Education Spotlight: Hong Kong International School
A closer look at this year’s Best Student-Centered SchoolWhen campuses abruptly closed in February 2020 because of Covid-19, Hong Kong International School took just one day to change from its regular schooling to a fully online school.
“It was astonishing how quickly we did that,” says Hong Kong International School High School Principal Dr. David Lovelin.
Read more: Hong Kong Education Awards: The results are in
“We’re extremely proud of our faculty and administrators for adapting so quickly and keeping students’ interests at the center of everything.”
Lovelin says winning Best Student-Centered School was validation of its belief as a school.
“We need to take care of all parts of a student’s life,” he added.
“We’re grateful that we were able to maintain this throughout the challenges of the last two years, adapting to off-campus learning and support, keeping the lines of communication open and making sure that our students continued to feel supported and connected to the school and each other.”
Strong Leadership
Lovelin also said that there are certain aspects of the year that forced HKIS leadership team to look at what is essential to students and its own mission.
“Eighteen months in, we have some perspective and can see that some of the changes we made because of the circumstances actually have improved the student experience.
“In the High School for example, we have introduced a new timetable which means that students have a dedicated day to explore their interests and come together as a community. Within all of this change, he said the key has been to communicate the vision and the steps on how to get there.
“When people understand where we’re going and how it will help students, they become supporters and advocates.
“Excellence is at the center of who we are, ever since our founding in 1966. That’s not only excellence in academics, but excellence in creating a caring community that supports students and their specific interests.
“This will always be true for us. In addition, across all grade levels, we want to provide more choices to our students and give them different opportunities to bring learning from different subjects together in different environments.
As for the years ahead, he said there are some very exciting developments coming that will allow students to do just this.
