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IC Features
T
he new handrails at the main gate
and preschool are probably the most
visible signs that ‘something’ was
happening. And indeed, something quite
big was happening: the school was ending
an intensive self-study – an arduous, me-
ticulous, workaholic’s dream type of a study.
For the past two years, committees made
of administrators, staff, faculty, board mem-
bers, parents and students studied every
single aspect of the school. Every detail was
scrutinized down to whether the hands on
approach to teaching is affective, or whether
there is a safety plan for students in case a
Tsunami hit the Lebanese coast (yes, there
is a plan).
“A self study is a systematic reflection on
what we are doing, how happy we are with
what we are doing and what we should plan
for the future,” said Dr Raouf Ghusayni, the
director of the Educational Resources Cen-
ter and the one charged with heading this
immense project.
The self study is based on a 105-page
guide issued by the Council of International
Schools and the New England Association
of Schools and Colleges and is part of a
school’s accreditation process. Every school
department is required to fill out the report
– a task much easier said than done. Com-
mittees and subcommittees, 25 in all, were
formed horizontally (by school) and verti-
cally (by department) across the college.
Each had a mission to study, analyze and
criticize their work. Every teacher and staff
member was involved in some way. Every
matter and subject was examined. “No
stones were left unturned,” said Ghusayni.
Every claim had to be accompanied by
some kind of evidence. Stating, for example,
that a school excels in Arabic is not enough.
Prove it.
“We didn’t need opinion only,” he said.
“We needed evidence.”
This is not the first time that Ghusayni
spearheaded a self study. It is his third (the
first was as the previous head of the Inter-
national School of London) and IC’s second
since 1996. Admittedly, the project can be
overwhelming at times, frustrating to say
the least, but immensely rewarding
“You cannot imagine how much teachers
got out of it,” he said. “Teachers from across
the school sat together and debated. It’s a
professional growth experience.”
It took an entire year just to collect the
information. It took another year to analyze
data and make recommendations for the
future. Today, neatly marked thick black
folders line the shelves at ERC office. Every
paper inside the folders is the culmination
of “countless documents that the groups put
together,” said Connie Hadba, the Curricu-
lum Project Coordinator and Acting Head
Librarian who assisted in the project. She
had the seemingly endless task of editing
every report.
Truth be told, there is an impetus for
such an exhaustive project: accreditation by
two prestigious leaders in the field of inter-
national education services: The Council of
International Schools (CIS) and the New
England Association of Schools and Col-
leges (NEASC).
IC has been a member of both since
1997. To receive this highly prized recogni-
tion, schools have to submit self studies
and be evaluated by an international pro-
fessional team every decade. Basically, it
comes down to keeping a school’s standards
high – in terms of curriculum, recruiting
practices, admission procedure and other.
Once accredited, schools have to keep on
Re-Accredited!
Sent: Tue 1/29/2008 8:45 AM
From: John Johnson
To: IC Faculty and Staf f
Subject: Award of Re-accreditation
Dear Faculty and Staf f,
I am pleased to announce that we have heard from both of the
accreditation organizations, NEASC and CIS, and IC has
received re-accreditation from both of them. I will be publishing
the list of major commendations and recommendations in the near
future as well as posting the entire team report on the Intranet. I
can assure you that they were very impressed with IC!
This is wonderful news so a huge MABRUK is due to our
faculty, staf f, and administrators for working so hard on this
during the past years. Thank you for a job very well done.
The Board of Trustees joins me in congratulating all of you.
Sincerely,
John
John K. Johnson
President
International College