Cultivating Safe and Brave Spaces | TIE Newsletter 22 April 2026

22 April 2026

Cultivating Safe and Brave Spaces by Rethinking Teacher Observations

By Ross Cameron

By embracing the snapshot model and prioritizing peer-to-peer reflection, we can strip away the anxiety that has plagued teacher evaluations for decades… more

THE COMPLEXITIES OF HEAD OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

Governance and Murder: Two Parties, One Plan

By Ethan Van Drunen

A Board meeting, thoughtfully hosted, ensures attendees can fulfill roles and responsibilities, requiring the same meticulous planning as a murder mystery dinner party… more

SAFEGUARDING IN SCHOOLS

Working With External Consultants

By Dr. Leila Holmyard

The International Taskforce on Child Protection developed and launched guidance specifically focused on the screening of external consultants… more

TIE'S GETTING THE JOB SURVEY RESULTS

It’s Not Enough to Be Qualified Anymore

The Voice of TIE

A survey of 343 educators shows recruiting is shifting from qualifications to positioning, where visibility, networks, and strategy increasingly determine hiring success... more

THE VOICE OF TIE PODCAST

Student Voice at the Center

By Stacy Stephens

Hear Kyle Wagner and Grade 7 students share how Montessori learning builds independence, confidence, and real-world skills through authentic voice and responsibility... more

Rethinking the Admissions Welcome

By Sandy Sheppard

An inside look at how the International School Yangon continues to evolve its admissions approach through relationships, connections, and family experience... more

Belonging as Pedagogy: Expanding the Language of School

By Loretta Fernando-Smith and April J. Remfrey

Designing for belonging, identity, and access transforms classrooms, helping all students feel seen, valued, and able to thrive... more

Inclusion by Design

By Katherine Deutsch, Kim Bentley, and Will Kirkwood

Zurich International School shared a collaborative framework for aligning accreditation with strategic vision... more

The Path of Principled Action

By Kathryn T. Berkman, Meredith Robinson, and Megan Vosk

When students apply their learning through a principled lens, they stop seeing the community as a project and start seeing it as a partner they are working with, not for... more

PEARLS OF WISDOM

Lead With Empathy

By Maria Camila Ardon

In this Pearl, Maria shares how leading with empathy can transform both student behavior and relationships within a school community... more

The Invisible Workload in International Schools

By Dr. Cathy White

Small, unacknowledged tasks create invisible workloads for teachers in international schools. Leaders can help reduce the burden... more

Exploring the Power of Student Voice

By Chris Perakis and Anna Rose Sugarman

Practical strategies and classroom examples of how student voice enhances ownership, engagement, and reflection... more

The Unravelling of a Seamless Education

By Nicholas Alchin

Every May, I watch them leave. They cross the stage, collect their diplomas and walk out carrying everything they have learnt – and earnt – with us: the confidence, the university places, the carefully cultivated ability to read a room, assess what’s needed and deliver it. They are, by any measure we use, well prepared... more

Warm Data and the Human Story of Learning through Deep Reflections

By Shwetangna Chakrabarty

A few weeks ago, I participated in a workshop with the International Bateson Institute that offered more than a conceptual framework; it invited a shift in how we perceive data itself, through a deeply humanising lens. Rather than viewing data as a static collection of numbers, facts, or isolated data points, warm data encourages us to consider the relationships and contexts that give meaning to information... more

We Talk About Peace – But What Does It Actually Look Like in Classrooms?

By Lianne Dominguez

What does it actually mean for education to contribute to peace? Not peace as an abstract idea or something we reference in mission statements—but as something lived in the everyday interactions between students, teachers, and communities. We are living in a time where uncertainty feels constant... more