(English) On behalf of every member of the Footprints Community, we wish to extend our deepest appreciation to the four members of the ACS WASC visiting committee for their encouragement, support and valuable guidance during their virtual visits this November.

Over the past months, Footprints International School has been engaged in a rigorous self-study process in order to renew our ACS WASC Accreditation.

The Accrediting Commission for Schools (ACS), Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), is an internationally acclaimed accrediting association whose mission is to ensure school improvement and quality by supporting a diligent and relevant self-evaluation and peer review process that focuses on student learning.

With support from all Footprints stakeholders, the thorough and transparent preparation of the self-evaluation resulted in a detailed accreditation report, submitted to the ACS WASC committee in the first week of October, 2022.

During the virtual visits from the 21st to the 24th of November, 2022, the WASC committee toured both our TK and TTP campuses, met with various members of our school community including our Focus on Learning Committee, the Footprints Student Council (StuCo), our Administrative and Leader Teams, Operations Teams, Board of Directors and Governors, teachers, and other members of the Footprints faculty and staff.

Furthermore, the WASC Committee evaluated safety measures of both campuses, inspected student work, observed various lessons from the Early Childhood through to the Secondary Programmes, and engaged in many meetings focused on reflective and constructive discussions surrounding every aspect of Footprints International School’s final self-study accreditation report, our strengths, areas for growth, and our 2022-2023 Schoolwide Action Plan.

We are grateful to the ACS WASC Visiting Committee for so effectively creating a trusting environment in which to build rapport with our school community and to foster sincere communication, for ensuring rigour, accuracy and trustworthiness in the process and for taking the time to so thoroughly evaluate every aspect of the school.

(English) Over the past two weeks, G5 students have been hard at work preparing and delivering presentations related to their Global Perspectives unit: “If I were an Educational Leader”.
In close connection with the schoolwide learner outcomes, the Sharks and Walruses students practised their global competencies as well as communication, research, analysis and collaboration skills.
Students diligently researched education in Cambodia, identified challenges that they would address if they were elected, created posters of their group goals, held campaigns and presentations and finally, held elections.
Yesterday, all primary students voted for their favourite team and educational platform. The initiative provided our students with first-hand experience of democratic processes. A big thank you to our Grade 5 teachers for making this possible. We are tremendously proud of our students who campaigned with great determination, and also appreciate all the classes who participated in the election.

(English) In August 2022, Footprints began the transition to the International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC) for our Early Childhood programme, comprising Nursery, PreK1, PreK2 and Kindergarten. The Kindergarten level serves as a transition stage from the IEYC to the Cambridge Assessment International Examination (CAIE) curriculum framework, with Kindergarten corresponding to stage one of the CAIE curriculum.

What is the International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC)?

Developed by Fieldwork Education, the IEYC is a current, evidence-based curriculum that takes into account the developmental requirements of children as well as global best practices in early childhood education. Through comprehensive inquiry and play-based approaches that address all subject areas of the curriculum including personal, social, and emotional development, the IEYC supports key learning areas.

What are the Guiding principles of this curriculum? 

• Children should be encouraged to grow and learn at their own unique pace.
• International mindedness is built on independent and interdependent learning experiences, which provide a context for personal development.
• Knowledge and skills development lead to an increasing sense of understanding when children are provided with opportunities to explore and express their ideas in various ways.
• Learning occurs when children’s innate curiosity is tapped into through developmentally appropriate, teacher-scaffolded, and child-initiated experiences in a supportive setting.
• Learning should be motivating, engaging and fun, opening up a world of wonder for children where personal interests can flourish.
• Continuous evaluation and reflection that incorporate a learning connection to the home are excellent forms of ongoing assessment.
• Play is an essential aspect of all children’s learning and development.
• The earliest years of life are valuable in their own right.

(adapted from: https://americas.britishcouncil.org)

Why has Footprints chosen to integrate this curriculum? 

The IEYC offers the very best of contemporary education to our young learners, emphasising holistic, child-centred and playful approaches to learning and development. The IEYC integrates perfectly with both national and international curriculums, and works well for the transition phase between early years and primary education. Providing 24+ learning units which are rich in content and based around exciting themes that capture children’s curiosity, the IEYC integrates creativity, art, environment and play-based learning into all units.

(English) The Board of Governors of Footprints International School (FIS) acts as the legal authorising body of the school and operates in line with the school’s By-Laws. The main role of the Board is to support and promote the vision, mission, values and beliefs of FIS. In addition, the Board strives to ensure the fiscal health of the school, and maintain good governance and risk management. The Board plays an advisory role to the Director of FIS, and delegates the day-to-day administration and operational decisions to the Focus on Learning (FoL) Steering Committee which acts as the School Leadership Team (SLT). The Board drives the creation of a strategic framework, in collaboration with contributions from the school community.
In September 2021, the Board approved a strategic plan for 2021-2025 that focuses on four major goals: Responsible Growth, Creating a Nurturing Learning Eco-System, Developing an Effective and Efficient Management Platform, and Building Capacity. The Board has overarching responsibility to ensure that these strategic goals are being operationalised and implemented well.
The Board is responsible for adopting financial policies, approving projects, generating revenue, ensuring effective financial budgeting and planning, and reviewing the administration’s short and long-term plans”.
The Board shall be responsible for liaison with appropriate Cambodian government officials to ensure the proper management of the school and its compliance with the Rule of Law under the Cambodian Constitution. The Board also has a duty to have the school accounts audited annually by a qualified independent accounting firm.