• A future-ready school, Crawford now plugs into an exclusive online global community
Image: COURTESY
The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered an evolution in the education sector, and while many schools struggled to adapt, Crawford International School took the disruption in its stride. This has now earned it recognition from Microsoft.
Crawford was recently selected by Microsoft as a 2021-22 Microsoft Showcase School for their excellence in demonstrated student outcomes. This comes from its commitment to educational transformation, driven effectively by its technology integration specialist Felix Malombe and managing director and principal Jenny Coetzee.
As a Showcase School, Crawford International School will work closely with Microsoft to lead innovation in education transformation and communicate an education transformation vision, enabled by technology, through their commitment to host and mentor other schools in the local community and around the globe.
Crawford International School joins an exclusive community from around the world, recognised and celebrated for their educational transformation, which includes vision and innovation in teaching, learning and assessment, computational and critical thinking, creativity and collaboration and a willingness to promote a growth mindset among educators and students.
As a future-ready school, Crawford International School demonstrated a culture of learning and growth mindset as evidenced by their commitment to creating sustainable change in teaching and learning practices through continuous and job-embedded professional development strategies.
Educators showed effectiveness through intensive focus on meaningful and continuous professional learning. Through the support of the 19 Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts (MIEE), the teachers have an international culture of mentoring, coaching, and collaboration with each other.
The school leadership has accommodated a dedicated technology integration lead and also empowers teachers to make their own decisions, taking risks to meet the needs of every student. During the Global Connection program using Teams and Flipgrid, the teachers connect with other leaders and educators locally and globally to share best practice.
“Being selected as a Microsoft Showcase School is an amazing honour and recognition of the passion our teachers and staff have for creating the best learning environments possible,” said Jenny Coetzee at Crawford International School.
“We look forward to sharing our experiences with other schools in our community and the world to continue finding innovative ways to equip our students with the proper tools needed for success inside and outside of the classroom.”
“Microsoft Showcase Schools are shining examples of those applying purpose-driven innovation in a variety of ways to build connection, motivate students and to create a community in and out of school,” said Anthony Salcito, Vice president, Worldwide Education, Microsoft. “These schools are truly transforming learning and providing more personalised education to students, empowering them to achieve more.”
Showcase Schools will realise many benefits, including the ability to communicate directly with one another, participation in an exclusive online global community, and the opportunity to host and attend both online and in-person educational thought leader events.