AASSA Educators’ Conference 2019

Senior Associate Jennifer Imholt, with assistance of her husband Senior Associate Bob Imholt, attended the Association of American Schools in South America (AASSA) Educators’ Conference from April 4 -6^th in Santiago, Chile. Hosted on the beautiful campus of Colegio Nido de Aguilas (Nido) in Santiago, this event was a great opportunity for learning, networking, and catching up with special colleagues from around Latin America! This year’s theme was Empower Partnerships, Transform Learnin, with the premise, “Authentic connections, between individuals as well as the school and the larger community, transform both learning and the student.”

Search Associates (SEARCH) sponsored amazing Keynote Speaker Dr. Michael Johnston, whose inspiring talk was entitled, Don’t Just Learn about the Bike; Ride the Bike! What brave decisions can educators make to create time, space, and partnerships for meaningful learning for all ages? Michael is a big believer in hands-on learning and experiential education. He shared many creative examples from his current school, Colegio Maya in Guatemala.

Another popular session for candidates was International Leaders Wanted: Step Up to Your Leadership Future, led by Yolanda Murphy-Barrena. Jen was invited to come share ways to apply for leadership opportunities through SEARCH. The audience included dozens of teachers, curriculum leaders, and administrators, eager to learn more about leadership opportunities in international schools.

Jen was thrilled when former coworkers, fifth grade team teachers from Colegio Nueva Granada (CNG) stopped by the SEARCH table. It had been four years since she had seen Aaron Gahringer (currently of CNG) and Renee Cheng (currently of Nido)—both amazing seasoned international educators in the region!

Latin American educators mark your calendars because ASSAA Educators’ Conference 2020 will be hosted by the Graded School, São Paulo, Brazil on March 19-21, 2020. Don’t miss it!