As I\u2019ve had the opportunity to meet with peers at other international schools, it seems that so many international educators come from either Washington, or Minnesota, my home state.\u00a0 Although I\u2019m sure the world of international ED benefits from all the high-IQ WA expats, Minnesota and the Midwest continue to export good-ole fashion kindness.\u00a0 Where I\u2019m from we actually call it \u201cMinnesota-nice.\u201d Although Dr. Kerry Jacobson, Superintendent at Shanghai American School, originally comes from Wisconsin, he spent a large chunk of his career in Minnesota before moving overseas, and it seems some of the state\u2019s niceties have \u201crubbed off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite a demanding schedule overseeing a school population above 3000, Dr. Jacobson was not only nice <\/em>enough to meet with me in the busy month of May, but also put-up with a weak Skype connection\u2014and he did it all with a big smile.\u00a0 As we talked Kerry spoke of the importance of bridging the complex differences between stakeholders at our schools.\u00a0 He went on to explain that although it\u2019s important to be focused in our execution of purpose, so much of what we do relies on our ability to connect, empathies and be nice<\/em> with others.\u00a0 As a proud Midwesterner, I\u2019d like to think his success as a leader might be traced back to his time in Minnesota.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve spent most of your career in US public Schools, what has been the most drastic difference between leading a public school and an international school like SAS?<\/strong><\/p>\n First off, I have to say that I am a big advocate for American public education \u201c[in fact] I think American public education is one of the greatest institutions on the face of the planet.\u00a0 On the other hand [it seems with] what\u2019s happening\u2026it\u2019s becoming more difficult to be fully engaged as a teacher, not to overstate that\u2026\u201d but there are certainly so many external pressures that can interfere with a classroom back in the states, that aren\u2019t a concern for teachers at SAS.\u00a0 \u201c[For example] you can\u2019t beat the class sizes around here and\u2026[the caliber] of kids we serve is excellent.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest difference that I notice\u2026is the lack of media scrutiny\u201d\u2026in the states board meetings and other aspects of the school would be very public, maybe even televised.\u00a0 Everyone in the community is a stakeholder, even if they have no children in the school.\u00a0 Here all of our major stakeholders have children in the school and everybody cares about \u201cwhat\u2019s in the best interest of the children.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201c[Also] I notice the more favorable lack of regulations\u2026that doesn\u2019t mean that we do things that differently\u2026[but] we are truly an independent school\u201d and determine our own benchmarks, guidelines and priorities.<\/em><\/p>\n Have you always had an interest in international education?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve been familiar with international schools for a long time, and always wanted the opportunity to work at an overseas school.\u00a0 Although with 6 kids, my wife and I decided to wait until after they finished school.\u00a0 In fact once our youngest graduated from the University of Minnesota, it wasn\u2019t more then a few days before we were flying to China to interview for this position.<\/em><\/p>\n What specific set of skills do you bring to a school?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think two practical skills I have include \u201ca background in strategic planning leadership\u2026[which I\u2019ve been] doing for organizations both in and out of schools.\u201d\u00a0 Also I have a background in educational finance, which helps me understand and provide experienced leadership on some of the bigger financial issues, while also understanding the small details too.<\/em><\/p>\n Lastly, I\u2019ve had a lot of people point out my interpersonal skills, which can be very helpful in a complex organization, so that you can keep \u201cpeople talking\u2026and growing, which is very important in a large community that is constantly changing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Where have you seen your greatest personal development as a leader?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the reasons I was excited to come to Shanghai was that I am \u201cvery much interested in my own learning and development\u201d\u2026and I\u2019ve found that SAS provides such a robust opportunity to learn as a professional.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n However, before arriving here I believe a strong tool for my development has been learning through the different experiences I\u2019ve had as an educator.\u00a0 What\u2019s helped me through these experiences is \u201cThe ability to stay positive, but also stay focused.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThese ideas aren\u2019t mutually exclusive\u2026 [but I think as a leader it\u2019s important to have] the ability to be resilient, on the one hand, and not take yourself to personally…stay positive, stay upbeat\u2026and on the other hand stay focused.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n What challenges have you needed to overcome in your position because you\u2019re new to the region?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d call them challenges but interesting opportunities.\u00a0 \u201cOne of the aspects is dealing more with people\u2019s personal lives, more than I would in the states.\u00a0 We\u2019re used to dealing with the students and parents lives, but here we have to worry about retaining the best teachers\u201d and we have to consider the different personal issues that wouldn\u2019t intersect with work back home, especially as people overcome the cultural gap.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201c[It seems] you find yourself asking people more about their personal lives here\u2026because they\u2019re not likely to have that immediate family network.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n SAS continues to grow in Shanghai, but certainly for this growth to be successful you need a great team, what\u2019s your greatest priority when choosing administrators?<\/strong><\/p>\n I am always looking for people \u201cwho can translate our [school\u2019s] mission into action and learning.\u201d\u00a0 As a part of our mission statement we hope to inspire students to create a life long passion for learning, a commitment to act with integrity and passion, and courage to live out your dreams.\u00a0 When we find people who can embody these ideas, we create powerful models for our students.<\/em><\/p>\n Once you have these people, how do you continue to develop their talent?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe have one of the most robust professional development programs I\u2019ve witnessed\u2026I\u2019m just amazed by the opportunities here\u2026we bring the top people in the world to work with our teachers.\u201d\u00a0 I think we offer a competitive compensation package, but we\u2019ve found that among the real great teachers, opportunities for development is what they care about.<\/em><\/p>\n At the end of the year, when you reflect, what makes you feel like the year has been a success?<\/strong><\/p>\n Like most schools we do lots of surveying and looking at data, student feedback to teachers, and of course test results\u2026then we lay it aside, and at the end of the year we get together as an administrative team and ask how it went.\u00a0 That conversation might only last an hour or so, and then we move on.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a believer that you don\u2019t look back too far, because you have way too much work to do ahead.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI [believe you can\u2019t]\u2026spend too much time looking back\u2026life for me is living in the moment and looking to the future.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Do you have any advice for the next generation of aspiring international ED administrators?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cKeep challenging yourself to learn something new all the time\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cLearn from those that you respect, and learn from those that are different from you\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t sweat the small stuff, and it\u2019s all small stuff.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTake some risks and don\u2019t be afraid to jump a little bit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As I\u2019ve had the opportunity to meet with peers at other international schools, it seems that so many international educators come from either Washington, or Minnesota, my home state.\u00a0 Although I\u2019m sure the world of international ED benefits from all the high-IQ WA expats, Minnesota and the Midwest continue to export good-ole fashion kindness.\u00a0 Where 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