Educators Going Global Audrey Forgeron and David Carpenter

It is such a treat to reconnect with a former student and to discover where their life has led them. In this episode, we reconnected with Claire Gaul, a student from our Saudi days. Claire and her husband, Jamel, teach at their third international post, a school in China.  They shared so many great insights that you might have to listen to the episode twice to take them all in!
Claire is originally from California, and Jamel was raised in Alsace in a Tunisian/Algerian family. They enjoy traveling, grilling, and being outdoors. They have 9-year-old twins (Luke and Leia) who are in 4th grade. Luke loves animals, electronics, mixed tapes, and researching how to be prepared for worst-case scenarios. Leia loves reading, cats, macaroons, and drawing comics.
The guiding question for this episode was, “What are some common experiences for international teaching families?” 
Jamel and Claire covered many topics, including: 
Teachers should be ready for their preconceptions and generalizations regarding host countries to be mistaken. Consider healthcare and how well the school can support your children, especially if there are special needs. Infrastructure, including transportation, government services, and ease of travel should also be considered. Benefits for kids include smaller classes, the potential for more individualized support, co-curricular programming, diversity of friends, exposure to new languages, and growing social and geopolitical awareness. Benefits for parents include working with teachers from other cultures and connecting with other expats, who may also be parents. Struggles can come from language barriers, differences in cultural understanding, feelings of loss with respect to the previous location. Part of what makes the new school and community work comes from parental modeling of positive attitudes and commitment to personal growth. Claire and Jamel offered recruiting strategies for couples with children. One recommendation is to balance career opportunities with schools that meet your children’s needs while keeping your options wide open. Also, be prepared for some schools on your wish list not to be the best fit for your family.This episode was recorded on December 9, 2023.
Contact Information: Claire on LinkedIn and Jamel on LinkedIn
Resources Mentioned in the Episode: IB Diploma Programme Design Technology Teachers Facebook Group
Categories: School Life | Recruiting | Transitions | Finances | Travel | Family 


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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

Can you feel the energy in the air? This was a zinger of an episode!

Kam Chohan, the Executive Director of the Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS), joined us for this episode. 
With a background in education and leadership, Kam Chohan is a learning leader who brings insight, wisdom, and compassion to the role. She demonstrates the ability to build meaningful, lasting relationships that contribute to personal and organizational development and improvement.
Kam is a passionate educator and has enjoyed lecturing in mathematics and business in previous roles. As an example of her commitment to student learning, Kam worked with the UK Government’s Behaviour Insights Team to apply the Nudge Theory to improve student outcomes on a national level. This highlights her innovative approach to education and her commitment to making a positive impact.
Kam received the 1885 NEASC Award for Exemplary Service to Education in December 2022. This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of education, further confirming Kam’s dedication and excellence in her work.
Kam is committed to social justice and equity through diversity, inclusion, and intercultural understanding in international education.


Our Guiding Question was, “What does the ECIS organization do, and how can educators access its services?”
Kam covered many topics, including: 
ECIS started off by supporting schools in Europe but has now expanded to schools around the worldECIS’s professional learning opportunities and outreach have grown tenfold in the past four yearsInclusion is at the core of Kam’s work, working with “thought partners” to support learningSpecial interest groups (e.g., PE, math, library) connect to share best practicesThe mission is to make the world a better place while preparing tomorrow’s leaders to do the sameChild Protection and DEIJ are key PD programs ECIS has Middle Leader training offeringsECIS aims to approach recruiting with new eyes, questioning previous practices by bringing in more diversity of hires, including local educatorsECIS seeks to bring in student voicesSome trends Kam sees include: helping school communities with well-being and balance; the growth of AI and how to bring in ethics in approaching it; ongoing work with curriculum.  

The show was recorded on January 9, 2024. 


Kam’s Contact Information: LinkedIn

Categories: School Life | Recruiting | Professional Learning | DEIJ | Child Protection


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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

Warning: Show contains critical amounts of meaty information! 
Ken Shelton joined us to discuss how schools can effectively design and implement new programs. He used DEIJ as a case study for managing the change process. 
Ken Shelton is an award-winning educator and international keynote speaker addressing critical issues from multimedia literacy to cultural intelligences to Artificial Intelligence. Ken has over two decades of experience and an MEd specializing in Ed Tech and New Media Design and Production. 
An Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Certified Innovator, and Microsoft Innovative Educator, Ken has also served on California's Education Technology Task Force. His accolades, including the Digital Equity Professional Learning Network Excellence Award, Computer Using Educators Platinum Disc Award,  ISTE's Making IT Happen Award, and EdTech Magazine's top influencer, underscore his commitment to enhancing digital learning while addressing the challenges of digital equity. 
Our Guiding Question was, “What tools do school leaders need in their change management toolkits as they work to design and implement policies and programs to grow awareness and understanding of the principles of DEIJ within their communities?” 
Here are some topics Ken unpacked: 
The value of using Habits of Mind, understanding of cognitive biases, and cultural norms to assist schools in program development.Formative and summative measurements aimed at accountability are important to ensure goals are met and programs are sustainable. We looked at various avenues for professional learning.Ken provided a snapshot of DEIJ learning services for individuals, groups, or whole staff. We talked about how Generative AI fits into looking at DEIJ. Ken shared some high points and struggles working with international schools to grow their DEIJ awareness.The show was recorded on March 1, 2024. 
Ken’s Website
Resources Mentioned:

CASEL
Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish
Habits of Mind


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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

What keeps international school heads awake at night? What all-important areas of decision-making currently occupy their thoughts? What trends in international education are they focused on? To find out, we again reached out to the very well-connected Laura Light, Executive Director of the Association for the Advancement of International Education. 
Laura joined AAIE in 2021, bringing in years of experience working alongside school heads and senior leadership, supporting the critical task of recruiting teachers and administrative talent.  
Before joining AAIE, Laura served as the Director of Global Recruitment at International Schools Services (ISS). Before joining ISS in 2007, Laura was an international educator for many years, working in Kuwait, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Singapore, and London, as well as the United States. Her knowledge of international schools is deeply rooted in her upbringing as she is also a Third Culture Kid.
Laura has served on the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children Educational Board and is a member of the Diversity Collaborative. She understands the challenges faced and is a natural community builder and an assertive advocate for quality leadership in our international schools worldwide.  
Laura greatly enjoys her work supporting international school leaders and values the interactions and experiences she encounters while traveling, which is her biggest joy. When not on the road, she resides in New Jersey with her partner.
The guiding question for the episode was, “What are international school leaders and directors of regional organizations currently talking about?”
We covered several topics, including: 
Wellness around collective care and actionAdaptive changeGenerative AIProfessional LearningRegional OrganizationsDEIJLocal and global concerns of school leadersSchools helping other schools during crisis situationsThis episode was recorded on September 25, 2023. 
Laura’s Contact Information: LinkedIn
Resources Mentioned in the Episode:
AAIE and Podcast and the New School Project
Global Online Academy
Avenues Online School 
Several regional organizations were mentioned, so go to our Resource Library for their links. 
Categories: Recruiting | School Life | Leadership | Wellness | PD


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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

International teacher consultant Jacqueline Mallais joined us once again from Guadalajara, Mexico, for this episode. 
Jacqueline is a former international teacher and school leader with over 20 years of experience in six countries on four continents. Since heading overseas in 1996, she has helped numerous teachers secure amazing opportunities abroad. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, and now living in beautiful Guadalajara, Mexico, Jacqueline offers her consulting services to teachers looking for personal help and guidance on their job search journey. 
Our Guiding Question was, “What lessons were learned last year in your role as an international teacher consultant? What is recruiting looking like now?” 
This was Jacqueline’s fourth interview with us; as always, we had many helpful takeaways. Our main interests were in finding out how things were going with her consulting business and the state of recruiting for the coming year. Jacqueline didn’t disappoint, providing detailed information that anyone in the recruiting arena would do well to take on board. 
Lessons learned in her business: namely, that she loves her job, which is really more of a “calling” for her, and that she gets a lot of referrals through the International Teacher Podcast Takeaways from the past year:  such as the fact that recruiting is now a full-year proposition and also that she feels that her consulting provides “good value for her clients’ money”.Trends she sees this year: there are many job postings out there, and at the same time, schools are now doing a lot of early hiring to “lock in” solid candidates.Words of wisdom she shared, such as: Teachers might be tempted to write resumes and cover letters using AI – it might help with the process but it can’t replace the human touch, as well as “apply for everything” and “recruiting can be a big expense and a stressful time, but it’s worth it in the end if you find a school that is your perfect match” – and at the same time, resist the temptation to grab that first contract just to be done with the process.

The show was recorded on November 21, 2023. 


Jacqueline’s Contact Information: Her website is JPMint Consulting

She also can be followed on: 
FB: jpmintconsultingIG: jpmintconsultingLinkedIn: Jacqueline MallaisTwitter: jpmintconsultYouTube: jpmintconsulting
Categories: Recruiting | Transitions | Finance 


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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

Who is the go-to resource for the lowdown on the current state of international school recruiting? Thanks to an introduction from super-connector Laura Light, we were fortunate enough to connect with one of the best-placed people for answers to our recruiting questions. Pauline O'Brien is the Global Recruitment Business Strategy Development Director at International School Services (ISS). 
We peppered Pauline with questions to help our listeners deepen their understanding of where things stand concerning recruiting and other trends in international education. 
Pauline has 20+ years of experience in professional recruiting, client service, and school board relations in international education. She has designed multi-faceted learning opportunities for international schools, which include competency-based recruiting strategies, skills-based interviewing methods, and STAR application profiles. 
Pauline has served on the International Task Force for Child Protection and has been a board member of Women’s Business Initiative International and ACCESS in the Netherlands. 

Originally from Ireland, Pauline resides with her family in the Netherlands, where she studied international business in Dutch.
The guiding question was, "What are recent changes and trends in international school recruiting?"
Here are some of the many topics that Pauline spoke to: 
Pauline's background in the corporate world brings new perspectives to how international schools approach their work. Child safeguarding continues to be a key trend. Recruiting should be about evaluating candidates' skills and aptitudes.Pauline mentioned some of the services that ISS offers,  including learning materials to help with recruiting. Listen to the interview with Nadine Richards and Dana Specker Watts for more on this.We compared virtual fairs during the COVID lockdown with in-person recruitment fairs. The recruiting "season" is now year-round. ISS is working with schools to diversify their recruiting outreach. ISS offers orientation activities for first-time applicants at its fairs . Be ready with targeted, relevant questions during interviews. Our profiling tool can help with this.Veterans: avoid being overconfident - so much in recruiting has changed recently. Many international educators left China during the COVID lockdown; some are now returning.  We discussed the nature of so-called “hardship posts”. A few related trends concern health insurance, well-being, support for staff, PD, and crisis management.

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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.