Self renewing community schools
Vision for self-renewing community school
TAMAM aspires to promote the transformation of schools into self-renewing institutions where educational practitioners collaborate and are actively engaged in professional learning communities to initiate and lead change and improvement to graduate the next generation that leads innovation and change in their society. These self-renewing institutions provide the flexibility and the professional space where exchange of expertise and collaborative work on improvement and student learning can take place. In response, practitioners are motivated to collectively devise innovative approaches and improvement initiatives. This collaborative effort also serves as a platform for continuous learning and growth, allowing those involved to glean insights from both their setbacks and past experiences. These self-renewing institutions not only embrace but also actively undertake the responsibility of fostering cultural and social transformation with a primary focus on shaping students into responsible and engaged citizens. To realize schools as catalysts for social transformation, it is imperative to cultivate leadership capacity at every level, with a particular emphasis on empowering teachers. Through consistent and impassioned mentorship, teachers can effectively serve as role models, enabling students to develop into leaders who contribute significantly to the overall progress of their communities and societies.
Educator
Vision for Educator
TAMAM is dedicated to empowering educators by instilling transformative habits of mind that enable them to become active learners, leaders, change agents, and knowledge producers. Through this empowerment, they evolve into leaders who are reflective thinkers and inquirers, jointly responsible for their educational institution’s success and their students’ achievements. As leaders of their own learning and catalysts for institutional improvement, TAMAM educators acquire a set of rich competencies and skills that trigger and sustain their motivation to improve their educational institutions. This motivation propels them to initiate, lead, and sustain improvement. As such, they engage in formulating an understanding of the problems they face, propose feasible and plausible solutions to these problems, and recommend changes to the existing processes and practices at their educational institutions. While engaged in iterative cycles of inquiry and problem-solving, practitioners remain critical of their deeply held assumptions and open to shifting the professional paradigm that guides their practice. This commitment to inquiry and reflection in action brings about transformational and sustainable change in educational institutions initiated and led by school-based educational practitioners and generates actionable theory suitable for the socio-cultural context of those institutions.
TAMAM Student Profile
Student learning is at the heart of TAMAM work. TAMAM is committed to providing the school climate and capacity needed to remove the barriers that inhibit students from developing to their full potential.
TAMAM’s model adopts the term “student leadership” for acknowledging and valuing students as contributors to the teaching learning process and to their societal advancement. In this respect, a student profile was generated that encompasses a set of values, skills, and capacities that a TAMAM graduate should embrace stemming from the notion of student leadership. This profile was developed through a collaborative process that included educators from all its partners, schools and educational institutions.
The “TAMAM student profile” is organized under three main categories:
– A responsible Citizen
– A balanced and moral individual
– A lifelong Learner
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History
TAMAM Initiation
TAMAM began when the senior vice president of Dhahran Ahliyya School in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Sally Al Turki, approached two professors at the American University of Beirut (AUB), Dr. Saouma Boujaoude and Dr. Murad Jurdak, to propose a school-based reform initiative that could generate actionable theories grounded in the sociocultural context of the Arab region. The four key concerns that inspired TAMAM were:…
(1) the absence of a culturally-grounded, research–based body of educational knowledge in line with international best practices yet capable of addressing the challenges of Arab educational practitioners, (2) the lack of agency and preparedness among school-based practitioners to lead innovative school improvement; (3) the compromised quality of professional development programs offered to Arab educational practitioners; and (4) the lack of accountability and evidence-informed decision-making at all levels of the educational system.
Dr. Al Turki, Dr. BouJaoude and Dr. Jurdak drafted the initial design in 2007, securing its first grant from the Arab Thought Foundation with an emphasis on introducing action research as a tool for development at all levels.
Dr. Rima Karami, an associate professor at AUB, joined TAMAM as a researcher two months after the project launching and soon became one of its three principal investigators and a member of its Steering Team. At that early stage, the initial design did not include fully developed objectives and strategies for implementation. Consequently, a large part of Dr. Karami’s role in the first Phase of TAMAM consisted of conceptualizing the link between action research and school-based improvement and identifying the strategies to achieve TAMAM’s goals. This resulted in designing professional development (PD) activities for building leadership capacity to initiate and drive school improvement. In 2012, Dr. Karami completed the first design of the Capacity Building Program (Documented in Technical Report Four) that became the blueprint that defined the Capacity Building Program and framed research studies for TAMAM. This PD model also served as the basis for securing three additional grants from the Arab Thought Foundation, totaling close to $2,000,000 and making TAMAM the longest continuously–funded educational research project in the history of AUB.
Starting in 2015, Dr. Karami transitioned into the role of fully leading the research and development activities of TAMAM as its creative director while two of the TAMAM initiators (Dr. Al-Turki and Dr. BouJaoude) continued their contribution to the project in an advisory role. Since 2015, the TAMAM Steering Team, led by Dr. Karami and composed of a team of researchers, designers and consultants, is leading the research and development activities of TAMAM.
Discover
Leading School-based Improvement Course:
This course is an introduction to TAMAM’s Capacity-Building Program that aims to prepare educators to lead sustainable school-based improvement. It is delivered online through the Continuing Education Center (CEC) at AUB. This course aims at introducing the educational theoretical background for sustainable school-based improvement and the needed principals and strategies to lead improvement. The course describes the characteristics of self-renewing schools, the educator who leads improvement, and the profile of the student we aspire to graduate. The course explains the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that educators need to become agents of change in their educational institutions. It also presents the steps followed to launch an innovative intervention, and the procedure to design, implement and evaluate an improvement project, which are referred to as “TAMAM school improvement journey”. The course also discusses the challenges that could face the launching of school-based improvement and suggests strategies to overcome these challenges using the leadership competencies and skills for based-improvement. In this course, the participants will engage in interactive activities and reflections that help them understand the nature of the process of leading school-based improvement. Language: The program will be delivered in Arabic only.
Ms. Fayriouz Salemmeh
بدأت فيرٌوز سلامة حاتها المهننية في مجال الاجتماع والتربوي، بعد دراسات في علم الاجتماع، في البقاع مع أطفال ذوي صعوبات اجتماعية كبيرة. عاشت في فرنسا لمدة عشر سنوات، حيث تخصصت في التنيمة المحلية قسم “تطور الممارسات المهنية و الاجتماعية” كما عملت في باريس في مجال تدريب ومرافقة نواة من نساء متعددة الجنسيات في الهيئات العامة المحلية الحكومية من خلال احترام الثقفات. بعد عودتها إلى لبنان، انضمت فيروز سلامة الى الحركة الاجتماعية كمستشارة تربوية مع الشباب المتعثر، ثم منسقة على مشروع الحد التسرب المدرسي. تتولى منذ عام 2009 منصب المسؤولة التنفيذية للحركة الاجتماعية
Mr. Fehmi Karami
محام وشريك مؤسس في مكتب رشيد فهمي كرامي للمحاماة والإستشارات القانونية. محكم ووسيط دولي معتمد لدى عدد من المراكز المحلية والعالمية. مدرب معتمد على الوساطة والتحكيم لدى نقابة المحامين في طرابلس ومركز التسوية الفعالة للنزاعات– لندن ومعهد المحكمين القانونين. وضع وشارك في العديد من الدورات التدريبية المحلية والدولية المتعلقة بالوساطة والتحكيم. تولى وضع عدة مشاريع قوانين أبرزها مشروع قانون الوساطة المعتمد من نقابة المحامين في طرابلس والمناقش حالياً أمام اللجان النيابية المختصة. كما تولى وضع قواعد مركز الوساطة والتحكيم في نقابة المحامين في طرابلس. بالإضافة الى إعداد عدد من الدراسات القانونية والمتعلقة بالوساطة والوسائل البديلة لحلّ النزاعات. خبير سابق في الوساطة لدى مؤسسة التمويل الدولية. مستشار وزير الشؤون الإجتماعية لشؤون المرأة والطفل والمشرف على خطة وزارة الشؤون الموضوعة لحماية المرأة والطفل والموقعة مع الـيونيسف. عضو في جمعية بيت التدريب والحوار
Ms. Rana Ismail
Mrs. Rana Ismail acts as the vice general manager for educational Affairs in Al Mabarrat schools and School Principal of Al Kawthar Secondary School. She has been a professional educator for the past 23 years, and an outspoken advocate for constructivist education. She holds a bachelor of engineering from AUB, A Diploma in Special Education and a Master in Educational management and leadership. Mrs. Rana has long realized the limitations existing in our educational system and decided to translate her passion in the education field into active steps to bringing about constructive radical changes. Mrs. Rana’s focus has been on the education of children with special needs and early childhood education, training school faculty as well as applying first class global educational system in Lebanon and the Arab world, in addition to initiating the first inclusive school in Lebanon. Her works, initiatives and involvement are not only limited to that, Mrs. Rana has also been involved in numerous programs, conferences and presentations related to improving the educational system and methods (Investing in Early Childhood Care and Development in Sudan and Yemen , teaching methods for non formal education in Bahrain; assessment schemes and evaluation system in the new curriculum plan;; The Reform of the Lebanese Educational System, UNDP\ UNESCO\CERD Project; Guidelines for Adapting the Lebanese Curriculum for the Students with Special Needs; Clinical Educational Supervision etc….) Mrs. Rana is an affiliated member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; Founding member of the Lebanon Dyslexia Society; A representative of Al-Mabarrat schools to work with the ministry of education ,UNICEF, UNESCO, ARC (Arab Resource Collective), LAES (Lebanese Association for Educational Studies).Currently she leads the Continuous Educational Development program in Almabarrat educational institutes part of which the improvement of the students’ continuous assessment system. Mrs. Rana’s endeavor in the field of education has covered a span of 23 years, and continues to be as active today in both theoretical and practical domains.
Ms. Diana Gammoh
مستشارة أكاديمية في المدارس العصرية حالياً وقد كانت مع الفريق المؤسس لهذه المدارس منذ تأسيسها، وعملت كمديرة لها بالإضافة إلى تدريس الفيزياء للمرحلة الثانوية للبرنامج الوطني والبريطاني. تعمل ديانا حالياً مع فريق تمام الموجه من الجامعة الأمريكية في بيروت لدعم ونشر فكر تمام في الأردن. اهتمامها منصبّ حالياً على تغيير منظومة المعلم الفكريّة من كونه مدرسّاّ الى قائد وصانع قرار لبناء جيل عربي له هويه، قادرا على أن يكون له موقع في الناتج الفكري العالمي
Ms. Yakana Fawzi
ولدت في فلسطين وكبرت وترعرت في لبنان. حصلت على درجة البكالوريوس في العلوم من الجامعة اللبنانية الأمريكية. عملت مدرسة علوم ورياضيات في المرحلتين الابتدائية والمتوسطة في مدارس المقاصد الإسلامية في بيروت. انتقلت عام 1978 م إلى السعودية وعملت في مدارس الظهران الأهلية مديرة لقسم البنات ثم مديرة مناهج وتطوير مهني ومدربة للمعلمات والمشرفات لمدة 36 عاماً. حصلت خلال هذه السنوات على العديد من الدورات والبرامج التدريبية من مدربين دوليين بمن فيهم المؤلفين الأصليين للنظريات التربوية و الاستراتيجيات التعليمية السائدة. اختارت التقاعد من المدارس عام 2014 م وتعمل الآن كمدربة تربوية مستقلة لمؤسسات تربوية حكومية وخاصة داخل السعودية وخارجها
Ms. Rida Ayache
Mrs. Rida Hassan Ayache, received the BS degree in Health Sciences from the American University of Beirut, in 1982, and the Diploma for Teaching Sciences for Secondary classes as well as the Diploma for Educational Management and Leadership from the American University of Beirut in 1995 and 2011, respectively. In 1982, she joined the International School of Choueifat-SABIS as a Science and Math teacher for the elementary school. Since 1995, she has been with Ahliah School where she was Science and Biology teacher for Middle and Secondary school, became the Science Coordinator in 2001, and the Acting Principal in 2007. Since 2008, Mrs. Ayache has been Ahliah School’s Principal. Along with the school stakeholders Rida is working on developing the school programs and facilities, transforming Ahliah’s master plan into an overall executable strategic plan with clear targets, goals, and landmarks, and till 2015 achieving 85% of the school’s plan. Currently, working with the School community on the Self Study for joint- accreditation from the Council of International Schools and the New England Association for Schools and Colleges.
Dr. Mohammed Alzaghibi
Tatweer Company for Educational Services, CEO: – CEO of Tatweer Company for Educational Services since 2014 – Worked as a Deputy Minister for Curriculum and Educational Programs at the Ministry of Education. – Executive Director of the Two Holy Mosques Public Education Development Project – Director of STEM Program and National Project for Developing Math and Science Education – Started in 1992 as a science teacher, an assistant principal, and then as a school principal – Works as a consultant in a number of governmental institutions, co-published scholarly articles, co-authored schoolbooks and co-translated educational books in Saudi Arabia and Britain.
Dr Sally Alturki
Dr Sally Alturki has spent the past 50 years working on various projects for the development of education– 46 of those years in Saudi Arabia. She and her husband, Khalid Alturki, established in 1977 and continue to lead Dhahran Ahliyya Schools (DAS) , a nonprofit preK-12 dual language school with separate sections for girls and boys. DAS is a founding member of TAMAM and committed to its pillars. Equally valuable among their projects is Dar Alkitab Atterbawi, a not-for-profit project which they established to publish current books in Arabic that support development of education in the Arab world. They are also commited to Arabi21, for enhancement of the teaching of Arabic. Previously, Dr Sally also founded a pre-school teacher preparation center. Dr Alturki has served on many international advisory boards including for AUB, the King Abdullah Project for Development of Public Education (Tatweer), the Harvard Graduate School of Education and others.