At the start of each school year, mainly in the month of September (and again in the spring), Senior Associate Ray Sparks travels to different parts of Southeast Asia to visit schools. Some he visits on an annual basis; others are newly registered with Search Associates.
This year, Ray's three-week trip began in Cambodia to work with Northbridge International School and International School of Phnom Penh. From there, he traveled to Vietnam to the International School of Ho Chi Minh, Saigon South International School, Renaissance International School, and Australia International School. Next, he flew to Hong Kong to call on four schools: Independent School Foundation, Victoria International School, Discovery College, and Hong Kong Academy. Ray's final site visits in Southeast Asia were in Taiwan at Kachsiung American School and I-Shou International School Kachsiung.
Many of these schools follow the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, Advanced Placement (AP), International General Certificate of Secondary Education (I GCSE), and Australian or Canadian curriculum, and all are accredited either by the Council of Independent Schools (CIS), Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), or the IB organization.
As well, many of these schools have wonderful facilities and are well-resourced. Ray was particularly impressed with the new, state-of-the-art facility in Kaohsiung American School, Taiwan, which he described as "truly outstanding."
At all the sites, Ray met with administrators and teachers—those already registered and those interested in knowing more about the full range of services that Search Associates offers. Even though site visitations were made upon Ray's request, all schools were grateful for the attention and support of a Search Associate.
October will also keep Ray busy, traveling to fourteen schools in the Middle East located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in addition to attending the 2015 Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA) Administrative Conference. While he is in the region, Ray will try to visit those new schools that have recently registered with Search Associates.
Similar to Ray, our Consultants and Senior Associates make it a priority to travel the world to meet with and support overseas schools. This is just one of the many ways that Search Associates provides personalized service to both schools and candidates. Knowledge acquired about our member schools, obtained from these visits, affects the advice our Associates give to prospective candidates.
