U P P ER L O O P L EA D ER - Microsoft · “Yo u n g p eo p l e’ s i d ea s m a t t er - a t V ERS O a n y t h i n g i s p o s s i b l e. ” VERSO Project Studio Thana City Golf

UPPER LOOP LEADER Designed as a future model for international schooling,

VERSO will open in Bangkok in August 2020.

About the Job

The Upper Loop Leader is an inspired and progressive educator leading a team of learning designers (cohort leaders) to create and deliver the 9-12 program at VERSO. An experienced strategic leader, an inspired networker, a researcher and a strong believer in helping others be successful, the Upper Loop Leader is passionate about creating a future focused environment that is student centered. Working with their team, they will draw on empathy for the learner and leverage the rich resources of the Thailand community to support strategic decisions for the design and development of the Upper Loop program. Leading the development of an innovative model and connecting to the Mastery Transcript ™ movement the design of the Upper Loop program is a challenging and yet exciting opportunity. The Upper Loop Leader is deeply immersed in contemporary knowledge and understandings of the change drivers for education more broadly and specifically for a new high school model that responds proactively to these elements. As a start-up school, we require individuals possessing an entrepreneurial spirit who view ambiguity as an opportunity. A desire to create a dynamic experience for our learners, with a future-ready focus is essential.

“Young people’s ideas matter - at VERSO

anything is possible.”

VERSO Project Studio Thana City Golf Resort & Sports Club (2/F Building A) 100-100/1 Moo 4 Bangna-Trad Highway KM 14, Banchalong, Bangphli, Samut Prakarn, Thailand 10540

E [email protected] T +66 2130 6822 W www.verso.school

Why is this role important for Verso’s work?

We pride ourselves on being the first international school to engage IDEO in designing a school. IDEO is a world leading design and innovation company and they helped shape our project. We started from a design question, “How might we design a school for the future?” Design thinking is paramount to our success in building a team who believe wholeheartedly in the VERSO model. In re-imagining a school for the future we focused on three change drivers:

1. the world of work is changing; 2. the pathways to careers and university are changing and; 3. our understanding of how we learn is changing.

While these change drivers affect the development of the whole school model, they are possibly more evident as change drivers in the upper loop. The chance to challenge the traditional school model and create a new approach to preparing students for careers and university will require flexible thinking, an eye for creative ideas and the ability to empower the collective thinking of the group to achieve our goal. To create, test and implement a new model for the upper school is a unique, once in a lifetime opportunity. The Upper Loop Leader holds a critical responsibility to create a new narrative for education co-creating a progressive international model designed for the Bangkok context. You will be adept at narrative creation and confidence building within the Bangkok community that VERSO is a leading international school. Our unique mindsets for VERSO empower all of us to be critical and creative thinkers. You will also need to demonstrate and model our mindsets when tackling problems, designing and collaborating with others. How we gel as a team is incredibly important. How we learn, work and grow together means a lot to us. As the Upper Loop Leader you too will live our 3 pillars, 4 learner mindsets and 5 key learning experiences. We understand that we are better together.



Once you are here you will...

● Promote and market the VERSO Vision to the team and to the broader parent community.

● Identify partnerships and prepare for opportunities relating to Verso’s 5 learning experiences and their connection with the 3 pillars and 4 mindsets.

● Adopt a collective approach to support the growth and needs of all learners at VERSO.

● Lead teams of creative educators to adopt the VERSO Vision - prototype and scale innovative program concepts.

● Implement an open learning culture including

working in flexible shared spaces, adopting co-teaching models, learning in multi-age situations and supporting mentoring relationships within the school, our community and online.

● Build and nurture meaningful relationships with learners and their families.

● Create new and innovative pathways that

respond to the change drivers by creating connections with industry, the science community, universities and innovation networks.

● Lead the development of a progressive and

forward looking transcript that supports a multiple pathway approach and also responds to the developments of the Mastery Transcript Consortium.

You will have an opportunity to...

● Challenge the status quo: You will collaboratively design a new upper loop model that aligns and reflect learners interests, addressing the changing nature of work and that reflects our growing understanding of how we learn.

● Contribute your point of view: You will be asked to bring your experience and passions to help shape the work we do. And in addition be open to the knowledge base of our thought leaders and influencers who reference the body of work around our change drivers.

● Design and deliver a forward thinking learning program aligned to the VERSO Philosophy: You will be open to accepting the VERSO ethos as your design constraints and also as a significant creative influence to foster something new, engaging and inspiring for our learners.

● Support learners to channel their unique selves in developmentally appropriate practices: You will encompass a holistic approach that focuses on the social-emotional, cognitive and physical wellbeing of the child.

● Lead the development of a professional

growth and action learning model.



https://www.verso.school/how-we-learn/curriculum/how-we-teach/



Relevant Experience

● A strong believer and advocate for learner agency and the development of a learner centered environment

● Professional experience in a dynamic and perhaps challenging educational environment, preferably in a change leadership context.

● A designer’s mindset - evidenced through the application of design thinking

● Instructional leader, as well as familiarity with the process of designing, building and launching educational programs

● Deep empathy for people demonstrated through cultural competence

● Natural problem solver, with curiosity and passion for continual improvement

● A sense of humour

● Registered teaching qualification - Post Graduate Educational qualification preferred

● Demonstrated capacity to build partnerships within the community to support the learners in their journey



About VERSO

VERSO delivers a paradigm-shift in school design. In a ground-breaking partnership with the global design firm IDEO, VERSO is the first international school to be designed and built using IDEO’s human-centered design process. The VERSO project began with a team of IDEO designers and international educators spending 4 months doing extensive field-research in Bangkok, New York, San

Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore. Looking for powerful insights, the team visited more than 25 innovative schools and listened carefully to the students, parents and educators leading their change-processes. Using this research data the IDEO team tested a number of school design prototypes with students, families and educators in Bangkok. This feedback shaped VERSO’s unique purpose pillars, the mindsets and behaviors our students will develop, as well as its signature learning experiences. Our work with IDEO places VERSO at the cutting edge of future school design. VERSO delivers a powerful holistic educational experience for every student. We use an American curriculum framework where learning is interdisciplinary, project-based, and increasingly personalised. VERSO educators teach in highly skilled learning design teams and work closely with students both individually and in small groups. Our commitment to student success is complimented by a refreshingly optimistic approach to schoolwide happiness, health, and wellness.

Nestled in the green spaces around Thana City, VERSO has blended innovative architecture with environmental design to create a futuristic campus. Its iconic looped buildings emphasize flow, movement and interconnected learning. Its world-class facilities support an innovative, future-ready educational program designed to empower students with the skills they will need to succeed in an increasingly unpredictable world.

What does VERSO offer you?

VERSO is a place unlike any other. You will be joining a groundbreaking team engaged in the complex challenge of building an innovative international school from the ground up. It’s a place where you will



work collaboratively to solve complex challenges. You will be part of a dynamic team of thinkers and advocates who share a commitment to delivering a new vision for what an international school needs to deliver, if we are to truly prepare students for their future. At VERSO we lead with curiosity, empathy, and optimism. Sure, we work hard, but we also intentionally craft moments that allow us to pause and connect. We encourage everyone in our community to bring their whole selves to work, respect the need for work-life balance, and allow for autonomy in the design process and your career. Our pace is fast, our processes fluid, and our environment less than traditional. We are looking for someone who is quick, enthusiastic, and has an extremely high level of empathy for the student experience. Flexibility, curiosity, and multi-tasking are key given the ever-evolving nature and complexity of our work.



Application Instructions

1. Submit a one-minute elevator pitch about yourself in a video. Please submit your video by Friday, October 12 to the following email: [email protected].

2. Write one example of how you meet each of the criteria for the kind of person we are looking for. (Each example should be no more than 100 words.)

a. Creative thinker committed to learning and growing professionally b. Empathy for the learner in a changing context for learning c. Capacity to design engaging learning experiences that promote deep learning and reflect

an emphasis on building learner agency d. Deep understanding of the contemporary changes in schools and higher education

3. Submit your responses to the three criteria above with:

a. Your full resume outlining qualifications and work experience b. A link to your Linkedin Profile or professional blog c. Names and contact details of three professional referees

Thank you for your interest in VERSO!



mailto:[email protected]

Documents

U P P ER L O O P L EA D ER - Microsoft · “Yo u n g p eo p l e’ s i d ea s m a t t er - a t V ERS O a n y t h i n g i s p o s s i b l e. ” VERSO Project Studio Thana City Golf