Head of School

The Awty International School

Houston, Texas, USA

2001 - 2013

I was invited by the Board to serve as Head of The Awty International School to advance its internationalism by implementing many of the measures I had introduced successfully at LPCUWC in Hong Kong.  As Head of School (the CEO of the organisation), I steered a period of significant growth during which Awty became the largest international school campus in the United States and the largest independent school in Houston (with 1500 students and 270 employees). Two major building programs were completed ahead of time and under budget.  Faculty retention rates strengthened, reflecting improving staff morale, and the demand for student places rose sharply, reflecting a substantial growth in the school's reputation.  A draft Strategic Vision was prepared after extensive community-wide consultation.  A new framework for senior staff appraisal was developed and implemented.  Transparency was improved, a BYOD scheme for students was introduced, the +Works program was introduced to strengthen the sense of community, and the old community service program was replaced by a Service Learning model.  Personnel restructuring was implemented, including the new role of Sustainability Coordinator.  100% staff and faculty participation was achieved for the first time ever in the annual fund, the school achieved its best ever IB Diploma results, and I personally negotiated and established a sister school relationship with a key school in Shanghai, China.  Throughout my time at Awty, I chose to stay in touch with my students and with my teachers’ daily needs by teaching full regular classes of Theory of Knowledge.  After my appointment (in 2010) but prior to my arrival (in 2011), Awty’s board entered a period of significant internal turmoil, division and instability, which required careful navigation on my part to protect the students and staff.  The experience of managing this turmoil provided me with many of the insights I use today in helping and supporting school boards though my consultancy work.

A gallery of photos showing Awty when I began my headship can be seen HERE.