Mulgrave Partners with the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa

TRAVELS TO MOMBASA

NOVEMBER 2017

As part of Mulgrave’s vision to serve communities in the world at large, the school leadership team has been looking to continue to develop mutually beneficial partnerships with schools locally and around the world.

As part of this, we have established a link with the Aga Khan Development Network, an organisation that oversees numerous agencies, including the Aga Khan Academies (AKA) – an integrated network of schools located in countries across Africa and India.

FOOD NOTES | SEPTEMBER 2020

Last spring, our Head of School, John Wray, reached out to the AKA to explore how we could support one of their schools. An opportunity arose at the Mombasa Academy in Kenya, an IB World School, featuring state-of-the-art facilities and a multicultural student body, accepting all eligible students regardless of socioeconomic status.

Also at the Academy is a Professional Development Centre, and we were asked to provide assistance and expertise to help a new cohort of teachers as they embarked on an intensive, three-week course in their Teacher Preparation Programme at the Centre. The Programme synthesises the most effective strategies for building local teacher capacity by drawing on the best practices from education and other fields to actively support local teachers.

Our Senior School Vice Principal, Kathryn Clark, and Junior School Vice

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All eligible students are welcome, regardless of socioeconomic status.

FOOD NOTES | SEPTEMBER 2020

Principal, Shanaz Ramji-Motani, travelled to Mombasa during our November break. Focusing on the topics of inquiry and assessment and how to use to data to improve teaching and learning, they ran workshops, observed teachers, and went into classrooms to chat with students.

“By working with candidates and teaching faculty who want to grow as educators and become leaders in their field,” says Shanaz, “I learned how important it is to network with teachers and students in different parts of the world. Imagine how much deeper our planning, learning, and reflection can be with this kind of partnership.”

When asked what she enjoyed most about the experience, Kathryn shares, “Having the opportunity to understand more about living and education in a different country and culture, but also seeing the

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similarities. We listened to some 12 students talk about their experiences in completing their Extended Essay and participating in Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS), and we could have been listening to students at Mulgrave. The IB makes the world a lot smaller with students having similar experiences regardless of where they live.”

Looking ahead to the future, John says, “We have a number of partnerships with schools and charitable organisations locally and around the world that involve our students working with and supporting diverse communities.

This partnership will allow our teachers to exchange ideas and learn from teachers at the Aga Khan Academies. It will enable our faculty to deepen their own cultural understanding and allow them to make a positive difference in some of the economically poorest countries in the world.”