Lori Marek has long been a world traveler. Her grandparents instilled in her a global perspective from a young age, and she became a person who sought out new experiences to broaden her horizons.
This interest in the wider world prepared Lori well for a career in international education. Before joining Pao School, she served as principal of the International School Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and principal in Texas's Devine Independent School District, as well as assistant principal at the American International School in Kuwait.
Lori and the students
Lori joined Pao School in August of 2016 as an English language teacher for Years 9 and 10 and an English literature teacher for Year 9. She also worked with the whole-school annual musical theater production from August 2016 to February 2017.
Currently, Lori serves as the Deputy Head of Hongqiao campus. And she will take on the role of Principal & Head of Hongqiao campus from Aug 2018.
"I was originally drawn to Pao School because of its commitment to excellence and forward-thinking outlook," she says. "I also was looking for the opportunity to take a year off from school administration and re-energize by working in the classroom again."
Returning to the classroom has helped Lori in leadership roles as it puts her in touch with the environment where teachers work on a daily basis. "I hope it makes me a more empathetic and understanding teacher leader, and of course it really helps me improve my own craft as a teacher and connect with students in much more meaningful ways," she says. At the core of Lori's educational philosophy is the idea of "connections." In the classroom, she believes teachers must first connect with their students on a personal level, demonstrating their care and commitment to each child, in order for a true learning journey to take place. Further, teachers should plan "intentional opportunities" for students to connect learning to prior knowledge, to connect to other academic disciplines, and to connect to real-world applications, both known and unknown. At the middle school level in particular, Lori values being able to connect students to a purpose beyond themselves, explore ways to serve others, and learn how they can affect positive change in the world. Being in international school settings allows students and staff many opportunities to make global connections to different cultures and discover that, as the IB puts it, ' “other people, with their differences, can also be right," 'she says.
At the core of Lori's educational philosophy is the idea of "connections." In the classroom, she believes teachers must first connect with their students on a personal level, demonstrating their care and commitment to each child, in order for a true learning journey to take place. Further, teachers should plan "intentional opportunities" for students to connect learning to prior knowledge, to connect to other academic disciplines, and to connect to real-world applications, both known and unknown.
At the middle school level in particular, Lori values being able to connect students to a purpose beyond themselves, explore ways to serve others, and learn how they can affect positive change in the world. Being in international school settings allows students and staff many opportunities to make global connections to different cultures and discover that, as the IB puts it, ' “other people, with their differences, can also be right," 'she says.
As a teacher leader, Lori strives to connect colleagues with one another and build enduring ties between them. In two previous schools, she played a leading role managing orientation and induction programs which help foreign teachers settle in to their new lives and school setting. That experience was "particularly rewarding and strengthened my belief in the importance of building cultural connections," she says.
As deputy head of the Pao School Hongqiao campus, Lori will draw on more than 16 years of educational leadership experience. Pao School has a different demographic than the schools where she previously worked, "but much of what we do requires innovative thinking and focused goal-oriented development in order to realize our vision of becoming a world-class school," she explains.
Under Lori's leadership, a Texas school where over 80% of students were considered to be living in poverty and around 30% were studying English as a second language achieved the highest level of recognition in the state for academic achievement and attendance.
In both Kuwait and Trinidad, Lori chaired committees for school re-accreditation visits and was invited to serve on accreditation committees for other international schools. "Some of the best learning happens in this process—as a school being visited, it’s all about reflecting on why we do things the way we do, examining our data, and planning for improvement," she says. "Then, when visiting schools, it’s all about getting to learn how others tackle similar challenges and have differing perspectives and approaches. I find myself drawing on these experiences constantly in developing the new campus and helping the whole team to realize our mission."
Looking ahead, Lori is enthusiastic about the prospects for the Hongqiao campus. She notes that Pao School is fortunate to already have a strong curriculum in place at Hongqiao and a talented staff to deliver it. "We never could have successfully opened the new campus in such a tight timeframe if it were not for these two things," she observes.
Hongqiao Campus
For Pao Year 6 students, Hongqiao represents a change from the previous Year 6 campus, Songjiang, which is a boarding school. Hongqiao is a day campus. "This allows students more time at home with parental support during these crucial years of early adolescence, and it brings the potential for a much greater degree of parental involvement in our program due to the convenience of our location," Lori explains.
Being in Hongqiao, which is close to downtown Shanghai, also affords abundant opportunities for connecting students with cultural and educational programs within the city, as well as partnering with local businesses - which can provide a variety of enrichment offerings for Pao students.
At the same time, "being a stand-alone middle school campus allows us to shift our philosophy and practices ever so slightly to focus specifically on the unique nature and needs of early adolescence and not have to concern ourselves as much with how they fit within the broader scope of a junior high school housed alongside high schoolers," Lori observes. "As the school in the middle, we become the transitional bridge between elementary and high school, choosing the best of what is offered on both campuses and blending those into a distinct middle school experience."
In the long term, Lori aims to help Hongqiao develop into an equally successful Pao School campus as the existing primary and secondary schools (the Wuding and Songjiang campuses respectively). With that in mind, she points out that in 2018, a number of exceptional teachers will join Hongqiao from the Songjiang campus. Additionally, Lori has already begun to recruit some strong international candidates for new openings.
To be sure, ongoing renovations at Hongqiao for the next few years will bring logistical challenges, but Pao School's strong foundation of core values and excellent model for education will remain constant. Lori looks forward to supporting the expansion of the Hongqiao campus: "I recognize how blessed we are with visionary school leaders who have a master plan—and a dedicated and knowledgeable team who can be trusted to make it a reality," she says.
Introduction: Pao School Middle School is a co-educational day school.
