Regional Council
Ms Anne Fowles
Head of School
Suzhou Singapore International School, China
Ms Fowles has been a school administrator for around 20 years beginning with schools in New Zealand and then international schools in Fiji, Mongolia, Thailand, and China. This year, she took up the position as Head of School at the Suzhou Singapore International School in Suzhou near Shanghai. This is the fourth school she has worked in that has all three IB programmes.
She was trained as an ISCP leader before it was taken on by the IBO to become the PYP and then introduced the PYP into two schools. She has been equally invovled in the MYP and from 2004 to 2008, she was Chair of the MYP Committee of the IBO. In addition, she has taught ToK.
Over the years, she has expended effort in advancing IB in China/Mongolia with the last three years chairing the sub-regional meeting at the IBAP conference and more recently chairing a Steering Committee that is setting up an IB Association for China/Mongolia.
She was selected as a presenter for the HAS conference in Seville in October 2009.
Ms Fowles has been a member of the Regional Council since it took over from the IBAPHRC and RAC two years ago. She is passionate about the IB, its programmes and mission.
How can the IB tap into your expertise/experience?
With diverse experience of international and national schools in six Asia Pacific countries I have a good understanding of the needs of the region. I am an advisor and experienced team chair of the Council of International Schools, New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and Western Association of Schools and Colleges and last year my school was the first of three in the region to host a joint accreditation/ evaluation visit for CIS/WASC/NCCT/PYP/MYP/DP.
I am also a trained MYP evaluator so I have extensive experience in accreditation and school evaluation systems.
I am the Vice-President of the Association of China Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) with particular interest in professional development and a Director on the East Asia Council of Overseas Schools (EARCOS) – where possible I suggest ways in which these organizations can work well with IBAP.
What do you think are the strategic imperatives and challenges for IB in this region and how do you think it can meet them?
- The size of the region, distance eg from Mongolia to New Zealand and cultural and linguistic differences across the region. I think that with the growth in the region there is more need for sub-regional support as well as travel on the part of IBAP office to gain an understanding and provide support. On-line resourcing and support. Use of video conferencing etc.
- Differing needs of schools/programmes given the above and the variety of national and international schools and likewise, support.
- Maintaining high quality professional development opportunities given the above and ensuring equivalent/consistent means of evaluating programmes/schools in a range of situations. Using the strengths of trained personnel, workshop leaders as well as practitioners from a variety of countries and backgrounds in the region.
What are the two lessons you learned in your career that you would pass on to others?
- Sometimes to move forward we need to move sideways and backwards first:
- In Asia we need to be like the willow – our roots clinging to what we believe is professionally, ethically and educationally the best , yet prepared to bend a little in our approach to people and situations in the short term to gain the best long term! “Understanding that others with their differences can also be right” (from IB mission)
- It is very easy to get caught up in what we do on a day to day basis – take time to reflect on your vision and where you/your school are going long term, do a reality check and refocus whenever you can….it’s important and worth the time doing it!
Contact
IB Asia Pacific Regional office
IB Asia-Pacific
15 Hoe Chiang Road
# 11-04/06 Tower Fifteen
Singapore 089316
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
Phone: +65 6776 0249
Fax: +65 6776 4369
Email: ibap@ibo.org
