In an exclusive interview with Edarabia.com, Dwight School Dubai’s all-female senior leadership team share their thoughts on empowering young women in education as well as women’s rights issues that need greater awareness.
In honor of International Women’s Day, we asked Janaecke Aarnaes (Head of School), Rebecca Skinner (Associate Head of School), and Jaya Bhavnani (MYP Coordinator) the following questions
Janecke Aarnaes brings to Dubai over 22 years of teaching experience. Prior to joining Dwight School Dubai as Head of School, Janecke held the position as Head of School at Oslo International School (OIS) in Norway, a cutting-edge private K-12 co-ed IB World School. Having started as a foreign language teacher, Janecke has worked within the private educational sector, within both national and international schools in Norway and Belgium.
Janecke is also a respected board member of the ECIS, the Educational Collaborative for International Schools. She holds a postgraduate diploma in Leading Innovation and Change from York St. John’s University in the United Kingdom and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology, Political Geography, and French from the University of Oslo in Norway.
Rebecca Skinner is the Associate Head of School. She brings to her role over 20 years of experience in the educational sector, including independent schools and non-profit organizations in New York City. Prior to joining Dwight School Dubai, she was, for over 14 years, the founder and founding head of school at International School of Brooklyn, a Nursery-Grade 8 language immersion (French and Spanish) and International Baccalaureate (PYP and MYP) school.
She holds an MA in French Cultural Studies from the Institute of French Studies at NYU in New York City and a BA in French and International Studies from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. In addition to speaking English and French, Ms. Skinner has a basic level of Spanish and is looking forward to learning Arabic, along with her husband and two children, as they settle into life in the UAE.
Ms. Jaya Bhavnani is the MYP Coordinator at Dwight School Dubai and the Executive Director of Dwight Global Online School. Instrumental in founding the program with Chancellor Stephen Spahn, she works closely with all areas of Dwight School to ensure that Dwight’s online program meets the standards of excellence for which the school is known and ignites the spark of genius in every online student.
Ms. Bhavnani came to Dwight in 2010 with extensive experience in international education in public and private schools in Bombay, Muscat, Dubai and Santiago. Ms. Bhavnani has been actively involved with the International Baccalaureate as a Workshop Leader, Site Evaluator, Consultant, Examiner and Curriculum Reviewer. She is the Lead Facilitator for the Group 5 and Continuum Online Workshops in the Diploma Programme. She serves on the Evaluation Team for the CIS (Council for International Schools). She has served as a frequent guest contributor for professional development and curriculum alignment and review. She holds a BS in Education and Physics and an MS in Mathematics. She has an interest in learning languages and internationalism. A passionate educator, Ms. Bhavnani firmly believes in the power of lifelong learning.
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