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The IB in Please select Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Bermuda Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Cambodia Canada Cayman Islands Chile China Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Guam Guatemala Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Korea, Republic Of Kuwait Lao People’s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic Of Malawi Malaysia Malta Mauritius Mexico Monaco Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Zealand Nicaragua Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tanzania, United Republic Of Thailand Togo Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S Zambia Zimbabwe

Regional Council

Ms Sally Holloway

Head of School

KIS International School, Thailand

Ms Holloway started her career in Primary Education after qualifying with a B.Ed in UK.  She taught in a local London Primary School which she chose for its multiculturalism.  After two years she taught science at the Primary and Middle School levels at Washington International School (WIS).  It was at WIS that she was introduced to the IB programs and she realized this was exactly what she was looking for as a teacher, and later as a parent. 

She had been frustrated teaching to such a culturally diverse community in UK within an educational system that did not entirely embrace this diversity.  She said: ‘IB was the missing link for me in this regard, but I also loved teaching a program that was not determined by often out of touch Ministry of Education leaders who did not look for teacher input into new initiatives.  As an IB teacher I really felt, for the first time in my career, that I and my students had ownership over the programs.’ 

Ms Holloway is currently teaching TOK in the Diploma Program. She considers herself to be extremely fortunate to have experienced all three of the programs as a teacher, rather than as a leader.  She moved to Bangkok in 1998 to become the founding Head of KIS International School, an affiliate of WIS.  The school was established originally as a Primary School only, offering PYP; however the parents asked the school to consider offering a full K-12 program.  As a result the school grew one grade at a time, introducing the MYP and then the DP, and this year the school will have its first graduates.  In 2005 she was co-opted to the Regional Council (or Regional Heads Representative Committee as it was then) for a six- month period to fill the space vacated by a Head who had left the region; during that time she was also on the organizing committee for the Heads Conference which was held in Bangkok that year.  She was co-opted again for another 6-month period a year later at which time she decided that she should probably put her name forward for election and serve a full term. Ms Holloway is currently serving her first three-year term on both the Regional Council and the Heads Council.

How can the IB tap into your expertise/experience?

I have worked in three continents, working in the state (UK), not-for-profit and private systems; each of which has its own set of difficulties.  I have first-hand experience of all three of the IB programmes.  I have worked with the Ministry of Education in Thailand through the International Schools Association of Thailand on numerous occasions and recognize the importance of developing this relationship and sharing opportunities with local schools. 

My school, KIS, receives a number of requests from schools who are in various stages of authorization/candidacy, to visit and we always try to accommodate this.  I think it is vitally important for schools and educators to make links and explore ways to share our knowledge and understanding without being competitive.  When we held the IB Heads Conference in Bangkok four years ago I worked with local IB schools to set up a number of student activities which were showcased during the conference; where possible we grouped students from different schools together for an activities demonstrating "IB-ness" rather than a particular school.  In some areas of Asia there are still some difficulties with IB recognition at the  university level; in Thailand students are frequently accepted with IGCSEs or a GED which they can use to enter university at 16 years of age, we are working hard to change the admissions process to adequately reflect the level of high school qualification achieved.

What do you think are the strategic imperatives and challenges for IB in this region? How do you think it can meet them?

• Growth of state schools accessing IB and the changes occurring within these systems.  The IB will have to ensure it has strong links with those connected to MOEs and educational leaders.
• Balancing the above with the needs of the International Schools which have less access to support
• Ensuring IB standards are met across such a diverse representation of schools

 

What are the two lessons you learned in your career that you would pass on to others?

• Take the time to be quiet and listen; it will help to formulate an informed decision and if done honestly will allow for you to keep an open-minded perspective; you do not have to have, nor should you have, the answers to everything.
• Don't lose sight of your integrity and try to model the behaviours that you expect in others (live the learner profile), and when you make a mistake acknowledge it to those who witnessed it!

What is the last book that you read?

The last novel I read was "Caspian Rain" by Gina Nahai.
I am currently reading "Intellectual Character" by Ron Ritchhart as part of a school book club.