It says something interesting about Tim Carr\u2019s personality that he describes his arrival at Jakarta International School as a homecoming.\u00a0 What\u2019s interesting is Mr. Carr has never lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, or SE Asia before accepting the role of Head of School at JIS.\u00a0 The homecoming that he\u2019s referring to is less tangible, but more of spirit and connection with the developing world that was lacking at his last position at ASIJ in Tokyo.\u00a0 It\u2019s clear that the energy and vibrancy of Indonesian culture has connected with Mr. Carr as he sets out on his journey, which has already included the creation of a new and exciting school wide vision that connects to this spirit.<\/p>\n
(If not specifically quoted, Mr. Carr’s responses to these questions have been paraphrased)<\/p>\n
You\u2019re relatively young for your position, what convinced you to go into leadership at a young age?<\/strong><\/p>\n My father was in education so I think some of my interests in schools and students come from there.\u00a0 \u201cI was often drawn towards how schools worked, and I\u2019ve always been fascinated with schools as an organism.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Early in our careers, my wife and I decided to take the step into international teaching, and \u201cI decided at a relatively young age to walk through doors [to leadership] that were opened, even if I wasn\u2019t qualified to do it.\u201d\u00a0 In fact a lot of my opportunities have come from people who trusted me to do things I didn\u2019t know how to do, but was willing to try.<\/em><\/p>\n What or who has been most fundamental in your development?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cLearning\u2026that\u2019s the main thing\u2026I can\u2019t imagine conjuring a steeper learning curve than this job\u201d…Sometimes we get asked why we choose this lifestyle and a lot of it comes down to the opportunity to learn from world experiences. \u201cI\u2019m in a community of over 60 different nationalities, and I\u2019m absolutely in my element\u2026I\u2019ve pretty much grown addicted to the steepness of that learning curve.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Also like I mentioned earlier, \u201cone of the key factors I had going for me early on was having people that believed in me, and gave me opportunities to do things that I wasn\u2019t qualified to do.\u201d\u00a0 Many of those people have inspired the way I work today, and demonstrated different styles of leadership.\u00a0 \u201c[I] learned more about myself as a leader by watching them\u2026[and having] those key mentors in my life was absolutely essential.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ve also received a lot of support from the Academy of International School Heads (AISH), which has been important because it allows a way for us heads to come together to support and learn from one another.<\/em><\/p>\n How do you develop leadership talent at JIS?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI hope [and believe] that the job of an educator is as a mentor, and to really help people develop through their life journey\u2026I hope that\u2019s what I\u2019ve dedicated my life\u2019s work to.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMy philosophy of teaching is very similar to my philosophy of leadership, which is that I usually shouldn\u2019t be directive\u2026I need to be guiding people and discovering who they are and what their talents are, and then help draw those forth, and if that means providing or coaxing them into some new opportunities that will stretch them, then that\u2019s what I want to do.\u201d\u00a0 I always stand ready to help when they ask for it.\u00a0 As both a teacher and leader, I see my role in many ways as a coach on the side encouraging others to step up into their potential.<\/em><\/p>\n What\u2019s your greatest priority when choosing teachers or administrators for JIS?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m looking for a complimentary team\u201d, which requires self-knowledge of my own strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard leadership ability described in terms of points on a compass, with different styles representing North, South, East, and West.\u00a0 Assuming this is true, you don\u2019t want your school filled with all Norths or all Souths.\u00a0 Instead creating a team that compliments each others’ strengths is key.\u00a0 This is why I chose to wait for a year after I arrived to hire the deputy head, so I could know the needs of the school better and then recruit the person to provide the skills to address them.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201c[Basically] when I\u2019m looking for members of the team, I know that there are things we need to do well\u201d and I\u2019m looking for a diverse staff that can help us in many different situations.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n JIS has a very developed mission and vision, how was that developed?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe easy answer is that we created it together.\u201d\u00a0 Since I was chosen for this position very early, something like 20 months before I officially started, it allowed for a lot of transition time and the ability to study the school from many angles.\u00a0 It became very obvious that the school was in need of a new vision and set of core values to guide us.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m more a big picture and vision person, so with help from others I knew this should be a priority.\u00a0 However it\u2019s kind of risky to do this during your first year.\u00a0 Still, ever since I arrived at JIS I felt an amazing \u2018fit\u2019 with the school.\u00a0 So we decided to go for the vision creation in the second semester of my first year.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n More details about the Dream Summit are on our website, but basically we gathered all the major stakeholders including students, teachers, staff, community members, alumni, even government officials and started by asking broad question like \u201cWhat should education be?\u201d\u00a0 With help from a consultant, Sherry Miller, we facilitated and guided the Summit and subsequent discussions and eventually we ended up creating our current vision.<\/em><\/p>\n So what does JIS do the best?\u00a0 And how do you measure success at JIS?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t really like that question because \u201cbeing the best in the world isn\u2019t our goal, [we want to be the] best <\/em>for<\/em><\/strong> the world.\u201d\u00a0 This was something I really connected with when I was a candidate for this position.\u00a0 \u201cI think best in the world is a lousy goal\u2026I want our students to be the best they can be, given the tools they have\u2026[So] the goal is to take good care of the people in our community and help them learn optimally\u2026I don\u2019t want to beat up the competition; I want to collaborate with them.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201dWe\u2019ll measure our success next to our Destiny Plan, which lays out benchmarks, challenges, and measures, which connect back to our mission and vision.\u00a0 Some of these marks are easily quantifiable like learning results, but we\u2019ll also pay close attention to the qualitative factors too.<\/em><\/p>\n What advice do you have for the next generation of international administrators?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re interested in leadership, then raise your hand for anything that would constitute leadership, even if [it\u2019s not your specialty].\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAsk for as much advice as you can\u2026seek out the mentors.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMake yourself indispensable.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Reflect on your experiences…\u201dI\u2019ve had some horrible experiences, but they probably taught me more than the good ones.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It says something interesting about Tim Carr\u2019s personality that he describes his arrival at Jakarta International School as a homecoming.\u00a0 What\u2019s interesting is Mr. Carr has never lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, or SE Asia before accepting the role of Head of School at JIS.\u00a0 The homecoming that he\u2019s referring to is less tangible, but more 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