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THE PRINCIPALS' TRAINING CENTER

Sue Easton Named Director of the Teacher Training Center (TTC)

By Meadow Hilley, TIE Editor
14-Jul-16
Sue Easton Named Director of the Teacher Training Center (TTC)


Sue Easton has just been named Director of the Teacher Training Center (TTC) and also works with the Teacher Leader Institute (TLI). For the past five years she served as a trainer with the Principals’ Training Center (PTC).
Sue comes to the TTC from the American School of Brasilia, where she was Deputy Head of School for Learning. She played similarly transformative roles at the International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) as Director of Curriculum and Professional Development, and at the American School of Barcelona (ASB) as the Assistant Director for Learning.
Prior to moving her career overseas, Sue worked in Canada as a teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, and system-wide Learning Coordinator focused on Literacy and Numeracy for struggling learners. She has a Masters in International Education Administration from Endicott College in the U.S. and Principals’ Qualifications through the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE).
Sue has taken an active role in the Accreditation process and has experience with MSA, CIS, WASC, and AdvancEd. She has a passion for learning and a belief that systematized school structures lead to school and student success.
"I come from Canada, where I got my start as a teacher and administrator before moving overseas ten years ago. I went to Barcelona first, in a teaching and learning role, and from there to Malaysia. Thanks to these experiences, I realized that I really loved being part of a school that was working to move along the continuum, and I got the wonderful opportunity to serve as the Deputy Head of School in Brazilia, focused on learning and helping engaged faculty to move forward.
Everything that the Training Centers are about—improving collaborative opportunities for the people working in these international schools, offering research-based activities, and developing our culture—has really been the focus of my work for the past 15 years.
In my new role with the TTC, I support our amazing facilitators as they offer trainings in our Summer Institutes, both in London and Miami. Another important aspect of my role is to enhance our curriculum. We are planning to introduce some exciting new classes next year, tightening our focus on what international educators need most. Then there is the consulting piece, thanks to which we have the opportunity to offer trainings in international schools around the world using a thoroughly researched and regularly vetted PTC curriculum.
One thing that I feel sets all of the TCs apart from other PD opportunities is that we thoroughly encourage and support the expertise in the room. We ask participants to offer morning “Nuggets of Wisdom” and have worked into the course design afternoon group meetings in which participants collaborate as a cohort to discuss issues specific to their schools and to share their expertise. We are constantly trying to meet the needs of international educators, with more and more of a laser focus.
Some participants have expressed the need for better cross-cultural training. Often, they are coming from systems that serve a far more homogeneous group, and they don’t know how best to teach kids from different cultures, or how to work harmoniously with colleagues from different cultures. We’ve also identified coaching as an area of growth for the TTC.
I feel that international schools offer an opportunity to be far more progressive than schools in national systems, so that something like the maker space movement with lots of problem-based learning, there are far more opportunities to integrate this well in international schools. But we need to work together to refine our curriculum.
To be part of this organization is really a dream come true."




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