Principal's Blog

The Midnight Mission Statement of Residential Life

by John Devadoss Have you ever wondered what truly happens in an international school boarding house long after the day students have left, the perimeter gates are secured, and the evening security...

Learning to De-implement

by Anthony Poullard 𝐀 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐜-𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩 During this past school year, a colleague walked into my office with a morning mic-drop: “We need to learn how to de-implement things because there is a lot on...

The Currency of Respect

by Rob Stewart When I arrived in Wuxi, China, as a newly appointed executive principal, I thought I understood how to build relationships with government officials. After all, I had spent years...

Beyond ‘Plug and Play’: Decoding Context for Successful Leadership

by Leanne Grundy From working in system level roles in the Middle East and China I’ve often observed that schools set up in collaboration with established international brands tend to presuppose...

Essential Question: How can Examination Evidence Help Schools Improve Learning, Rather than Simply Measure Achievement?

by Harparsh Saxena For educational leaders, assessment data often arrives as numbers, averages, grade distributions and attainment profiles that rarely explain why students performed as they did...

The Power of a Name: Culturally Responsive Leadership

by Trisha Law Hi, my name is Trisha Law.”Patricia? Do you go by Pat?” “Wait, how do you spell that? Like Tricia?” “Hi Triksha, I hope this email finds you well.”...

Will It Make the Boat Go Faster? Why Schools Need to Do Less

by Glenn Moodie Earlier in my career, I remember sitting in Heads of Department meetings, or talking to fellow Heads of Department from other schools, and discovering they were doing things I wasn’t...

Asking Challenging Questions as Leaders: Is Our Curriculum Undermining Our Schools’ Values? 

by Emma Louise Wheatley Often in education, we assume that if teachers know what to teach, good teaching will follow.* Experience tells us it is rarely that simple. But if a curriculum appears to...

Learning Centered Leadership

by Dr Mari Simpson Building the Conditions for Students and Adults to Grow
 When we talk about learning-centered schools, the conversation often moves quickly to students. We speak about agency...