Last Saturday, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the annual ICS Parents’ Association Spring Party for the first time. I was certainly impressed, though not at all surprised, by the organisation, generosity, good humour, commitment to ICS values, and elegance on display. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated and accomplished Parents’ Association at our school. And, we are blessed to have a community of parents who are committed to the cause of learning beyond our borders. By all estimates, the event raised more than enough funds to support several Shree Mangal DVIP Schools scholars all the way through university in their native Nepal. A proud moment for our community, indeed.

Over the past decade, I have spent a great deal of time studying just what, exactly, makes a learning organisation successful. Although he did not coin the term, Peter Senge is perhaps the most well-known figure associated with the study of learning organisations. His seminal text, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization, develops the basic premise that for organisations to maintain a sustainable, competitive advantage in their relative markets, they must become excellent at learning. That is to say, they must foster collective and individual attributes that promote growth-mindset, adaptation, risk-taking, evidence-gathering, systems-thinking, etc. The idea is that each member of the organisation is continually learning how to improve their impact within their own role-specific spheres of influence.

When applied to schools, this looks like a commitment to Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), professional development programmes, best-practices research, collaborative learning protocols, coaching/observation cycles, data-gathering, and yearly personal growth goals. The idea is that everyone in the organisation is committed to, and supported in, continual learning around how to best serve the children in our care. Schools, after all, should be the best at learning, since this is central to our vocation. What the focus on learning organisations misses, however, is that schools are not just organisations; they are communities. A better question to ask is this: what does it mean to be a learning community? 

My recent and emergent post-graduate work has centred on this very question. Guided by the tools of Improvement Science, I have set out to understand what, exactly, makes a learning community successful. Besides material assets, what cultural, linguistic, and intellectual capital does our wider community possess? How can this capital be leveraged to improve student learning? How can home-school-community barriers become more permeable and conducive to learning partnerships? I am only just getting to know this community and what makes it so special. What I saw on Saturday was a commitment to learning at a level I have rarely seen elsewhere. I look forward to the days, weeks, months, and years ahead of collective exploration, learning, and growth made all the more joyful, all the more possible, by each and every member of this vibrant community.

In partnership, 

Gabriel Di Mauro
Secondary Principal