From the Head of School (Announcement of the new MS/HS principal for August 2023)

 

The New Principal for August 2023

The response of most people when they first visit ISA, is ‘wow, what a campus!’  It’s a modern building, with amazing facilities set in beautiful grounds. I often remind myself, i is a privilege to work here.

But our campus is not what makes us a great school.  Before the pandemic, I may have speculated that to be the case; during the lockdowns I witnessed day after day that what made our school special was its community: the relationships teachers maintained with students; the support of parents.  

Therefore, the most important decisions that school leaders make is the hiring of staff.  Who we bring into our community has a far more significant impact on our community than resurfaced tennis courts or new speakers in the theatre.

This week we appointed a new middle/high school principal to start in August 2023. However great a teacher is, they will always do it better in the supportive environment that a good principal creates. This is not a decision we could afford to get wrong. 

All our staff should have values that align with ISA values. They shouldn’t just be willing to sign up to them; they should mean something in how they behave every day, they should be revealed in the kinds of relationships they have.  For a principal, this is crucial - they set the tone and maintain the standards.  Before hiring we need to know that they are capable of making decisions that are not just technically correct but always refer to our core guide of ‘every child, every opportunity.’

We had nearly 50 people apply for the middle/high school position.  We selected six to talk to in the first instance.  They were all impressive - lots of leadership experience in IB and international schools.  From those six, we picked two to meet our broader community.  I asked CECs from Grades 5 to 12 and the PTO board to talk to both candidates, as well as the middle school student council, the high school student council and staff.  

Our selection panel had got strong impressions of each candidate in the first round of interviews.  We wanted to see how they interacted with our wider community.  We also interviewed them again to drill down on their experiences, their educational vision and how they apply their values.  

I am glad to say it wasn’t an easy choice.  Both our final candidates were fantastic.  After much discussion, we offered (and he accepted) to Stuart MacAlpine.

Stuart is currently a senior director and the head of playful learning at the LEGO Foundation.  Before that he was the founding principal of Green School in New Zealand. He has also been the Director of Teaching and Learning at United World College Singapore.  He is a founding director of Education for Amala - a charity aimed at ensuring refugees get a high school diploma, and is a visiting team member for CIS.

Stuart’s first degree is in English literature and has taught English both in his native UK and in Singapore.  

I am really excited to welcome him to the ISA team.