Oberoi International School

Mumbai, Secondary School Principal Start Date: July 2020 or July 2021 oberoi-is.org Mission We are dedicated to fulfilling every child’s educational and developmental needs in a safe and caring environment conducive to learning and teaching. We aim to create responsible, global citizens who show understanding, compassion, and acceptance of the differences in the world. We strive to ensure that every child in our care is empowered to make choices and encouraged to contribute to our community.

Fast Facts (JVLR Campus) School type: coeducational, Nursery to Grade 12 Total students: 761 Student nationalities: 85% Indian, 15% others Total faculty: 132 Faculty nationalities: 80% local, 20% foreign nationals Faculty holding advanced degrees: 87 Student-teacher ratio: 6:1 Acreage of physical plant: 0.64 acres

Overview

Oberoi International School (OIS) is a school unlike any other in , a unlike any other. OIS has been open for only a decade and is growing rapidly—a testament to its passionate faculty and staff and a mission that resonates powerfully with citizens of Mumbai. At its core, OIS prizes a simple truth: children learn to be their best selves in a happy environment. So, everything about OIS is designed to make students’ learning as joyful as possible. OIS relies on the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum to ensure its students are intellectually prepared for any path after graduation, but the school also leverages extensive extracurricular activities, student travel, and community outreach to prepare students holistically for life beyond the OIS campus. OIS strives to graduate young people who are confident being their true self, equipped to take on the challenges of living in our 21st-century world, and prepared to be active global citizens.

Oberoi International School - JVLR Campus is seeking an outstanding educator to provide both administrative and educational leadership to the Secondary School community (Grades 6-12) from late July 2021. The ideal candidate will possess intercultural awareness, excellent communication skills, and the ability to develop and maintain positive, trusting relationships with various school constituency groups (students, parents, faculty/staff). Promoting the OIS Vision, Mission, and Core Values, ensuring the implementation and delivery of the IB MYP and DP, and mentoring and inspiring a diverse teaching faculty are all key components of this position.

The Secondary School Principal reports to the Head of School and is a member of the Leadership Team, along with the Primary School Principal and Assistant Principal, and the IB program coordinators.

The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 2 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com The School

From a founding group of just 38 students in 2008, Oberoi International School now encompasses two campuses (OIS - OGC and OIS - JVLR). Along the way, there have been many milestones to celebrate: The first graduating class in 2011, IB program authorization (DP in 2009; PYP in 2011; MYP in 2018), CIS/NEASC accreditation in 2014, and the tenth anniversary of its founding in 2018. The school currently is full, at just over 1,600 students in Nursery through Grade 12.

The OGC Campus is now 10 years old and at peak enrollment, receiving accreditation by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in 2014. The JVLR Campus opened in 2017 and has experienced tremendous growth, growing from 239 students in 2017-18 to 750 in the current academic year. The JVLR Campus is currently authorized for PYP and DP and is a candidate school for the MYP. Both campuses are working together to complete the Self-Study to achieve accreditation for the school as a whole during the 2019-20 academic year.

While most of students are Indian (just over 80%, with the remaining 20% from a mix of national backgrounds), over half have lived in a wide variety of countries prior to joining OIS. The result is a student body that is quite international in experience. Also, as a new school, all Secondary students as recently as two years ago were attending other institutions, with most of these offering a much more prescribed, traditional curriculum. In the Secondary School this year, the student body numbers 186 students in Grades 6-9. Grades 10 and 11 will open in August 2020, with an anticipated enrollment of approximately 350.

The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 3 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com Similar to the student body, roughly 80% of faculty members are Indian, while the remaining 20% represent over a dozen other nationalities. And just like the student body, teachers have brought with them a wide variety of teaching experiences. At OIS, they are now busily and enthusiastically developing programs and facilitating a holistic, inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. OIS educators are guided by the philosophy “Freedom to think and Empower to be.” Accordingly, they approach all aspects of the curriculum and culture determined to provide learning experiences that promote growth and understanding within a stimulating, encouraging, and cooperative community.

Athletics and Activities

The OIS Athletics Program reflects and supports the school’s mission and core values and is vital to the holistic development of its students. Through athletics, students learn the values of commitment, sportsmanship, teamwork, responsibility, and resilience. OIS students develop these values as they take pride in their victories, learn from their losses, meet the daily challenges of practice, and uphold their responsibilities as student-athletes.

OIS encourages all students, regardless of their ability level, to participate in the athletics program. Participation is a privilege, though, and OIS student-athletes are ever mindful that they are students first, and athletes second. Therefore, remaining in academic and behavioral good standing is essential to their participation. The program stretches over three seasons, with a variety of activities offered.

The community outreach program at OIS helps students to develop their passions and encourages involvement in the school, local, or global community. Ultimately, the goal is to help students understand how they can each work toward making the world a better place. OIS Service in Action

The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 4 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com projects include those to promote and encourage environmental stewardship; clothes, food, and book drives; hosting fundraising events; and offering hands-on help at animal shelters, elderly homes, and refugee camps.

The extra-curricular activity (ECA) program is designed to provide OIS students with an opportunity to have enriching experiences beyond the normal school day. The primary goal of ECAs is for students to have fun while learning important life skills that are not included in traditional academic curriculum. The program is not competitively driven, but instead is focused on exposing students to new experiences and enriching their lives. ECAs will allow students to try new experiences or participate in areas they are already passionate about. Each ECA aims to be student centered and to maximize student participation in the activity. As an illustration of this, a few of the current ECAs are filmmaking, rock climbing, Western vocal, and chess.

Campus

The OIS - JVLR Campus occupies a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility in one of Mumbai’s northern suburbs at the intersection of the city’s major north-south highway and a key east-west thoroughfare. It is an urban campus, and as such it is largely confined to the building footprint. However, the spaces are designed to promote and support incredible learning experiences, with 63 learning spaces throughout the Secondary School, including: a 600-seat performing arts theatre, six fully equipped science laboratories, a full-size gymnasium and accompanying multi-purpose spaces, two visual arts studios, an expansive library/media center, a performing arts suite, and a design technology center. Additionally, there are two swimming pools (25-meter and 50-meter) and an artificial turf pitch on the building’s rooftop.

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Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is a city unlike any other in the world. With a population over 12 million, it is India’s commercial and financial center, and a pillar of Indian culture. Newcomers often describe their first visit to Mumbai as an immersive experience; the city is full of unique sounds, sights, smells, and people. Residents of Mumbai are, of course, well acclimated to the energy of the city, and are typically warm and welcoming; they’re proud of their home and eager to share it.

Mumbai’s literacy rate is much higher than that of India as a whole. Primary education is free and compulsory in this city. Secondary education is provided largely by public schools that are supervised by the state government, as well as by several independently run private schools. There also are public and private polytechnic institutes and institutions offering students a variety of degree and diploma courses in mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering. The Indian Institute of Technology, operated by the government, is located in the city. The , established in 1857, has more than 100 constituent colleges and more than two dozen teaching departments.

Sports enjoy a broad following in Mumbai. matches, which are popular throughout India, are played at and , the latter of which is the headquarters and main pitch of the . Football (soccer) is also highly popular in Mumbai, and matches are played at Cooperage Football Ground in the Fort area. Athletic and cycling track events attract many enthusiasts. and Chowpatty beaches are popular for swimming.

The natural beauty of Mumbai is unsurpassed. The entrance into from the sea offers a magnificent panorama that is framed by the Western Ghats mountain range. The wide harbor, studded with islands and dotted with the white sails of smaller vessels, affords secure shelter

The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 6 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com to ships. The largest of the harbor’s islands is Elephanta, which is most famous for its 8th- and 9th-century Hindu cave temples. These cave temples were designated a World Heritage site in 1987. Krishnagiri Forest, a national park in the northern part of metropolitan Mumbai, is a pleasant vacation resort located near the ; the caves, numbering more than 100, were the site of an ancient Buddhist university and contain massive Buddhist sculptures dating from the 2nd to 9th century BCE. There are several public gardens, including the Jijamata Udyan, which houses Mumbai’s zoo in the city proper; the Baptista Garden, located on a water reservoir, also in the center of the city; and the Pherozeshah Mehta Gardens (popularly called “Hanging Gardens”) and the Kamala Nehru Park, both on .

The is warm and humid. Cool weather prevails from December to February and hot weather from March to May. The rainy season, brought by monsoon winds from the southwest, lasts from June to September.

Responsibilities

• Manage all aspects of the Secondary School in accordance with the policies and guidelines established by the OIS Board of Trustees. • Provide leadership and vision for the overall growth and development of the Secondary School. • Oversee ongoing school improvement and development as articulated in the school’s accreditation and strategic plans. • Oversee (in close collaboration with the IB program coordinators) the Secondary School’s curricular plans and frameworks. • Build and manage (in close collaboration with the IT Team) the Secondary timetable with a

The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 8 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com specific focus on teacher deployment and learning spaces. • Coordinate professional learning opportunities and the teacher appraisal process to ensure excellent standards and practices for teaching and learning. • Communicate effectively with students, parents, faculty, and the community through a variety of methods. • Maintain a positive school culture and ensure the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. • Assist with the student admissions process. • Any other duties as are within the scope, spirit, and purpose of the position.

Desired Qualities and Qualifications

• Displays cross-cultural openness and understanding. • Possesses excellent communication, organization, and management skills. • Listens and empathizes. • Practices flexibility and adaptability. • Practices a collaborative, inclusive working style. • Leads with the heart as much as with the head. • Possesses (and wields) a sense of humor. • Master’s degree (leadership or administration preferred). • Five or more years of successful teaching experience, preferably in an international setting. • Three or more years of successful leadership experience, preferably as a division-level principal or assistant principal. • In-depth knowledge of and experience in the IB Middle Years Programme and/or Diploma Programme.

The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 9 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com To Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should submit electronically in one email and as separate documents (preferably PDFs) the following materials:

• A cover letter expressing their interest in this particular position; • A current résumé; • A one-page statement of educational philosophy and practice; • A list of five professional references with name, phone number, and email address of each (references will not be contacted without the candidate’s permission) to:

Fred Wesson Senior Consultant [email protected]

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