As a rapidly growing organization, SABIS® is committed to supporting its network of schools through the provision of educational products and services, enabling them to provide their students with a high-quality education. The SABIS® Academic Development Department plays an instrumental role in contributing to the growth and effective operation of member schools and licensees and ensures that the SABIS® Educational System continues to deliver a top-quality education to all students.
SABIS® Regional Center Conferences
In order to be equipped to meet the challenges that come from operating across several borders, SABIS® operates five Regional Centers which are located in the Levant (region including the countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Egypt), Gulf, U.S., Cairo, and Erbil. With every SABIS® member school reporting to a Regional Center, the main role of each Regional Center is to ensure accurate implementation of the SABIS® curriculum in the schools it oversees.
Assisting each Regional Center in its role is the SABIS® Academic Development Department, which provides continuous support to centers on SABIS® books and resources, Core SABIS® pacing charts, lesson plans, curriculum-related issues, exam timetables, exam questions and databanks for exam creation, as well as customized programs for specific regions/schools.
To facilitate their support role, the SABIS® Academic Department holds a number of annual conferences for the Regional Centers. This year, conferences were held in Cairo, Lebanon, and the U.A.E. In Cairo, Egypt, 20 participants from SABIS® member schools met for a two-day conference on April 5 and 6, 2013. On April 19, 2013, SABIS® hosted a conference for the Regional Center in the Levant region. Thirty-one SABIS® staff members, including members of the SABIS® Academic Development team, Regional Center AQCs, Academic Tasks Personnel, Center Coordinators, and Administrators from SABIS® schools across the Levant region met in the SES headquarters located in Adma, Lebanon. On May 20-22, 2013, SABIS® held a conference for the Gulf Regional Center in the U.A.E. Participants at all three conferences discussed and exchanged new ideas specific to their region. They also shared and explored ideas on how to keep the curriculum vibrant and exciting and how to ensure that school operations optimize student learning.
“The Regional Center Conferences allow SABIS® to make sure that the products and services it provides to member schools, and ultimately to students across the network, remain relevant, up-to-date, and suited to the varying needs of students in different parts of the world where we operate,” explained SABIS® Vice President – Academic Development, Mr. Ghassan Kansou.
SABIS® Bi-Annual Conference
In addition to the Regional Center conferences, SABIS® also held its Bi-Annual Academic Conference in March 2013 at the SABIS® Educational Systems, Inc. offices in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, U.S. Over a four-day period, 26 individuals from the SABIS® Academic Development teams in the U.S. and Lebanon met to discuss the mathematics, English, and science curriculum implemented in member schools in the U.S. Throughout the conference, the team analyzed best practices in preparing students for state exams, ensuring the alignment of the SABIS® curriculum with the ever-evolving U.S. Common Core State Standards as well as pacing charts and SABIS® books.