Developing young minds

Developing young minds

At the junction of Yishun Ave 1 and Yishun Ave 6, a new world is rising on a 5ha plot. It is the Singapore campus of the GEMS World Academy (GWA) which will throw open its doors to students in September this year. To begin with, students from Pre-K to Grade 8 will be admitted to the International Baccalaureate programme.

Spearheading the launch of the school is American Daniel E. Young. Dan, as he is popularly known, is the Founding Head of School and a director of GEMS World Academies. The Singapore school is part of GEMS Education's global network of international schools, headquartered in Dubai.

Sitting in his office at the Forum in Orchard Road, Mr Young gave tabla! an overview of what the school will offer. Some of the highlights include daily Mandarin lessons from Pre-K to K2. From Grade 1 onwards there is an option of Mandarin, Spanish or English as an additional language.

Every student from Grade 1 to 5 will be provided with a violin or cello. This is to provide all students with the opportunity to explore and excel their creative abilities.

Students will also be issued smart cards. These cards can be used for boarding the school bus, accessing certain areas like the library on campus and also for buying food from the cafeteria.

The school will have an IMAX-type theatre. According to Mr Young, the theatre is a US$1.5 million project and he believes that it is a great tool to develop young minds. He said children can experience a visit to the ancient tombs of Egypt, learn more about the stars and the sky, and various national galleries during their visits to the theatre.

"What children see and hear increases their retention than just reading it from a book. A film about space also teaches you humility by showing how small you are in the universe," said Mr Young, who holds a Master of Science degree in Education from Northern Arizona University, US.

Mr Young comes with a wealth of experience, having worked 28 years in the US and then in China and Saudi Arabia before joining the GEMS group in Dubai. He has worked in both the American International School in Riyadh and the Shanghai American School in Pudong, where he served as principal.

His interest in special education came about when he took an education psychology class in college. One of his professors assigned him to work with a group of pre-school Down's Syndrome children.

"I had no experience working with handicapped children and this opened a new door for me. So I went on to get my degree in special education, elementary education and secondary social studies. After I finished my bachelor's at Northern Arizona University, I got my first job there and continued to do my master's degree from the same university," said Mr Young tracing his early career.

The decision to work outside the US came about after his children were born. He and his school guidance counsellor wife wanted their children to have international exposure and education.

"We went to a recruitment fair in Boston and we thought we were going to Saudi Arabia but there was no match for us. Then we got a call for the school in China. Our children were then three and two. We wanted our children to grow up in an international environment and they have benefited from being in an international school," said Mr Young of his daughters.

He came into contact with the GEMS management when they were looking for a head of school in Dubai.

"I hopped on a plane and flew from Riyadh to London to meet Mr Sunny Varkey. He is amazing and he talked to me about what I do," he said of his first meeting with Mr Varkey, the chairman of GEMS Education.

Mr Young considers hiring the right people as one of his strengths.

"You can have a beautiful school but you need the right people to make it a great school. If there is one thing I think I know and the most important thing I can do, is to hire the right people to do the job and the other side of that is when it is time to say it is not working to let them go and find the right people. The joy of my job is finding the right teachers," said Mr Young who added that he made the move to Singapore not for the money.

"I have a very persuasive governing board. Mr Varkey is very passionate and very convincing. He said please do this for me. There wasn't anybody who knew the GWA model like me."

He is getting many enquiries and hopes the school will see a lot of sign-ups during the coming school holiday season. At full capacity, the Yishun school can take up to 2,950 students. Getting to that number requires quite an effort but Mr Young is confident.

"We are not going to be the only IB school in Singapore but we are going to be the best because we know what it takes to be the best. We have proven it," said the charming head of school, signing off with a broad smile.

patrickj@sph.com.sg


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