Director's Report

Annual General Meeting

AISC Board of School Trustees

May 2012

Tonight, as this is my last official director’s report to you, I have chosen not to entertain you with enrolment figures, curriculum updates, campus enhancement proposals, strategic planning, faculty compensation and evaluation, or budget issues.

Just over two years ago, on May 4th 2010, in the room next to this one, the school Board at the time offered me a contract as Director of the American International school of Conakry, an offer that I readily and enthusiastically accepted. It would be an understatement to say that times have changed since May 4th 2010. The country was then under strict military rule, civil unrest was very much present if not rampant in all of Conakry, and dense political uncertainty seemed to shroud and suffocate everyone’s plans, hopes, and dreams.

All of Guinea was struggling. It was a difficult time. AISC was no exception. Everyone related to the school had navigated through a very trying time in the history of the school. Hats off to them.  People were tired and spent. The school had been struggling to remain open and over 2/3rds of its students had left. Enrolment was down to 19 students. A deficit budget for the following year appeared to be an almost certainty. The school was basically on life support. The future of the school was in jeopardy.

In a way, it was a good time for me to come onto the scene and take over the reins of AISC.  It almost appeared as if things could not have gotten any worse. One of the first things said to me by a Board member was:  I’m afraid that as a school community, we’ve reached the bottom of the barrel. If you could somehow show us the path to get out of the barrel, that’s all we can hope for at this time.

But enough reminiscing about ‘the good old bad days’; tonight, I would rather talk about the present and the future. Let’s begin by briefly looking at where we are today.

   

First and foremost, our students have come back. This year’s enrolment has reached 72 students. Registration of new students for next year has been steady as more and more expat families are moving into Conakry. With new students and families comes renewed energy and momentum. We have succeeded in bringing in new teachers, again bringing in renewed energy, expertise, passion, and professional innovation. With new teachers, we bring in contemporary pedagogy, new ideas, and new interests. Our increasing enrolment has permitted us to upgrade our teaching and learning resources. It has permitted us to enhance our surroundings so that our campus is the safe, comfortable, and pretty haven that our students deserve.

Today, it would be safe to say that we have successfully found the path out of the barrel. However, it would also be safe to say that we are still not completely out of that barrel. AISC is a good school, obviously the best in Guinea, and it is not struggling today like it has struggled many times in its history, but it is still not a ‘great school’.  There is still work to do for AISC to become great, to become the ‘premier’ alternative for English language education in West Africa.

We must continue working at fine tuning, at strengthening, and at modernizing the school’s curriculum. We must continue developing our high school program so as to truly offer a complete and holistic K to 12 program to our learning community. We must strive to recruit top-notch innovative and creative teachers who can step up to the plate when it comes to leading the development of curriculum and contemporary pedagogy. And last but not least, we must find and build a permanent home for our school in a purpose built campus.

The future of AISC looks bright. This will be an exciting place to be in the coming years. It is with bittersweet emotions that I will be passing over the baton in a few weeks to our new director designate.  I am confident that, with the same crucial support and cautious optimism that this board has shown me during my tenure as director of AISC, he will be able to lead this community to the path of greatness that it sets its eyes upon.

Madeleine joins me in thanking every one of you for the gift of the past two years. You have welcomed us into your community.  It has been a privilege to be part of this community. You have given us the greatest opportunity that any teacher could ever wish for, and that is the opportunity to not only work and grow with the greatest kids on the face of the planet, but also to return to the fundamental core and essence of what our profession stands for…that is to help and enable children to grow and become "good" people. By inviting us to work at this small school with the big heart, you have given us the gift of purpose, the gift of hope, and above all, the gift of children, your children. For that, we thank you.