ the story of the school and play an important role in ensuring sustained focus upon a common identity and set of goals. They are the structural spine upon which the rest of the community depends if it is actually going to get the story straight; which, in practice, means they need to be connected and commit to regular and planned conversations with one another.

VoiceEffective storytelling is as much about voice as narrated content and most people would concur that transparency is key to speaking in a voice that builds trust amongst the community. However, in practice, despite almost univer-sal affiliation to such values, many of us will approach communications with a sense of fear about what might happen if we actually were to practice what we preach.

In his book, To Sell Is Human, Daniel Pink underlines this point.3 He explains how “we’ve moved from a world of caveat emptor, buyer beware, to one of caveat venditor, seller beware – where honesty, fairness, and transparency are often the only viable path.” (4). Indeed, Pink suggests that all the evidence now points to the fact that unless we are transparent and prepared to communicate our weaknesses, we risk being mistrusted by those around us.

3 Daniel H. Pink (2013). To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Persuading, Convincing and Influencing Others. Canongate Books.

3.2 Getting the Story Straight: Effective Governance and CommunicationsBy Dr David Willows, Director of Admissions and Advancement at the International School of Brussels


Schools in Africa

At the AISA Leaders Retreat in Cape Town next month, we are offering a ‘deep dive’ for school leaders and anyone else who is interested in coaching. We are looking forward to a hands on workshop with plenty of opportunities to engage in professional conversations where we explore coaching as a culture to continuously improve teaching and learning in our schools.

WHAT’S SO HOT ABOUT COACHING?

Many international schools have embraced the idea of coaching as a way to improve teaching and learning. It seems a great way to provide teachers with ‘just in time’ professional learning that responds to their individual needs. According to literature, significant changes in teaching practice take place when teachers work regularly with coaches. We also know that pro-fessional develop-ment followed up by coaching is much more effective than professional devel-opment alone.

The reality is, that it is far easier to embrace the idea of coaching than it is to put it into practice. We tend to come across the same questions at many workshops about coaching: “How do coaches get into classrooms to work with teachers?”; “What does it actually look like to coach teachers?”; “How can I support coaching in my own school?”; “How do we coach teachers when we ‘wear both hats’? “

Having grappled with getting coaching off the ground in our own school for the past five years, we can certainly empathise with some of the challenges. One realization we have had, and that we have been trying to explain clearly to our own staff, is that ‘coach’ is actually a verb and not a noun. The improvement in teaching and learn-ing is what counts, and a person doesn’t necessarily need the word ‘coach’ in their job title in order to coach.

Over time, some guiding principles have emerged for us and for others on a similar journey:

Have a clear definition:• develop a clear definition of what you actually mean by

coaching and ensure that it is understood by everyone in the school

• explore different types of coaching models• recognise the difference between coaching, mentoring,

supervising and evaluatinget up some frameworks:• clearly articulate teaching practices through rubrics

with a focus on goal setting and growth • build-in structures that provide plenty of opportu-

nities for professional learning and regular time for collaboration

• keep structures flexible so that they are responsive as the context grows and changes over time

• develop a repertoire of coaching practices and toolkits and track their effectiveness

Nurture the culture:• foster a culture of trust, respect and support through

teaming• take time to clarify the relationship between faculty,

coaches and all educational leaders

For Further Reading• Richard P. Chait et al (2005). Governance as

Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards. John Wiley and Sons.

• Jonathan Gottschall (2012). The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human. First Mariner Books.

• Daniel H. Pink (2013). To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Persuading, Convinc-ing and Influencing Others. Canongate Books.


DAVID WILLOWSDavid has known the life of an academic, taught primary aged children and post-graduate students, been an editor of two international journals, enjoyed planning and implement-ing a communications project for the European Commission, acted as an advisor to the Bishop of London, experienced mental healthcare as a chaplain, published articles and books on a variety of subjects in the fields of philosophy, theology, storytelling, knowl-edge management, international education and organizational theory... and not all in that order!

LIZ HARGREAVESLiz has taught across all divisions and grades and has worked in international education for nineteen years, including the last seven years at AISJ. Her previous teaching positions ranging from High School Design teacher to Middle School and class teacher in Elementary School in various schools in England and internationally strengthened her passion for curriculum and pedagogy as a whole.

David Willows

Liz Hargreaves

About the Author

About the Author


3.3 Coaching for LearningBy Liz Hargraves

BELIEFS

We believe there is value in the participation of the whole school community in strategic planning. We believe that when the school community participates in the strategic planning process it will lead to improved practice, accountability, and ownership in all areas of our school community. According to Rogers and Smith (2006, p50) “evaluation is either about proving something is working or needed, or improving practice or a project”. While the approach will measure our movement toward our goals with indicators similar to traditional strategic plans, it will also measure changes in actions, practices and be-haviours as both qualitative and quantitative data leading to improved practice.

RESHAPING THE PLANNING PROCESS: THE OLD

Formal strategic planning, “which took its name and much of its ethos from a military model, reflected hierarchical values and linear systems of traditional organizations” (Wall and Wall, 1995, p.2). Our old approach to strategic planning looked similar. Specific goals and objectives were identified, a person responsible was determined and the end results were measured.

THE NEW

We are building on the ideas stated by Dewey (1963) when he said that “No point in the philosophy of progressive education is sounder than its emphasis upon the impor-tance of the participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which directs his activities in the learning process” (p. 699).

This process involves collaboration from the ground up. Representatives of each Strategic Partnership: Students, Educators, Parents, and Decision Makers met and created a shared vision and mission. Within this process, a new language was adopted: Stakeholders are now Strategic Partners; and Indicators are now Progress Markers. Mea-surable outcome statements were developed that later subdivided into Progress Markers. Each Strategic Part-nership self-identified between 12 and 19 measurable outcome based Progress Markers mapping the pathways of change to address in the next five years. The outcomes were very similar across the strategic partner groups, which gave us confidence that we were on the right track in identifying sound, community-supported objectives for the school.

Musings from our PartnersStudents:“I am enjoying the process and feel that I can share what students need. I also understand the school better. I feel important.” (Grade 5)

“I like how the process is inclusive in decision making. I feel like administration wants to know our opinion and what students need and want and they should after all, school is for us. I am honoured to be a part of the process.” (Grade 11)

Teachers: “Because of its inclusivity, I think this plan rep-resents the voices and needs of a larger group of students and teachers. I am now very familiar with our mission and know what types of quali-tative and quantitative data to collect to evidence change” (Middle School)

Parents:“The school is making an attempt to make deci-sions more inclusive of our opinions in the Prog-ress Markers. I am hopeful.” (Parent of Primary and Secondary student with healthy scepticism).

Decision Makers: “I find the whole process fascinating. It poses a more constructivist view of strategic planning but presents the challenges associated with change and a new world view”.

Dr Mary Jo Heatherington, Director of AISM: “In previous years, strategic planning was always a collaborative process in the first phase of devel-oping a plan; however, once the implementation phase was initiated, identifying and monitoring the strategies, collecting data and reporting out was the responsibility of administration. Outcome Mapping depends on continuous collaboration among all partners as we each contribute to the reflection process. This will not only add ease to reporting, but makes the reporting a holistic pro-cess and the reports, living documents”


This year AISM celebrates its 25th anniversary. Twenty- five years of growth has led to a student body of 615 students, representing 43 nationalities, with IB exam results exceeding worldwide averages, resulting in all of our college-bound graduates being accepted into tertiary institutions (and most students are offered their first choices). This year we also begin our new five year strategic planning process. With a highly professional international staff and parent community, we feel our current level of success allows us to be innovative and pioneering from strategic planning through to teaching and learning.

Under the guidance of consultants, we have set out on a community inclusive outcome-based strategic planning process called Learning Based Management (LBM). LBM is based on the years of research behind Outcome Mapping, a planning process used by many NGOs. The “originality of this approach lies in its shift away from assessing the

products of a program to focus on changes in behaviour, relationships, actions, and activities in the people, groups, and organizations it works with directly” (Earl, et al. 2001, p.140).

Learning-Based Management allows us to engage in eval-uative thinking every day, not only at prescribed periods.

CATALYST

Like many schools, our Administration and School Board interviewed consultants to begin our five year planning process. Learning Based Management caught our atten-tion. With ongoing monitoring, increased collaboration in the learning process, and the use of quantitative as well as qualitative data to tell a story, the process was seen as a perfect fit to grow the strengths and represent the needs of our community.

3.4 Connected From the Start: One School’s New Approach to Strategic PlanningBy Sharon Canadine, Director of Teaching and Learning at the American International School of Mozambique.


Schools in Africa


Schools in Africa


Further Reading and References• Earl, S., Carden, F., Patton, M. Q., Smutylo, T., & International Development Research Centre (Canada). (2001). Outcome

mapping: Building learning and reflection into development programs. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.

• Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York, NY: Kappa Delta Pi. Kindle version.

• Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London: Routledge.

• Patton, M. (2001) Forward. Earl, S., Carden, F., Patton, M. Q., Smutylo, T., & International Development Research Centre (Canada). (2001). Outcome mapping: Building learning and reflection into development programs. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre.

• Rogers, A. and Smith, M. K. (2006) Evaluation: Learning what matters, London: Rank Foundation/YMCA George Williams College. Available as a pdf: www.ymca.org.uk/rank/conference/evaluation_learning_what_matters.pdf.

• Wall, S and Wall, S. (2015). The evolution (not the death) of strategy.” Organizational Dynamics Autumn 1995: 6+. Academic OneFile.

SHARON CANADINE Director of Teaching and Learning, American International School of Mozambique

DUSTIN COLLINSAsst. Principal at the American School of Kinshasa

Sharon Canadine

Dustin Collins

About the Author

About the Author

Active parent engagement and conversations about learn-ing can be heard within the community at the American School of Kinshasa (TASOK) in the Democratic Republic Congo. This year, TASOK administration and various teachers have introduced monthly workshops for parents focused on how to best help their children succeed. The overall purposes of these workshops are to:• Help parents engage in group discussions and learning

activities• Build a stronger parent community• Provide new strategies, research, and resources to

support children at home• Work collaboratively with parents to support growth in

learning for both the parents and the students

A FOCUS ON LEARNING HABITS FOR K-8 PARENTS

In September, over 60 parents of K-8 students partici-pated in the workshop, “Three Effective Learning Habits of Highly Effective Students.” These participants were treated to a TASOK produced, Charlie Chaplin style video, which highlights effective learning habits through the eyes of TASOK students at (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtaodUFwrSo). Learning activities followed with five stations to choose from focusing on learning habits in alignment with the new K-8 report card system which separates learning habits from academic achievement.

In an upbeat and exciting approach to discussing learning habits, TASOK’s Middle School team also released their very first music video entitled, “TASOK Students are Worth It” for the TASOK school community focusing on the three effective learning habits of highly successful students: engagement, initiative, and organization. This music video can be accessed at (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrTS5XcZaB4).

LITERACY WORKSHOP FOR K-5 PARENTS

October’s workshop integrated a variety of learning activ-ities and latest research for parents focused on six topics:• Tech Resources to Support Literacy Learning at Home• The Importance of Reading in Your Mother Tongue• Understanding Reading Assessments• Fostering a Love for Writing• Expanding Vocabulary with Word Work• Content-Based Vocabulary Strategies that Work

Elementary school teachers provided this hands-on work-shop to support literacy growth at home.

FUTURE WORKSHOP PLANS

The American School of Kinshasa continues to emphasize the importance of parent learning in our community as these opportunities have a direct impact on student learning. We look forward to future monthly workshops to further meet the needs of our parent learners.

3.5 At The American School of Kinshasa (TASOK) Parents Learn Too!By Dustin Collins

“The content of the workshops and the way they were built, was based on research and practice, and therefore innovative and inspiring to read more about it! As a mother of 4 kids in elementary, middle and high school, I have some experience with the organization of homework, engaging and inspiring students, but still I learned a lot and it was inter-estingto exchange experiences with other parents. I learned how to make it more exciting to develop reading skills with my 7 year old and I regret that I didn’t have this workshop years ago...”

Barbara Lemahieu, Parent at TASOK

WHY?

“Outcome mapping provides not only a guide to essential evaluation map-making, but also a guide to learning and increased effectiveness, and affirmation that being atten-tive along the journey is as important as and critical to, arriving at the destination” (Patton, 2001)

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Since we are collecting and reflecting on data regularly, we will evidence change in practice, behaviors and relationships by our first annual report. We invite you to question and follow this process.

Together, we are committed to fostering a caring, respect-ful and participative community.


Schools in Africa


4. School ConnectionsIn 2015 Corona Schools Trust marked the momentous milestone of 60 years. Many events were undertaken to mark the occasion and celebrate with the school and local community. These pictures are from the various celebra-tions that took place.

In the early 1980s Aisha Aliko Mohammed’s long standing idea of establishing an international school became a reality when she opened the doors to Aisha Mohammed International School in January 1985, presently known as Kaduna Interna-

tional School (KIS). It is a not for profit Nursery and Primary school which aims to disseminate learning combined with international understanding and friendship. The school is a fully accredited member International School belonging to AISA and COBIS.

Over the years KIS has offered a warm and caring envi-ronment that helps expatriate children settle into a new country and culture and offers both Nigerian and expatri-ate children a chance to broaden their horizons through contact with children of diverse backgrounds.

KIS has a great deal to be proud of. It has led the way in international education in Nigeria and is recognized as a school of excellence. KIS leaves a lasting impact on the lives of those it touches, this is evident in the depth and strength of the responses we receive from those who have left.

KIS has for the past 30 years been delivering exceptional skills and learning in nursery and primary education and we have taken it a step further by introducing the Year 7 class in the 2015 academic year. We will consolidate on our success story and pass on same to our secondary.

KIS is an Educational trust, supporting less privileged local schools with donations and collaborations in a bid to provide excellent education for the children in the community.

The first school in Africa to get a customised Monopoly Game (Corona Anniversary Edition)

60th Anniversary Dinner: Professor Yemo Osinbajo - Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Corona Alumnus, comes to dinner at Shell Hall, MUSON Centre.

Press conference

Charity Walk Members of the Trust Council, parents, management staff, teachers and pupils of Corona School’s Trust got out into the great outdoors to walk in support of quality education for all children and also to raise funds for the public schools ado.

Art Exhibition

4.1 Corona School Trust Celebrates 60 Years

4.2 Kaduna International School Celebrates 30 Years

During the last semester of the 2014-15 school year, the 8th grade class developed a service learning project-recording oral histories of Accra. Students spent time in English and Humanities classes learning about the importance of oral history,

listening to and watching examples of oral histories and reflecting on their personal history left behind through social media. Through this process students began to de-veloptheir interview and writing skills while considering what information would be important and interesting to gather.

Students then interviewed someone of their choice about their experiences coming to Accra. The results were fasci-nating as many students had incredible conversations with people from all walks of life; nannies, drivers, policemen, businessmen and expats.

We plan for this to be a yearly project for the 8th grade with the topic shifting slightly each year. It is our hope that over time we will create a valuable resource of recorded stories and interviews of and for the people of Accra.

Visit: https://sites.google.com/a/lincoln.edu.gh/grade-8-oral-history-project/home

4.3 Service Learning at Lincoln Community School, Ghana: An Oral History Project


Schools in Africa


Namibia gained independence on 21st March 1990. It used to be said that the first two things a newly independent nation needed were an airline and a football team but I’d like to think that an interna-

tional school has now replaced the airline. (Though every nation still needs a football team!)

Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, gained its international school less than twelve months after achieving indepen-dence. The school was legally established on 4th Decem-ber 1990 and opened its doors on 16th January 1991. The formal opening ceremony followed a week later on 23rd January 1991.

By great good fortune (or some wise person’s foresight) both the 16th and 23rd January fall on Saturdays in 2016 and these two days will bookend a week of celebrations at the school. A particular pleasure and privilege is that the Right Honourable Nahas Angula, erstwhile Prime Minister

of Namibia, will be guest of honour at the gala dinner on the 23rd. He spoke at the opening ceremony in 1991 and will speak again at the dinner – 25 years to the day after opening the school.

And in the audience to hear him will be a teacher who was there to hear his first speech in 1991. Genie Albrecht has been with the school from the very beginning and today is still inspiring young people with her love of art.

If the school is looking back with pride, it can also look forward with confidence. Student enrolment is at an all-time high and a recent community-wide exercise has given the school an exciting but realistic strategic plan to take us to the end of the decade.

Readers of ConneXions will know the satisfaction and pride we get from watching children grow and mature. Sometimes there is no less pleasure in seeing our schools make a similar journey from childhood through adoles-cence and into adulthood.

4.4 Windhoek International School Turns 25By Peter MacKenzie, Director, Windhoek International School


The American International School of Cape Town is alive and well and growing down here on the tip of the continent.

On October 27 we reached an all-time enrolment high of 450 students,

ranging from age 2 to Grade 12. Along with this enrol-ment growth comes facilities growth. On September 4 the school opened our newly renovated cafeteria and welcomed the new catering service Feedem Pitseng to rave reviews. On October 14 the school held another ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new sports changing rooms. And now the plans are in motion to build an Early Childhood Development Centre/Performing Arts Centre to open in the 2016-2017 school year.

All these changes support our school’s mission: To provide students with the opportunities, resources, instruction and environment to pursue academic and personal excellence through an international school curriculum with a US orientation and to help them form the basis from which to become lifelong learners and productive, involved citizens in a changing, global society.

If you are in Cape Town, please do contact us and/or stop in for a tour: [email protected]

4.5 The American Intentional School of Cape Town

For more information, visit collegeboard.org/si-intl

For over 40 years, our Summer Institute has provided comprehensive, interactive training on U.S. admissions for counselors at international secondary schools and advisers from not-for-profit organizations.

NYU New York City | June 19–24, 2016

The College Board’s

Summer Institutefor International Counselors at NYU

© 2016 The College Board. 00296-003


Schools in Africa


5. Associate Connection

Dear Friends of AISA,I am Tim Elgren, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Oberlin College and a Founding Advisor of the Pioneer Global Research Program. It is an honour for me to an-nounce the launch of the Pioneer AISA scholarship, which will grant full, need-based scholarships to three outstand-ing students from the AISA member schools so that they can participate in the Pioneer Global Research Program next summer.

Since its founding, Pioneer Academics has strived to break down geographic and socioeconomic boundaries in order to provide intellectually curious high school students around the world with the best possible mentorship and research opportunities. In these four years, my peers at other U.S. universities and colleges and I have had the opportunity to guide students in undergraduate-level research projects and to inspire them in the pursuit of academic excellence.

The Pioneer Global Research ProgramThe Pioneer Global Research Program is a unique en-richment experience that allows high school students to complete undergraduate-level research projects under the mentorship of leading U.S. college and university professors who are experts in the students’ fields of in-terest. Conducted entirely online, students participate in five small-group sessions, in which the professor guides the group of students, never more than four, through the fundamentals of the chosen research area, followed by five one-on-one sessions, in which each student works one-on-one with the professor on a research topic in that field. Each student’s research culminates in an undergrad-uate-level research paper, which the professor evaluates at the standard applied to undergraduate students in his/her institution.

With more than 20 available research areas, students can choose to delve deeper into the areas in their school cur-riculum that interest them, such as physics, mathematics or history, or to explore disciplines that are traditionally taught less or not at all in high school, like neuroscience, anthropology or philosophy. Whichever field the student

chooses, the student will benefit from the guidance and mentorship of a full-time professor from a top U.S. univer-sity or college, such as Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, or Oberlin College, who is an expert in the field.

Oberlin and Pioneer have just unveiled two new initiatives which mark a breakthrough in higher education. Pioneer students will earn Oberlin course credit for completing the Pioneer Global Research Program. This marks the first time in Oberlin’s history that the school will grant course credit to students who are enrolled remotely. Ad-ditionally, Pioneer students will have access to all of the online resources that Oberlin makes available to its own students, including a vast array of scholarly journals, the music library of Oberlin’s world-renowned conservatory and the art library of the College’s art museum, one of the top college art museums in the U.S. These two initiatives are the newest ways in which we are able to bring the best liberal arts educational experience to top students around the world.

Student NominationEach AISA full member school will be able to nominate one candidate to be considered for a Pioneer AISA scholarship. Candidates should be enrolled in Grade 10 or 11, fluent in English, strongly self-motivated, and have a strong academic background. The student should be willing to commit to the program upon acceptance of the scholarship, and should have access to Internet on a computer with webcam and microphone throughout the course of the program.

More details on the nomination and selection process can be found on AISA’s website.

Thank YouI want to end by sincerely thanking AISA for this opportu-nity to further spread our international outreach and for their help in making this remarkable opportunity available to students in Africa. We are looking forward to meeting some of your students and inspiring them to pursue their academic interests!

5.1 AISA and Pioneer Join to Launch a New Student Scholarship Opportunity

DR TIMOTHY ELGRENDr. Timothy E. Elgren, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Oberlin College, is nationally recognized as a distinguished teacher-scholar in the chemical sciences.

He holds a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College. Dr. Elgren taught for 21 years at Hamilton College where he received $1.5 million in external funding for research projects and was the recipient of the John R. Hatch Excellence in Teaching Award.

Dr. Elgren is respected by his colleagues for his commitment to transcending boundaries and for inspiring and fostering collaborative learning environments that cultivate and support diverse perspectives.

He is a non-compensated Founding Advisor of the Pioneer Global Research Program and a past faculty member of the Program, mentoring students interested in interdisciplinary projects related to the regulation of toxic substances.

Dr Timothy Elgren

About the Author

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Broaden your students’ horizonsWith BridgeU, students are empowered to select from universities from around the world for the first time ever.

Apply with confidenceAnalytics on acceptance rates to international universities enables students to dedicate more effort to applying for their most desirable and realistic options.

Harness parental supportIndividualized reports on their childrens’ progress helps keep parents in the loop.

Maximise efficacy of your counselling sessionsStudents prepare using our strategy advisor so that they get the most out of your counselling sessions.

ENABLING STUDENTS TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR THEIR FUTURES & HELPING THEM TO BE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR UNIVERSITIES


Schools in Africa

ASIA StaffPeter Bateman | Executive Director

[email protected]

Graham Watts | Director Professional [email protected]

Chanel Ryall |Director of Partnerships and [email protected]

Constancia Munene | Finance & Administration [email protected]

Barnabas Suva | Office [email protected]

Steve Muthiitene | Executive Assistant & Events [email protected]

Welcome to New Associate MembersAlexander Beard Group http://www.abg.net

BridgeU https://bridge-u.com/schools

CES Holdings http://www.cesholdings.com

inResonance http://www.inresonance.com

Documents

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