SFS: The Way Forward

SFS: The Way Forward

Message from

Head of School Dear SFS Community, From the start of the pandemic, we have been faced with new challenges, and have learned to adapt and grow as a community. The last several months have taught us much, and these lessons will color our decisions as an institution as we move into the post-COVID-19 era. Below, we outline The Way Forward specifically, what we have learned from this unprecedented period and how we will change as a result.

Continued growth has allowed us to be a relevant, innovative school for nearly 110 years. We will continue to improve as we forge a new path into the future.

God bless, Colm Flanagan Head of School

Philosophy Statement

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eoul Foreign School will continue to set the standard for worldclass education in Korea and around the world. From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have reviewed our practices and principles, evaluated their effectiveness, sought input from the community, and focused on the issues that are core to our school culture and mission. The information below outlines what we have learned, and how we plan to improve in the coming school year and beyond.

Core Priorities 1. Bring back community 2. Understand Student Progression 3. Utilize Personnel and Resources Effectively

Priority 1:

Bring back community

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ationale: The fragmentation of our community during the pandemic has significantly impacted the school’s sense of community. We want to reconnect all in our community to a safe learning environment that supports the academic, social, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of everyone, and creates authentic connections between children, teachers, and parents.

Projected outcomes and goals: • Welcome parents back to campus. Restart, where at all possible, in-person campus events for student/teacher/parent connections • Continue to embed Christ-Like Attitudes, Core Values, IB Learner Profile descriptions into classroom discussions, reflections, and reporting • Develop more schoolwide House activities to connect students throughout the school and further enhance school spirit • Restructuring of High School counseling to deliver increased student support • Work with our Parent Association to include parents more proactively in the orientation of new families to SFS

Priority 2:

Understand Student Progression

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ationale: Virtual learning has created new opportunities for families to have direct involvement and connection to student coursework. We now need to refocus to ensure our teaching practices are aligned and continue to support connections between home and the classroom.

Projected outcomes and goals: • Provide consistent access to teacher feedback, giving parents more “touch points” to understand their child’s progress • Provide parent sessions focused on understanding the educational programs, philosophy, and teacher feedback • Provide students with a better understanding of how they are progressing and identifying next steps • Use assessment data more effectively to differentiate teacher instruction • Use curriculum time for group projects that support the Mission-in-Action and connections with community • Designate time within the school schedule for asynchronous lesson structures • Comprehensively review the use of technology, on screen time and classroom protocols for computer usage • Comprehensively review homework assignments to ensure all homework is designed to most effectively support preparation for classroom learning

Priority 3:

Utilize Personnel and Resources Effectively

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ationale: During the pandemic, the school creatively deployed employees to cover new and/or additional roles. Filling these additional needs is prompting us to evaluate our utilization of personnel and resources across the campus to ensure the best learning experience for our students, and to ensure our faculty are in roles that best meet our student needs.

Projected outcomes and goals: • Review all positions and prioritize needs to ensure students’ learning needs are being met • Move to a schoolwide schedule in the 2022-2023 school year to enhance cross-sectional collaboration.

• Complete an SFS Whitepaper that refocuses of our strategic intentions and long term master plans for school and campus development

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Partnership for Successful Learning

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Pa ren ts

Students

Elementary School Bring Back Community 1. Increase the after school activity program options 2. Invite parents into school for learning walks 3. Create more House activities to build school spirit 4. Increase social events for faculty, staff, and parents

Understand Student Progression 1. Ensure authentic and varied assessment practices 2. Ensure teaching and learning practices are transparent to our community by running parent workshops 3. Ensure our math program is more hands on and practical, relating to real world problems

Utilize Personnel and Resources Effectively 1. Develop a common SFS schedule to better utilize schoolwide faculty and staff 2. Review all of our positions to ensure student needs a more effectively met

Middle School Bring Back Community 1. Introduce team and relationship building activities both at the start of and throughout the academic year to ensure that all students feel connected to the middle school community 2. Further develope the House System to strengthen student relationships across grade levels 3. Host grade level parent social gatherings with school representatives to help foster parent/school partnership

Understand Student Progression 1. Increase opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding and receive more targeted feedback to help students understand next steps in their learning 2. Use assessment data more effectively to inform instruction 3. Provide more and clearer ‘touch points’ for parents to understand their child’s progress

Utilize Personnel and Resources Effectively 1. Develop a common SFS schedule to better utilize schoolwide faculty and staff 2. Review all of our faculty and staff positions to ensure student needs are more effectively met

British School Bring Back Community 1. Develop more inclusive House activities for KS3 2. Increase social events between faculty, staff, and parents 3. Invite parents into school for student/parent learning walks 4. Develop opportunities for students to connect with different communities through award initiatives and social projects

Understand Student Progression 1. Provide more end of project [Exit Point] parent sessions to share children’s development in the core values and academic progress 2. Provide more focused parent workshops to share how we build culture and improve learning through pedagogy and curriculum 3. Develop a more structured approach to real-time reporting for students

Utilize Personnel and Resources Effectively 1. Develop a common SFS schedule to better utilize schoolwide faculty and staff 2. Review all of our faculty and staff positions to ensure student needs are more effectively met

High School Bring Back Community 1. Reintroduce community events (Back to School Night, parent evenings on-campus, parents at sporting events, student assemblies and in-person meetings etc.)

2. Continue option of virtual Parent Teacher Conferences 3. Organize parent learning walks (Personal Projects, Extended Essay, ToK, Awards, etc.)

Understand Student Progression 1. Provide more opportunities for feedback and more frequent check-ins 2. Reduce the clustering of assessments to support student well-being 3. Reduce quantity and increase quality of homework 4. Provide more consistent access to teacher feedback on ManageBac 5. Provide parent sessions focused on understanding the IB programs and philosophy, as well as teacher feedback

Utilize Personnel and Resources Effectively 1. Develop a common SFS schedule to better utilize schoolwide faculty and staff 2. Review all of our faculty and staff positions to ensure student needs are more effectively met