Clarion School Dubai Welcomes Globally Recognized Educator to Spearhead its Vision

Scholars International Group (SIG), parent company for Clarion School Dubai, has appointed Dr. Paul Lieblich, Ed.D. as its new Director of Schools; his first order of business will be to facilitate Clarion's vision towards 'forward-facing' education

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: UAE education provider, Scholars International Group, announces the arrival of Dr. Paul Lieblich to its team of highly qualified education professionals. The famed educator, who co-authored the International Schools Curriculum Project (PYP IB) will facilitate Clarion School’s ambition towards redesigning education to be forward facing.

A visionary, who is well known for raising the debate regarding the goals of education, Aparna Verma, CEO Scholars International Group (SIG), stated:

“With the opening of Clarion, we wanted to establish a learning environment that would build off a child’s innate curiosity and desire to learn. Developing intrinsically motivated life-long learners, who have the ability to apply what is learned and adapt to change is a skill and competitive advantage in our changing world. It is time to really reflect on the goals of a school education; to be bold, to risk and innovate, and develop a real platform for our children that is forward facing. This is why brilliant minds in the realm of education, such as Dr. Paul Lieblich, are an integral part of the work at SIG and have been brought in with a specific focus on leading the development of Clarion’s progressive approach to education.”

The school’s progressive learning approach has resonated with the Dubai community, with many families enrolling new young students in its opening year. Clarion which is expanding organically, a grade per year, will be adding grade 5 for 2018-19. Newly appointed Dr. Lieblich, who has led many international schools successfully for the past 30 years, will be spearheading the work.

Dr. Paul Lieblich explained:

“When I co-authored the IB PYP, it was about authoring a curriculum framework centered around learning versus teaching. With Clarion’s approach, we are taking this further through a responsive approach to build off both a child’s unique interests and the considerations of our rapidly changing environment. Clarion’s progressive approach enables learning through localized context, interdisciplinary themes and experiential exercises that takes the abstraction out of the learning process. Children can more readily grasp concepts and develop skills when engaging through meaningful and relevant application and co-constructing knowledge with their teachers and peers.”

Clarion School Dubai is the only progressive school in the region and is built off a framework developed in collaboration with the renowned Bank Street College of Education in New York City. The approach requires highly skilled educators and each classroom is staffed by two teachers, the lead requiring at least a Master’s qualification in Education. Children are provided with meaningful, engaging and experiential learning that leads to a deeper understanding. While learning is aligned to accredited American standards, there is an ‘emergent’ element in the classrooms, which allows children to take ownership of the learning process through an inquiry based approach that is facilitated by the teachers.

“SIG has been running schools successfully for the past 40 years and we are committed to benefiting future generations through exceptional academic offerings,” Verma added. “Clarion, our latest offering, has been intentionally designed over several years and been built off best practices. We are excited about our articulation of the best of progressive education within the context of a rapidly changing world. The addition of Dr. Lieblich to the team will help support Clarion’s expansion to the other parts of the GCC as well as the US, with a San Francisco launch in the pipeline. Dubai is rapidly becoming a new birthplace for innovation, and education is no exception.”

Admissions for the ‘18-‘19 academic year for Clarion School Dubai open on March 15th and will include Grade 5 applicants.

Read more: https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/story/Clarion_School_Dubai_Welcomes_Globally_Recognized_Educator_to_Spearhead_its_Vision-ZAWYA20180312093152/