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Returning to Brazil
Mal posso esperar para voltar ao Brasil este ano e continuar trabalhando com a Escola American do Rio de Janeiro, Graded e Escola Concept. Se você fala português, ouça meu novo podcast em português: Diversidade e Pertencimento em Escolas Internacionais.
I can’t wait to return to Brazil this year to continue work with Escola American do Rio de Janeiro, Graded, and Escola Concept. If you speak Portuguese, take a listen to my new podcast in Portuguese: Diversity and Belonging in International Schools.
Adjunct Professor at the Klingenstein Center, Teachers College Columbia University
I am delighted to share that I am starting a new position as Adjunct Professor in the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University!
I am thrilled to return to my alma mater, and to collaborate with Dr. Nicole Furlonge to build capacity of independent school leaders to foster and sustain inclusive cultures of dignity and respect.
American School of Barcelona
I am delighted to have begun our partnership building intercultural competency capacity with leaders at the The American School of Barcelona.
Over the course of two days, we convened a group of 40 teachers, counselors, board members, operations, human resources, and administrators to enhance ongoing efforts to foster and sustain an inclusive school culture of dignity and respect.
Content included reframing US notions to drive belonging specifically in an international and Barcelona context, aligning on the value proposition for ALL constituents, engaging in personal introspection, learning fundamental intercultural competency, and engaging in a SWOT analysis to collaboratively design short and longterm Belonging objectives and potential KPIs.
I look forward to our ongoing partnership during the 2024-25 academic year, engaging all staff, students, parents, and the board.
Many thanks to Dr. Johanna Cena, director of teaching and learning, Mark Pingitore, school director, and all workshop participants for their commitment to these ongoing efforts.
DEIB Executive Leadership Cohorts General Registration Open
General registration is now open for 2024-25 DEIB Executive Leadership Cohorts!
Registration ends June 15th!
This program is designed specifically for international school leaders who are committed to creating inclusive learning communities of dignity and respect. Don’t miss this chance to gain valuable insights, collaborate with peers, and develop effective strategies to make a lasting impact.
International schools struggle with designing and implementing efforts to foster belonging, as most models, language, and references are US-centric and do not resonate with international communities. On the contrary, diversity efforts in international schools are often polarizing and ironically exclusionary of local constituents.
Notwithstanding, leaders must address ongoing challenges related to student safety, identity-based harm, bullying, cyber aggression, and other forms of unkindness and exclusion.
Where do school leaders build their own leadership capacity to lead these efforts? Unfortunately, learning typically happens while navigating highly visible, volatile, and traumatizing belonging crises.
We are excited to launch General Registration for Cohort #2 and Cohort #3 of our DEIB Executive Leadership Cohort to build capacity to foster cultures of dignity and respect!
Cohort #1 Latin America
(Fully Committed)
After successfully completing Year one of the DEIB Executive Learning Cohort during the 2023-24 academic year, these school leaders have committed to a second year of ongoing learning and strategy during the 2024-25 academic year.
Cohort #2 Latin America
Limited Spots Available (11)
Cohort #3 Asia / Middle East / Pacific
Limited Spots Available (7)
Calvary Christian School: Adult Belonging Education
Earlier this year in February, I returned to Calvary Christian School to work with faculty and staff to build capacity around Belonging, specifically regarding intervention skills involving identity-informed harm via jokes.
Last week, I returned to facilitate adult education with parents and students on the same topic, with the goal of cultivating common language, deepening empathy, and for students, fostering upstanders to interrupt and intervene when they witness unkindness.
I look forward to YEAR 5 of my partnership to advance the school's Christian mission: "dedicated to the pursuit of academic excellence and the development of Christian values preparing students for leadership and service."
Belonging and Intercultural Competency Retreat with Hong Kong International School (HKIS)
I recently had the privilege of facilitating a two-day Belonging retreat at Hong Kong International School. It was a dynamic gathering that convened approximately 30 dedicated participants--including senior administrators, board members, high school students, teachers, counselors, human resources staff and the Diversity Committee-- to reframe conventional United States framings of diversity in a way that is both meaningful and actionable within the context of an American school situated in Hong Kong.
Through deep inquiry and open dialogue, we explored current international school trends and best practices, interrogated notions of diversity, engaged with the research around belonging and belonging uncertainty, psychological safety, child protection, and international school belonging survey trends.
We also dedicated time to aligning on the notion that all members of the community have inherent value and worth (dignity) and that we all have a responsibility to acknowledge this dignity (respect).
On Day 2, participants engaged in personal intercultural competency work, cultivating common understandings of identity, and exploring ways in which we have all constructed notions of self, and how this iterative notion informs perception of and interaction with others. The group also considered how the cultural context of Hong Kong, a high-context and collectivist culture, must be respected and integrated into the strategic framing and implementation of these efforts.
At the end of the second day, the group engaged in a strategic SWOT analysis to identity provisional Belonging Priorities for the 2024-25 academic year to to foster a culture of dignity and respect, ultimately striving to create a sustainable learning environment where every member of the community can thrive.
I am eagerly looking forward to returning in October to continue this critical work and build upon the strong foundation we established. Many thanks to everyone involved for your dedication and engagement!
EduLead 2024 at Taipei American School
I am looking forward to consulting with Taipei American School on Friday and to delivering the closing keynote at the EduLead 2024 Conference on Saturday. Jennifer Abrams is delivering the opening keynote, so the bar will be set super high!
DEIB Executive Leadership Cohort #1 Graduation
Congratulations to the 40 international and American school leaders who participated in Cohort #1 of the DEIB Executive Leadership Program.
These leaders dedicated over 30 instructional hours, 10 PLC hours, as well as numerous hours of reading, reflecting, analyzing case studies, and designing school- specific strategies and action plans to deepen belonging and foster learning communities of respect and dignity. Thank you for your commitment to better serving our students, families, faculty, and staff across Latin America.
Many thanks as well to Dr. Dereck Rhoads, executive director of American International Schools in the Americas (AMISA); Dr. Michael W. Adams, Ed. D., executive director of Tri-Association, and Dr. Robin Heslip, former Regional Educational Officer for LATAM. We would not have been able to do this work without your generous support.
I look forward to ongoing work with Year 2 of Cohort #1, and onboarding Cohort #2 in Latin America and Cohort # 3 in Asia during the 2024-25 academic year.
Global DEIB and Intercultural Competency
I am thrilled to kick off my journey with a new cohort of students at Parsons Paris – The New School as we delve into the intricacies of Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
I am honored to teach this inaugural course onsite in Paris, where we'll explore the complexities of Diversity outside of the Untied States.
I can't wait to embark on this educational voyage together, fostering deeper understanding, empathy, meaningful dialogue and empowering students to foster a better and more inclusive world.
Fostering Belonging and Respect at Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt, The American School of Lima
It was a pleasure to return to Lima to continue our efforts to nurture a culture of belonging and respect at Colegio FDR.
Over the span of two days, I facilitated discussions among parents, faculty, and staff examining Belonging trends within LATAM international schools; reframed our approach to foster belonging; and shared data regarding the positive impact of the emotional feeling of meaningful connections and the adverse effects of belonging uncertainty.
Leveraging my DEIB Action Plan Protocol™, participants delved into real-life scenarios, designing strategies for effective belonging interventions to address belonging infractions.
In student assemblies spanning K-12, I facilitated reflection regarding the nature of kindness and empathy, while candidly acknowledging instances of identity-related harm at school. How can we mitigate and address these behaviors? What practical steps can all students take? Additionally, I engaged in smaller group sessions with student leaders, employing case studies to empower them as change agents to foster a sense of belonging.
Finally, I administered the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) to school leaders, counselors and other designers of Belonging strategy, analyzing the results to help refine the FDR's Belonging framework. By recognizing our personal intercultural strengths and growth areas, we aim to operationalize these insights to enhance FDR's belonging strategies.
Many thanks to the entire community for their thoughtful engagement in this critical work. I look forward to returning next year!