Head of School Notes

At NIS, we often speak about schools as learning communities. At the heart of this concept is, of course, student learning. It is why we come to work each day, why families entrust their children to us, and why our mission centers on student well-being and growth. Students are at the core of everything we do.

However, a true learning community extends beyond students. For children to thrive and grow, the entire environment surrounding them must also be focused on learning. Education is a profession in which teachers and staff continually strive to grow, improve, and deepen their ability to serve students effectively. And at NIS we take this very seriously.

This was perhaps most evident to parents in November, when students stayed home for two dedicated days of professional learning on campus. During those days, our faculty focused on making learning intentions within our curriculum more explicit and on developing a restorative practices approach to teaching, focusing on cultivating classrooms rooted in relationships. Just as we guide students to improve when they make mistakes in academic subjects, we believe the same approach should apply to social and relational challenges.

Yet, although visible markers of our professional learning culture, these two days were just a snapshot of the ongoing professional learning at NIS.

Parents will already be aware that every Wednesday we have a shortened day for students, allowing teachers and staff the time to collaborate in professional learning. The IB programs are highly collaborative, focusing on teaching children rather than subjects. This approach requires staff to continuously improve not only as individual educators in the classroom but also as part of collective teams dedicated to fostering a culture of learning for students. These Wednesday afternoons offer a wide variety of learning opportunities, from small-scale team discussions and department or grade-level work, right up to whole-school initiatives on areas such as child protection and safeguarding, curriculum alignment, and well-being and relationship development.

Outside of these times however, over the course of the year, staff engage in a wide variety of courses, training, and coaching sessions, both online and face to face. Many of these are organized by the IB, which are important for us to attend in order to stay contemporary with best practices in our chosen curriculum. But many others are not. For example, at the current time, we have a large number of staff involved in personal coaching with outside facilitators in the areas of leadership and intercultural teaching.

A large number of our staff are engaged in professional learning to advance their capacity to lead. Many of our senior leadership team members have been or are currently engaged in obtaining their Principal’s Certification from the Principal’s Training Center, which is widely regarded as one of the foremost organizations for senior administrators. Others are involved in middle leadership training with the same organization. Additionally, we have staff who are part of collaborative networks, such as job-alike groups in Japan and organizations like the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS), the Special Educational Needs in Asia (SENIA) network and the Japan Council of International Schools (JCIS).

So, being a teacher at NIS does not simply mean coming to school and teaching classes each day — it means being connected to your colleagues and the wider world in a spirit of continued evolution and growth as a professional!
 

- M. Parr, Head of School