Workshop Presenters MARGARET ALVAREZ Mrs. Alvarez has a Master of Arts degree from St. Andrews University (UK), a Masters in Educational Administration from Sheffield University and a Diploma in Business Administration from Singapore Institute of Management. She has spent most of her career in international education, working in Europe and in Asia. She has been a foreign language teacher, a high school principal, a school head, and has served on the EARCOS Board of Directors. She is the Associate Director of Accreditation Service for the Council of International Schools. She is currently based in Singapore. KEVIN BAKER Kevin Baker and his wife, Dee, began working in international education in 1988. Kevin has served as the High School Principal at SFS since the fall of 2003. His educational leadership experiences stretch across the U.S.A from Minnesota to California and Texas. Internationally, Kevin has served in Hong Kong and in Korea. Originally from Southern California, U.S.A, Kevin received his Bachelors degree from Concordia University, Nebraska, and his Masters degree in Education Administration from Washington State University. He is currently working on his Doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. TOM BAKER Tom Baker has been an administrator at International School Bangkok for the past twelve years, nine years as Elementary School Co-principal and three years as Deputy Head of School of Learning. Prior to moving to Thailand, he was an elementary school principal for twelve years in Washington State. Tom holds an Executive Leadership & Washington Superintendent Certificate from City University of Seattle, a Masters degree in Educational Policy, Governance, and Administration from the University of Washington, and a Bachelors degree in Social Science Elementary Education from Whitworth College. Other overseas experience includes teaching posts in Helsinki, Finland and at International School Moshi in Tanzania. PHOEBE BARASH For 36 years, Phoebe Barash has worked in education as a teacher, administrator, and trainer. After leaving her position as a school administrator, she began her own business in mediation and conflict management. Areas of focus include: family/divorce mediation, special education mediation, group facilitation, training in conflict management. Experience in school gives Phoebe a unique window into what is important in the world of school and the pressures faced by school staff, children and families. Phoebe is Vermont certified school administrator and has been an adjunct faculty member at colleges in Vermont. She received her BS in Education from Wheelock College in 1972, her MA in Education from Western Carolina University in 1980 and her certificate in Mediation in 2001. She is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), Educator’s for Social Responsibility (ESR), Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) and the Vermont Mediator’s Association (VMA). ROBBIE BRIGGS Robbie Briggs, has been at ISBeijing since 2006, assuming the role of Board Chair in 2007. Robbie has served on several private school boards in the U.S., most recently as Chair of the Cambridge School of Dallas. Robbie’s passion for school improvement, community involvement, and inclusion of all is helpful in everything ISB is able to accomplish.
KAREN BURKE During the past 15 years, Dr. Karen Burke has been involved with research in learning styles ranging from the assessment of individual learning preferences to the determination of the effects of utilizing instructional strategies responsive to individual students’ learning-style strengths. Dr. Burke’s research with learning styles has extended to staff development programs conducted in the United States and more than 15 other countries. Learning Style: The Clue to You! (LS:CY), the learning-style assessment that she co-authored, currently is being utilized in various countries and throughout the United States. Dr. Burke is currently an associate professor in the Instructional Leadership Doctoral Program at Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT. Her prior professional experiences include early childhood teacher, middle school math teacher, elementary administrator, and professor in undergraduate and graduate educational programs. LYNNE COLEMAN Lynne Coleman, who has been a curriculum and professional development coordinator at Shanghai American School since August 2006, has been a teacher and administrator for 33 years, 20 of them in international schools. Before accepting the position at SAS, Coleman taught English at the International School of Beijing, where she also worked with professional development and strategic planning for six years. Coleman moved to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she taught IB and AP English and publication classes at the International School of Kuala Lumpur. Prior to that, she taught AP English and the Abitur track at the John F. Kennedy Schule in Berlin, Germany. After nine years teaching in Lewiston Idaho, she began her work in international settings at Zweibrucken, Germany in a DoDDS school.
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EARCOS Administrators’ Conference 2008
