A Letter from the Director of KIS

Dr. Philip J. Spottswood, Director

Welcome to the Kazakhstan International School website. If you are a parent of school age child, you will probably agree with me that the education of your child is critically important as you try to prepare him/her to face the multiple challenges in the 21^st century.

The motto of our school is: “Providing a 21st century education for 21st century students”. I have written a short paper that you can access on our website that describes how education needs to change to reflect the new realities of living and learning in the 21^st century.

In this letter, I want to continue that theme by excerpting for you some comments from a report titled: “Learning for the 21st Century”. That report was prepared by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a public-private organization formed in 2002 to create a successful model of learning for this millennium that seeks to promote the incorporation of 21^st century skills into [the current] system of education. You can view the entire report at www.21stcenturyskills.org.

They argue that “accelerating technological change, rapidly accumulating knowledge, increasing global competition and rising workforce capabilities around the world make 21^st century skills essential… There remains a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21^st century communities and workplaces… Economic, technological, demographic, and political forces have transformed the way people work and live. These changes, and the rate of change, will continue to accelerate. Schools, like businesses, communities and families, most adapt to changing conditions to thrive… Against this backdrop, literacy in the 21^st century means more than basic reading, writing, and computing skills. It means knowing how to use knowledge and skills in the context of modern life. As Alvin Toffler points out, ‘The illiterate of the 21^st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.’”  

The authors advocate for six elements that must be incorporated in educating students to be successful in the 21^st century.

They are:
1. the strong emphasis on core subjects;
2. the emphasis on learning skills;
3. the use of 21^st century tools to develop learning skills;
4. the need to teach and learn in the 21^st century context;
5. the need to teach and learn 21^st century content;
6. and the use of 21^st century assessments that measure 21^st century skills.

To help schools focus their efforts and prioritize their resources, they suggest that schools implement a series of nine steps to build the momentum necessary to make the transition.

Those nine steps are to:
1. embrace a powerful vision of education that includes 21^st century skills;
2. align leadership, management, and resources with educational goals;
3. use this tool to assess where [your] school [is] now;
4. develop priorities for 21^st century skills;
5. develop a professional development for 21^st century skills;
6. make sure students have equitable access to a 21^st century education;
7. begin developing assessments to measure student progress in 21^st century skills;
8. collaborate with outside partners;
9. and plan collectively and strategically for the future.

KIS has initiated this process. We have selected the best curriculum available to make sure that our students get a strong, broad foundation in core subjects. We have hired a diverse, multinational staff of educators who bring great pedagogical skills to their work. We have initiated the process of seeking International Baccalaureate and Council of International Schools accreditation to insure that we are using the “best practices” available to provide a 21^st century education to all of our students. We have upgraded our facility adding 10 new classrooms to provide room for the expansion of our school from preschool through 4^th grade to preschool through 9^th grade.

But we cannot accomplish our goal of providing the best 21^st century education available to our students without the active participation of every parent and interested community leader. We need your help to continue to improve our school so that your children will be well prepared to meet all the challenges they will face in the 21^st century. Won’t you join us on this great mission? We look forward to your working beside us to make KIS the best school in Central Asia.

Director, Philip J. Spottswood, Ph.D. 

Learning for the 21st Century; A Report and Mile Guide for 21st Century Skills, Published by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (PDF, 592 KB)