The Puzzle: Blog

Three countries, five cities, nine schools, and ten flights in eleven days.

In mid-November, I embarked on a whirlwind tour to parts of Asia, which had me visit our client schools in Taiwan, South Korea, mainland China, and Hong Kong. The trip was an incredible professional and personal experience that I will remember fondly for the rest of my life.

This is the first post in a series I'm writing about my trip to Asia.

Taipei

Starting the trip visiting with Sharon Hennessy, Head of School, and Richard Hartzell, Upper School Head, at Taipei American School (TAS) was a wonderful way to begin my journey. After years of working with the school and assisting them in hiring, it was a real pleasure to visit and step on to campus, and see the community in action. The school does indeed live up to its reputation; it is an impressive K-12 school community. From the performing arts program, science research lab, design lab, and fitness center, the school has shining stars in every facet of the community. In the Virtual Reality class we visited, students were putting the final touches on a program they have been developing from scratch. I’m really excited to see the final product of the Tech Cube at TAS, which plans to open for the 2018 school year. I am sure this will be an impressive state-of-the-art facility establishing TAS as a leader in 21st-century education. It was an exciting tour of the school, and I was truly inspired by the leadership and direction of the community.

From there, I was off to Seoul, South Korea, to visit Seoul Foreign School and then over to Incheon at the Chadwick International School.

Seoul Foreign School

Barry Benger, Director of Human Resources at Seoul Foreign School (SFS), was an incredibly gracious host. We toured the campus, and Barry provided tremendous insight into the SFS K-12 community. An IB World School, SFS has 50 different nationalities on campus and is the most internationally diverse school in Korea. The school offers a full array of academics, arts, and athletics, and a truly positive spirit is felt as you walk through the hallways. An established community (the school celebrated 100 years in 2012), the school is now building a new high school facility which should open for the 2018 school year.

The Head of School at Chadwick International School, Shelly Willie, and Chris Choi, Director of Human Resources, welcomed me with open arms. We had a wonderful conversation and a tour of the campus. In only its seventh year, Chadwick is experiencing tremendous growth, currently at 1,100 students, and is looking to grow to around 1,300. They offer PYP, MYP, and IB curriculum (2016 is their first year of the IB program). Diversity in every way is the real ethos of the Chadwick community, seen in the unique experiences and relationships students and their families are offered. (Chadwick International School is the sister school of Chadwick School in Palos Verdes Peninsula, California, USA. Many of the same values and core competencies are shared between the two schools.)

After visiting with Chadwick International in Incheon, and being so impressed with the school, I hopped a flight to Beijing, China, where I visited Western Academy of Beijing and Keystone Academy.

Outside of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China

Founded in 1994, Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) is a well-established and dynamic K-12 school community. I had a terrific meeting with Deputy Director John D’Arcy, School Director Dr. J Courtney Lowe, and High School Principal Melanie Vrba. Sometimes my visits to schools can be conversations that are very much a Q&A session, but this conversation was different. We sat around a table in John’s office and looked at an illustrative perspective on the school’s Mission, Values, and Core Concepts that WAB wants their community to embrace. It was an incredibly thoughtful conversation which highlighted the school’s desire to make sure they are doing what they say they do, and that in the end, the students are not just prepared for their next step, but will be well-informed, engaged, and contributing citizens in their respective communities.

Keystone Academy

Keystone Academy is one of a kind. It is a K-12 school, with a boarding component for grades 7-12 which mandatory for grades 9-12. Keystone is only in its third year, having opened its doors in 2014. The school is a bilingual (Chinese/English) immersion school that blends Western and Eastern traditions in a liberal arts community. David Beare, current Dean of Faculty, was incredibly gracious and welcoming, and he articulated his inspiring thoughts on the community. We toured the state-of-the-art campus, and I was able to see the brand new upper school library, performing arts center, natatorium, squash courts, science labs, and the Chinese dance room. Teaching at Keystone or attending Keystone is a tremendous treat. This is a school that will be one to watch in the coming years, and I have a feeling Keystone is going to find tremendous success.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my trip to Asia, as well as my thoughts on how this trip will shape the exciting future of CS&A's work with schools abroad.

Todd Gochman is a Placement Associate at CS&A working with Biology/Life Science, Chemistry, and K-8 Science. He also coordinates CS&A's school visit program.

Back to Blog

0 Comments

There are no comments on this blog entry.