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While engaging in the process of prioritizing Standards is highly meaningful and an excellent professional learning experience, your community may not have time to do this work for each content area. With efficiency in mind and to honor time and energies, turn to these vetted Priority Standards resources. You can discern which set works best for your school community related to your mission and vision for your school's curriculum in support of your students' learning and growth. Starting with a sound collection of Prioritized Standards can still give you and your colleagues rich opportunities to further customize your curriculum work and align these to the school's cultural context, your DEIJB work, and to nurture multilingualism (to name just a few key considerations here). These provided Priority Standards give you and your colleagues a place to start rather than starting from scratch. I hope you find these helpful and supportive. Don't hesitate to reach out to Michelle, Dana or myself if you have further needs or questions. All the best, Laura

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COX Princeton 2024 Leading Team Chemistry copy

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Hello and thank you for joining our Small International School PLN!  I created this small schools community as part of role as ISS's Director of Curriculum and Professional Development for International Schools Service in response to the blessings and challenges I saw and see within small schools around the world.  By coming together to share thinking, problem solve needs and innovate edifying learning for the children and adults of our respective schools, we gain professional friends and partners.

Since beginning our ISS small schools PLN, we have joined forces with the ECIS and AISA's small schools special interest groups. I have included links and information for these vital groups here and encourage you to become part of one or both of these groups to expand your network and connections.

Michelle Kuhns and I are available to support schools with curriculum development, implementation, resourcing and review through ISS's OPtimize Consulting Services. Please contact Tom Hawkins to schedule and secure our curriculum support - thawkins@iss.edu

Additionally, Kevin Bartlett and I are working to support curriculum resources and efforts with our BLISS project. More information about BLISS is also offered in this section of our 2024 Ed Leaders Conference Padlet. Cheers and best wishes!

For questions or connections, my email is lbenson@iss.edu

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ISS Small International Schools:  Curriculum Support Possibilities and Key Learning and Teaching Considerations

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ISS Small International Schools:  Curriculum Support Possibilities and Key Learning and Teaching Considerations

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Small International Schools PLN Workshop and Updates - Laura and Michelle

ISS OPtimize Curriculum Support Services from Michelle Kuhns and Laura Benson

*Please contact Tom to schedule and secure our curriculum support - thawkins@iss.edu.

Together, we can support and/or help you lead your school's curriculum design, implementation, reviews and resourcing work.

Critical Importance of Building and Nurturing Community as Small Schools

Relationships first

Putting in and nurturing systems for leadership, learning together, living together…

Social and emotional learning and mental health efforts: Proactively planning for fatigue from everyone wearing so many hats as small school leaders and educators (for this workshop - focus on curriculum “divide and conquer” advice along with encouraging participants to join the ECIS and/or AISA small school networks); isolation; crisis management; self-care for Heads of School (very lonely and hard job as HoS is often the only administrator in small schools or, at the very least, has a very small team and/or is located in a very remote region of the world)

Curriculum Leadership (specific to small schools)

Blessings and challenges of being a small school educator:

Wearing many hats/size of faculty necessitates everyone doing multiple jobs

Small or no leadership team - Head of School is often curriculum lead but also needed as the lead for every other focus/function for the school (business, learning, etc.)

Curriculum development, especially with so few people and/or because teachers do not yet have experience, confidence and/or desire to develop curriculum;

Suitcase curriculum realities

Huge asset of nurturing multilingualism…true inclusion for all members of the school community; Do we know how to support each child?...each language?...each and every culture?...have the learning resources we need in multiple languages/the language of our school community?

Relationships and trust with parents (One example - Small schools are often at the mercy of very involved Board or Board Members who may or may not understanding learning and teaching well…such as what is happening around the Science of Reading in many school schools right now)

(Often, but not always) remote location and, thus, even more challenging access to worthy resources and/or expeditionary learning

Curriculum Leadership Role/s Clarity and Communication

Clarity about who is leading curriculum efforts at your school (and sometimes not leaning on us enough for curriculum support);

Are teachers sure about who is leading curriculum efforts at your school?

Are teachers part of your curriculum leaders team?  What about students? And parents?

Curriculum Design, Archive and Communication Platforms/Tech

Solid platforms for development, implementation & archiving

Archiving curriculum and ensuring that is easily and swiftly accessible to all/entire faculty

Cross-Grade Groupings/Classes

Support of/Focus on Priority Standards…and then prioritizing your P.S. for multi-grade learning goals

High need for responsive teaching:

Differentiating instruction

Greater use of small group learning and teaching AND conferring (and effectively implementing these pedagogical practices to respond and honor each student’s and all students’ strengths, needs and curiosities)

Big Ideas/Overarching Themes and Questions…to honor the developmental continuum of our students/each classroom and meet each child where she/he is on her/his learning journey

Common learning goal/focus for all, Customized developmentally

Need for teachers to really understand deeply what proficiency looks like and sounds like in students’ work and practice

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Cross Grade Grouping/Classes - Responsive Learning and Teaching with Differentiated Instruction

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Cross Grade Grouping/Classes - Responsive Learning and Teaching with Differentiated Instruction

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Streamline your entire buying process for international school supplies. The new ISS Supply Marketplace is now available!

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Streamline your entire buying process for international school supplies with the ISS Supply Marketplace. Get your school supplies today!

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Cross Grade Grouping/Classes - Conferring 

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Cross Grade Grouping/Classes - Conferring 

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ISS Professional Development - ISS EDUlearn

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ISS Professional Development - ISS EDUlearn

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Creating world-class international schools requires continuous professional learning on behalf of school leaders, teachers, and support staff. ISS brings inclusive, innovative and applicable professional development opportunities to educators and school support staff across the globe. Thousands of educators and leaders have participated in our ISS EDUlearn® professional development offerings, and we continue to introduce new courses to meet today’s most relevant topics. Please share your questions, recommendations and comments to Dr. Dana Watts - d.watts@iss.edu

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When you purchased your ISS EDUlearn™ Passport through the Cvent platform, you received a confirmation number on screen and via email. Use that confirmation number to modify your registration. All you need to do is log into the Passport event and choose which sessions you would like to register for in the future.

If you cannot find your confirmation number, here are two places to locate it:

1. Your registration confirmation email (from cvent)

2. The Registration Summary page towards the end of the registration process

Still uncertain what to do next? Let us know which course you'd like to access and one of us will help you get registered right away. We are here to help!

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When you purchased your ISS EDUlearn™ Passport through the Cvent platform, you received a confirmation number on screen and via email. Use that confirmation number to modify your registration. All you need to do is log into the Passport event and choose which sessions you would like to register for in the future.

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Introducing ISS OPtimize, everything you need to optimize your school’s management and operations, brought to you by ISS experts. Dive into a suite of services designed to support your school’s academic, financial, management, and operations performance

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ISS experts are working with international schools today, and understand the mounting pressures, shifting demands, and new challenges that face school leaders and staff in current times. This means we can deliver both innovation and proven, practiced solutions to help address the challenges that School Heads, Operational Leaders, Business Managers, Curriculum Directors, Principals, and others must navigate. We have staff located around the world to provide remote as well as on-site service to develop, focus, and grow your school. ISS experts provide relevant, action-oriented solutions to help OPtimize your school.

In addition to consulting projects, the ISS OPtimize suite of services connects you with peers and networks of specialty experts to deliver ongoing support through the ISS Community, Professional Societies, Professional Development, and more - connections to real people when you need them.

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ISS OPtimize provides a full suite of school management, start up, and operations services for international schools.

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Check out ECIS's Intentionally Small Schools Institute in Germany this July!

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Intentionally small schools offer opportunities not to be found in a larger setting. Small schools should not only be unapologetic about their size but should seek the unique learning opportunities that come with it. They can be designed to thrive and we propose that we help each other do so by sharing better practices globally.
Come and join the conversation to access a network of schools that can support each other and be a part of designing the network itself. We look forward to sharing, listening, and planning as we look to collaborate for improved learning for all our students.

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Reflections and Upcoming ISS EDUlearn PD Opps from Dr. Dana Watts

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Reflections and Upcoming ISS EDUlearn PD Opps from Dr. Dana Watts

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2021 Ed Leaders Conference Padlet - John Burns and Laura Benson

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2021 Ed Leaders Conference Padlet - John Burns and Laura Benson

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2022 Ed Leaders Conference Padlet - John Burns and Laura Benson

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2022 Ed Leaders Conference Padlet - John Burns and Laura Benson

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Our Mission

The Diversity Collaborative (DC) is committed to creating and sustaining a more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and just international school community through our focus on leadership.

Our Vision

We recognize that diversity without equity, inclusion, and justice is insufficient and can perpetuate ongoing harm. Therefore, we strive not only to recognize and redistribute power, but also to eradicate the systems and structures in place that cause and have caused injustice, inequity and exclusion. We aspire to see the leadership of international schools reflect the global majority.

Our Commitments

To realize our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, the Diversity Collaborative wholeheartedly challenges all leaders, international schools and associated organizations to address the absence of diverse leadership in formal leadership positions. Concurrently, we acknowledge that anyone in a school can demonstrate leadership by serving as an agent of change. The Diversity Collaborative (DC) conducts research on the leadership pipeline and recruitment practices, provides leadership development, and advocates for international school communities to (1) critically reflect on diversity or the lack thereof, (2) develop equity-minded stakeholders, (3) promote inclusive environments, and (4) serve as social justice activists.

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This cross-organization group connects educational professionals to create lasting change. See how you can make a difference today.

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Each year, over two dozen leaders from international schools around the world assemble for the annual ISS Mary Anne Haas Women's Symposium to discuss the context for women leadership in international schools, network, and further their own professional development in a stimulating series of workshops and conversations.

Since 2002, this annual symposium has helped to advance women educators in leadership in international schools - as well as provide important role models to future generations of women leaders.

In recent years, symposium alumni have organized workshops at regional conferences for both male and female leaders. In 2020-21 we are adapting to virtual settings.

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Women's Leadership in International Education | ISS

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Each year, over two dozen leaders from international schools around the world assemble for the annual ISS Mary Anne Haas Women's Symposium to discuss the context for women leadership in international schools, network, and further their own professional development in a stimulating series of workshops and conversations.

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ECIS Intentionally Small Schools Padlet - Michael Johnston

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ECIS Intentionally Small Schools Padlet - Michael Johnston

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AISA | Association of International Schools in Africa

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AISA DEIJ Collaborative

This is a safe space for educators and school leaders in the AISA region to meet to discuss how our schools can become more attuned to DEI+J issues and to chart a plan of action leading to the educational reform required to make our school more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and places to work and learn.

Meeting times: 3rd Wednesdays of each month from 14:00 - 15:30 GMT

21 Feb: Supporting Students and Staff

20 Mar: Critical Issues in DEIJ/ DEIJ Case Studies

17 Apr: Tools and Templates/ DEIJ Partners

15 May: How Can We Measure the Progress We're Making?
Connect Here

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Community Groups - AISA | Association of International Schools in Africa

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AISA DEIJ Collaborative This is a safe space for educators and school leaders in the AISA region to meet to discuss how our schools can become more attuned to DEI+J issues and to chart a plan of action leading to the educational reform required to make our school more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and places to work and learn.

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Global Recruitment for Teachers, Staff, and School Leaders

ISS EDUrecruit® works with international schools of all sizes and types, spanning the globe and filling thousands of job vacancies. Our deep mission-driven commitment to child protection and safeguarding, antiracism, and inclusion is at the forefront of everything we do.

We are passionate about making a positive impact in the world of education. Our reputation as an organization that makes a world of difference is built on our actions, not just our words. We take the time to get to know both candidates and schools, so we can make the perfect match that will help drive success for all involved.

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ISS EDUrecruit pairs educators and school staff with international schools who are actively hiring. Find your next job with ISS EDUrecruit.

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ISS OPtimize World Community Cafe from our 2022 Ed Leaders Conference

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ISS OPtimize World Community Cafe from our 2022 Ed Leaders Conference

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*Slides from our presentation included here. Let me know if you have any difficulties accessing these - lbenson@iss.edu

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Tom and Greg's 2024 Ed Leaders Conference Leadership Resources and Slides

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Tom and Greg's 2024 Ed Leaders Conference Leadership Resources and Slides

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BLISS: Building Learning for Intentionally Small Schools - Kevin Bartlett and Laura Benson

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BLISS: Building Learning for Intentionally Small Schools - Kevin Bartlett and Laura Benson

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The BLISS Project is a new initiative designed to provide a substantive support system for intentionally small schools. Its two founders, Laura Benson and Kevin Bartlett, have vast experience in all aspects of leadership and learning. We see ourselves as capacity builders in three interconnected areas: Culture, Curriculum and Community. In small schools, it can be relatively easier to build culture and community, but much harder to build one, consistent, coherent, complete curriculum. The school simply may not have the internal resources to build its own, may not be in a position to employ a Director of teaching and Learning or Curriculum Coordinator, and may find the current external options expensive and bureaucratic.

The BLISS Project is designed to respond to all those realities by offering a complete curricular support service.

Here’s what we can offer in support of intentionally small schools:

A personalized support service in learning design

A clear and shared definition of the learning process

A well-defined Portrait of a Learner that describes your ‘graduates’ in tangible, authentic ways

Driven by the Portrait, a complete, coherent ‘scope and sequence’ of inquiry-based Learning Modules, embedded in one powerful Learning Matrix

Support in selecting and implementing foundational programs in literacy and mathematical reasoning

A set of Learning Principles and Teaching Practices, customizable for your school

Regular, focused, on-line webinars

Annual Professional Learning Events attached to major regional conferences

Regular, innovative Parent Learning sessions to reimagine your parents as your Learning Allies

Support with achieving Accredited Status

Absolute affordability, with flexible options to bring great curriculum design rapidly within reach of everyone

In effect, our team can either support your curriculum leaders or serve as your virtual ‘curriculum coordinators’, saving you stress, time and expense.

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BLISS: Building Learning for Intentionally Small Schools - Kevin Bartlett and Laura Benson

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BLISS: Building Learning for Intentionally Small Schools - Kevin Bartlett and Laura Benson

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Global Recruitment for Teachers, Staff, and School Leaders

ISS EDUrecruit® works with international schools of all sizes and types, spanning the globe and filling thousands of job vacancies. Our deep mission-driven commitment to child protection and safeguarding, antiracism, and inclusion is at the forefront of everything we do.

We are passionate about making a positive impact in the world of education. Our reputation as an organization that makes a world of difference is built on our actions, not just our words. We take the time to get to know both candidates and schools, so we can make the perfect match that will help drive success for all involved.

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The Ideal Team Player - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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The Ideal Team Player - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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COX Princeton 2024 The Ideal Team Player

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Five Dysfunctions of Teams - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Five Dysfunctions of Teams - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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COX Princeton Five Dysfunctions of Teams Presentation

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5 Dysfunctions Summary Chart - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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5 Dysfunctions Summary Chart - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Hunching Tool - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University 

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Hunching Tool - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University 

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Chemistry Summary - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Chemistry Summary - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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BC Types in Detail - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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BC Types in Detail - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Business Chemistry Links - Provided by Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Business Chemistry Links - Provided by Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Drivers Profile - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Drivers Profile - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Guardians Profile - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Guardians Profile - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Integrators Profile - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Integrators Profile - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Integrators Profile - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Integrators Profile - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Pioneers Profile - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Pioneers Profile - Dr. Dale Cox, Utah Valley University

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Wellbeing for Schoolteachers from IB - Thank you to Glenn Odland for sharing this resource!

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Wellbeing for Schoolteachers from IB - Thank you to Glenn Odland for sharing this resource!

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Here is the ISS list of common terminology utilized in international schools. Please feel free to make a copy of this and adopt it to your needs.

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COMMON TERMINOLOGY RELATED TO INSTRUCTION & PEDAGOGY

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If you are looking for ways to design learning experiences, here is a great example that integrates the standards into personalized learning from Heidi Hayes Jacobs & Marie Alcock.

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*Recommended by Glenn Odland

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Productive Engagement with Boards/Owners - Glenn Odland and Bob Stearns

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Productive Engagement with Boards/Owners - Glenn Odland and Bob Stearns

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Child Safety Level 1: Fundamental Child Protection Training for Educators

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Child Safety Level 1: Fundamental Child Protection Training for Educators

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ChildSafeguarding.com Educators Overview - ENGLISH copy

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Child Protection Training for Board Members, Owners and School Leaders

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Child Protection Training for Board Members, Owners and School Leaders

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ChildSafeguarding.com Leaders Overview - ENGLISH copy

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ChildSafeguarding.com Parent Tutorial Overview - ENGLISH copy

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Child Protection Awareness Training for Support Staff and Volunteers

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Child Protection Awareness Training for Support Staff and Volunteers

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ChildSafeguarding.com Support Staff Overview - ENGLISH copy

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"All Hands On Design" Cayman International School Inspiring Design Learning and Outreach - Shared by Claire McQuillan

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"All Hands On Design" Cayman International School Inspiring Design Learning and Outreach - Shared by Claire McQuillan

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Cayman International School Service Learning

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Cayman International School Service Learning

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Shared by Claire McQuillan

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Shekou International School Responsive Learning, Teaching and Programming

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Shekou International School Responsive Learning, Teaching and Programming

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Shared by Leda Cedo and Matthew Doige

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Cayman International School Graduation Requirements - Thoughtful Changes

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Cayman International School Graduation Requirements - Thoughtful Changes

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Shared by Claire McQuillan