School Accreditation
So after a long, long journey as a school, and a lot of hard work, the day is finally here…the visiting accreditation team arrived on Friday night! This is my third time through the accreditation process, with three different schools and in three different countries, and I have to say that with each time it feels really good to […]
Wired for Play
So I’m currently reading this amazing book titled, The Importance of Being Little, by Erika Christakis, and I literally cannot put it down. An outstanding educator, leader and friend of mine, Paola Pereira lent it to me after I saw her carrying it around last week, and it’s one of those books that makes you sad as you get closer […]
Students At The Helm
So we have been spending a lot of time and energy of late finding ways to inspire our students to lead their own learning. It’s been a true passion of ours as a school over the past few years honestly, to break out of the traditional model of education, and to come up with programs, units, assessments, structures […]
How Do We Spend Our Time?
So over the last seven years, almost all of my posts have been directed specifically toward educators about topics related to education. This week however, I’m going to widen the scope a little bit and direct this message toward anyone with a beating pulse. You see, over the past few weeks, three separate things have happened that have brought me […]
Kids and Sport
So last night was the closing ceremony of the CAISSA boys basketball and girls soccer championships hosted by Academia Cotopaxi. It was a wonderful event, and a true celebration of our student athletes from all across the region. The tournament began on Thursday morning, and I have to say that watching our […]
The Year Ahead
So we’re back to school after our holiday break, and we’re a week into a brand new year, and I’ve been thinking a lot over the past couple of days about an experience that I had during our vacation that has hit me like a fist to the jaw…an experience that […]
Unplug for the Holidays!
So the holiday break is agonizingly close, and I know that we are all excited about the opportunity to rest, relax, recharge, and to reflect on the last 4 and a half months of school. It’s been a long run to this point for sure, but thinking back I’m really proud of how much we’ve […]
People are Beautiful
So I have spent the last six weeks or so traveling around the world interviewing at amazing schools, trying hard to find that perfect long term fit for my family and career. It’s been an inspiring, exhausting, and exhilarating experience, and probably the best professional development that I’ve had in a very […]
Embracing Regret
So I’ve been going through the interview process a lot lately, both as a candidate and as a recruiter, and one of the questions that keeps coming up has to do with the idea of mistake making and regret. It’s a good question honestly, as it gets you to reflect critically […]
Inspiration Projects
So last year we got rid of traditional homework in our upper elementary grades, and we replaced it with inspiration projects instead, as a way for kids to bring their passions and learning to life. We still ask kids to read every night with their families, and we still personalize some home learning for students who may […]