Edarabia had the opportunity to interview M. Sheela George, the visionary principal of ASPAM Indian International School, Sharjah. With over two decades of experience in education, Ms. George is known for her innovative leadership, commitment to excellence, and unwavering dedication to students’ success. In this exclusive interview, she shares her insights on the future of education, the challenges schools face, and her plans for ASPAM IIS in 2025.
As a principal, my plans for 2025 include formulating strategic initiatives to guide the teaching faculty to think sharp and make every student to sparkle, bringing the best out of each of them. I plan to create meaningful opportunities to involve our parent community by inviting them to the campus to gain a deeper understanding of the learning process at ASPAM Indian International School, Sharjah. This will empower parents to provide enriching opportunities at home, fostering a love for learning among their children.
I am committed to shaping future-ready students by nurturing a sustainable environment where they can grow as effective communicators, strategic thinkers, innovative creators, and resilient learners.
I believe that every school leader should be a reflective learner who adopts self-regulatory practices to continually Grow and Glow. I ensure that a deep analysis is conducted term-wise with a critical eye to refine systems, processes, and procedures to align with our school improvement strategies and action plans that are implemented at the start of the year.
As assessment is the key to school improvement and progress, my team and I review standardized test scores, as well as low-stakes and high-stakes assessments, to set clear priorities for growth. A 360-degree feedback survey is conducted involving all stakeholders to gather insights on key priorities and analyze the data for further improvement.
In terms of new initiatives, my team and I aim to strengthen collaborations with other schools, working in partnership to enhance teacher professional development, student leadership opportunities, and inter-school collaborative events to foster scientific thinking, communication, and critical thinking skills among students. We also wish to widen the integration of cutting-edge technologies, including AI, augmented reality, simulators, and more, to make the learning of disciplinary literacy both engaging and innovative.
One of the biggest challenges schools will face is preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist. With the rapid advancements in technology and research, the curriculum and competency-based skills will need to be continuously modified and skillfully taught to meet the demands of an evolving future.
Continuous updating of teachers with rigorous training sessions for school leaders and teaching faculty would be challenging unless schools are reflective and work on well-structured developmental plans.
Schools must also focus on building robust mental health support systems, social-emotional learning (SEL) programs and mental health awareness training for all stakeholders will be essential to reduce pressure and promote the social and emotional well-being of students and staff. With the increase in diverse student populations, teachers need to create consistently culturally responsive classrooms that can cater to the needs and abilities of the divergent thinkers.
At ASPAM IIS, we create a culture of connectedness and positivity with all stakeholders. Excellence through equity is our guiding principle and we ensure that every student is appreciated for the skill they possess. We focus on doing things that has been good for the students in building the skills and maintain the required ethos, climate and culture that enable the students to learn and nurture their skills.
A climate of emotional intelligence is created to make every student feel valued and accountable for their learning and behavior. Understanding that every mind matters, our teachers are guided to frame well –structured tailored interventions and remedial measures to guide and assist students requiring additional help. We create and foster a growth and learning mindset through positive talk sessions and provide the courage and confidence to students to take every failure as a stepping stone of success and work on their areas for improvement.
We have the monthly learning liaison program to meet up with the parent community and provide them a brief on their ward’s performance with guidelines on the support they need to render their ward.
While the school maintains stringent procedures and processes for the effective management of behavior, we give major emphasis on sustaining close positive relationships with all stakeholders. “We Care” is a simple two-word phrase that holds profound meaning and purpose in everything we strive to achieve at our school.
At ASPAM, we focus on listening to the needs of our students so that they develop a sense of belonging and are happy to come to school. The staff are trained to embed values in the core subjects during the teaching and learning and ensure that value –based assemblies are conducted weekly in every department.
We provide welcome cards for every new student to make them feel comfortable and assign peer mentors or buddies to guide them through the transition. Teachers observe and nurture the potential of every student, fostering an inclusive culture where everyone feels like a valued part of the learning journey. Students are recognized and awarded based on their unique abilities, ensuring every child feels celebrated.
We strive to use student data to drive instruction and ensure to motivate students by engaging them more in low stake assessments. The feedback marking policy that is embedded in the assignments and assessments of the school enables students to have an understanding on their strengths and areas for development. In senior classes, teachers are very generous with their time and run sessions after school hours, over weekends and also during their holidays for those who require additional help.
The bonds developed during these sessions strengthen the relationship between students and teachers, as students recognize and appreciate their teachers’ genuine commitment to enhancing their knowledge and skills.
At ASPAM, we create a supportive learning environment providing the key priority to safeguarding. We have an open door policy that allows students to express their concerns if they are bullied. Our annual planner for the well-being activities is designed at the beginning of the Academic year. The school has a well-structured behavior policy that is aligned with the local policy.
The expected code of conduct is shared with every student on the 1st day at the commencement of the Academic year. Parent contracts are signed every year to keep the parents updated on the expectations that the school has towards students’ behavior. To ensure that bullying does not prevail inside and outside the school environment, students are taken through counselling sessions and the rules of behavior are displayed in every classroom.
The school walls exhibit well- established positive behavior rules, dos and don’ts. These are displayed in prominent places with motivational messages. To reduce students’ stress, the school has a clear system of rewards and sanctions.
There is a strong focus in our assemblies, school concerts as well as in our in-house activity celebrations on character development and the promotion of a clear and positive ethos.
Apart from organizing stress relieving activities like funfair, happy evening and camping, the school organizes meaningful motivational talks by experts, senior leaders and teachers to encourage and keep students happy, healthy and engaged.
A comprehensive plan is framed at the beginning of the academic year so that students make right career choices. Students across the school are given an understanding on the different areas connected with career in the assemblies. while special events are organized for the senior students (Grades 9 to 12) with a major focus on career guidance.
Students are groomed on effective communication skills, confidence and engage in courageous conversations in forums and debates. The school provides opportunities for students to nurture their creative and critical thinking skills by participating in STEM lab activities, constructing their own learning and develop negotiating skills by organizing market day, sale day, funfair etc. Career fairs are organized for students and parents to seek opportunities to discuss with the universities and decide on their preferences. Students participate and involve in financial literacy programs and research projects. School creates opportunities for the students to connect with the Alumni and learn from them. Expeditionary trips to industries and factories are organized in addition to their summer and winter internship programs.
Parent engagement and involvement play a pivotal role in the development and progress of ASPAM IIS. One of our key programs is PAST (Parents and Students Together), where different professionals from the parent community contribute to academic learning by providing talk sessions, participating in special events, and sharing their expertise to enhance literacy, mathematical, and scientific skills. Additionally, the school organizes coffee mornings, workshops, and monthly parent meetings, fostering open communication and collaboration. Our Parent School Association (PSA) serves as a bridge between the school and parent community, with PSA members representing their respective grades to discuss concerns, provide feedback, and work collaboratively with the school to find effective solutions.
To ensure continuous improvement, the school conducts monthly and termly surveys to gather parent feedback and refine our techniques and approaches. Beyond academics, parents are actively involved in organizing fun fairs, exhibitions, and concerts, contributing to the vibrant school culture. During times of teacher absence, parent volunteers step in to assist with teaching and supervising students.
At ASPAM IIS, the parent-school relationship is a cornerstone of our success, creating a supportive, collaborative environment that benefits students, staff, and the broader school community.
ASPAM believes in creating a warm and supportive environment for all the teachers by ensuring there are consistent approaches in behavior, attitude and discipline among all staff. We build a strong bond with teachers and ensure that we give a listening ear to all our staff on their challenges and ideas.
We identify the skills of teachers and ensure that they are valued by giving them roles and responsibilities and guide them in nurturing their leadership skills. We create opportunities for teachers to collaborate and network with teachers of other schools to enhance their professional skills. Teachers are recognized for their good work and are rewarded. Teachers are always motivated intrinsically and extrinsically. A culture of positivity and trust that is fortified with a team vision and managing common challenges together does make the teachers to stay on and continue with us.
The school provides opportunities for competent members to take roles as senior management leaders, middle leaders and nurture their skills further to aim higher. School frames a committee list department-wise to provide teachers opportunities to grow their leadership skills and complete the tasks assigned. We ensure that they are exposed to various workshops conducted within and outside school.
The school believes in shared leadership and ensures to identify the talent of teachers and groom them to become leaders for the future by adequately training, supervising and monitoring their performance. As a principal, I strive to create a high performance culture within the school, in which the productive relationships thrive.
A culture of togetherness is fostered through the norms and practices established, which leads to respect, continuous improvement, team focused collaborations, clarity of thought, interpersonal accountability towards achieving the goal and fulfillment of commitment.
High quality after –school programs benefit the students to enhance their knowledge, skills and abilities. Programs that enhance students social and personal skills have a big impact on students’ future. It is important for students to participate and involve in exploring AI, robotics, Simulators and many other new technologies and involve in research based projects that can further guide them in their academic areas. In a fast paced educational world, students should be given opportunities through after school activities to improve their effective communication skills, creative thinking skills and research skills. In addition to this area, sports and games should also be an integral part of after –school program for improving students physical and emotional well –being.
Success for me is to work persistently with passion, grit and determination, learn from challenges, nurture courage & move forward to achieve the goal.
Be resilient, have faith in your abilities, explore your skills and excel.
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