History

United World College (UWC) was created in the 1960s inspired by German educational philosopher and founder, Kurt Hahn, to bring the youth of many nations together to promote peace. Today UWC has 18 campuses on 5 continents worldwide which educate 12,000+ students. UWC South East Asia (UWCSEA) is the flagship UWC college, which is located in Singapore, which serves over 6,100 students and employs over 2,500 staff across two campuses.  

Background

I had the privilege of visiting the East Campus and spending some time with Nick Alchin, UWCSEA’s head of college. I assume you’re reading this article because you’re passionate about education, if that’s the case, give Nick’s blog a follow, ‘Education, Schools, Culture’. He is gifted at making thinking visible in valuable ways.

Nick is also skilled at articulating UWCSEA’s core values, which has helped to unite the staff around the school’s strategic initiatives. Nick uses a unique process to share the college’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with everyone in the organization. As part of their professional development, each UWCSEA staff member makes multiple goals for the year, one of these goals needs to be aligned with a KPI. This process creates shared ownership of strategic initiatives and overarching school success. It is one thing for a head of school to repeatedly communicate about school improvement, it’s true that consistent messaging gets through to team members. But it is quite another to weave school improvement into the professional development of each member of the organization. You can imagine how this weaving serves to amplify UWCSEA’s strategic initiatives. 

Highlights

At the risk of oversimplifying things, UWCSEA’s history with the UWC movement is based on the ability to think outside the box. What I mean is UWCSEA is one of the few UWC colleges which is a K-12 school. By contrast, most UWC’s are designed to serve students in Grades 11 & 12, focusing on the IB Diploma Program. This ability to think outside the box is still present today on the UWC campus and was evident in my short visit. I saw it in their connection to parents, positive student behaviour, maximization of spaces, and warm treatment of guests. But I would be willing to bet their outside the box thinking extends to how they take care of their people, attempt to make the world a more peaceful place, and the way their alumni solve problems throughout their lives. 

While walking through the covered lobby at the center campus, I noticed a parent association room off to the side. Having a designated space for the parent association on campus isn’t for every school. However, I think rooms like this are important for building relationships with parent groups. Especially as top international schools are moving toward ‘parent university models’ where they offer courses and information sessions for parents on key topics. Having a designated room to host these important initiatives can be helpful. 

A friend of mine, Dr. Steve Sider, professor of Education at Wilfred Laurier University in Canada says that you can tell all you need to know about a school’s culture by visiting two rooms: the staff room and the bathroom. Increasingly, as I visit schools around the world, I find that this to be true. A good example is the secondary staff room at the East Campus which is spacious, well-lit, and provides flexible space for connection. 

East Campus has exceptional athletics facilities including gymnasiums with 7 full basketball courts, a gymnastics gym, multiple pools, covered futsal courts, climbing areas, and a high ropes course. Athletics facilities aren’t required for a healthy school culture, but they do contribute to wellness by helping students build physical literacy and explore physical activity pathways which they can use throughout their lives. 

4 Key Takeaways

• Make Thinking Visible: Consistently articulate your school’s values through multiple avenues: modelling, reflection, faculty ownership, learning activities, communications, and events. If polled, would your parents know your school’s core values? If so, which values need clarifying? If not, how can you communicate with them more clearly next semester? 
• All in Alignment: Be brave, bring the staff along on the strategic process. Share strategic goals and key performance indicators. Share the responsibility of meeting these school-wide goals with your leaders and teams. How can you involve your faculty in executing your school’s strategic initiatives? 
• Log Professional Learning: Having a personal system for organizing your reading and learning on various topics allows you to review and share what you’ve learned more easily. Do you have a system for organizing your professional learning so it can be shared with others? 
• Fabulous Facilities: An abundance of high quality physical education and recreation spaces allow students to expand their physical literacy and engage in the rest of their learning more effectively. How can you allocate your budget to elevate your facilities in the next few years? 

Build culture, unlock potential. Visit my Connect Page or send a message on LinkedIn. 

Stay tuned for more international school visits – up next Singapore American School!

Peace & Blessings, 

– Josiah