At 15 years of age, Pao School is still relatively young, but in recent years, the teaching team has grown rapidly and steadily, increasing from dozens in the early days of the school to hundreds today. During these years of growth, continuous guidance from the founders, the Board, and school leadership has been integral to the teaching team’s successful development.
Standing back row (L-R): Remy Wu, Alex Furk, Gavin Williams
Standing middle row (L-R): Lei Shen, Yolanda Li, Jennifer Wong-Baines, Jessica Edwards, Lisa Gao, Yijia Hu, Yan Wang
Standing front row (L-R): Sukie Sun, Selina Yu, Serena Stone, Cherry Sun, Xiaobing Wang, Carol Zhang, Grace Wang
Seated 1st row (L-R): Annie Johnston, Crick Chen, Warren Johnston, Yazhen Lin, Louise Johns, Katrina Li
From its inception, YK Pao School has sought to build a school for tomorrow's China and provide an education for tomorrow's world. Drawing on the school's innovative spirit, Founders Mrs. Anna Pao Sohmen, Philip Sohmen, and Tan Fuyun decided to set up a team of mentors composed of well-known principals and teachers from Shanghai.
Back row left to right: President Wu Zijian, Former Principal of Secondary Division Tony Jacacci,
Executive Deputy Chairman Philip Sohmen, Professor Anna Pao Sohmen,
Mentor Shi Tongde, Mentor He Ya’nan, Mentor Xu Kuanhong
Front row left to right: Mentor Li Aizhen, Mentor Yin Guofang, Honorary Headmistress Ni Guyin,
Mentor Chen Beilei, Deputy Chairman Tan Fuyun, Principal Matthew Wu (May, 2011)
The Primary School's mentor team was set up in 2007, at the same time Pao School itself was formally established. Led by Headmistress Ni Guyin, the key members of the Primary School mentor team included teachers Chen Beilei, Li Aizhen, and Yin Guofang. In 2011, in conjunction with the establishment of YK Pao Secondary Division, a Secondary Division mentor group was established, headed by Principal Matthew Wu. The key members of the Secondary Division mentor group included teachers He Yanan, Shi Tongde, Xu Kuanhong, Kong Fangang, Chen Lei, Zhang Zhengyan, and Bu Genhai. The instructors' areas of expertise included Chinese, mathematics, English, humanities, and science. Over the past 10 years, Pao School's mentor team has played an instrumental role in curriculum design, teacher training and the development of Pao School's distinct campus culture.
The Professional Learning Centre
To achieve the school’s sustainable development goals and improve the overall education and teaching quality of Pao School, the Professional Learning Centre (PLC), donated and supported by the Shanghai Gengfu Foundation, was officially launched in 2018. The Centre is committed to meeting the professional development needs of teachers and promoting continuous mutual learning among teachers, which enhances the quality of teaching at Pao School. The training courses include regular on-campus training, individual workshops, one-on-one teaching guidance, continuing education support projects for teachers, and regular external cooperation with top schools and other institutions.
In 2018, on the centenary of the birth of Mr. YK Pao, the Pao School Professional Learning Centre supported the hosting of the first Global Education Forum (GEF). Since then, the Global Education Forum has become an annual gathering of domestic and foreign educational experts at which educational best practices are discussed and various training sessions are held.
From 30-31 March 2018, Pao School held its inaugural Global Education Forum, where distinguished
guests exchanged ideas about different pedagogies and how to 'pioneer new models of education in China'
At the first Global Education Forum, Philip Sohmen said: “Pao School was founded to commemorate the life of Sir YK Pao and carry out his education dream. We sought to establish a forum for educators from China and overseas to exchange ideas and engage in dialogue. In this way, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone for their support for Pao School over this past decade. We also hope that in the days to come, you all will continue to support us as we build a world-class school for tomorrow's China”."
In March 2019, Pao School held the second annual Global Education Forum (GEF).
The theme of the forum was "Creating a New Chinese Education Model" with three main topics:
teaching innovation, character education and educational leadership development
On 23rd October 2020, Pao School held its third annual Global Education Forum (GEF) on Hongqiao
Campus. The forum’s theme was ‘Building Relationships to Promote Lifelong Learning’
In October 2021, Pao School held the fourth Global Education
Forum (GEF), themed "Education for the Future,” at Hongqiao campus
The YK Pao School Foundation
The YK Pao School Foundation was established in 2010 with the intention of ensuring the school’s sustainable development. Since its establishment, the Foundation has received generous donations from the Pao family, Foundation members, enthusiastic parents, and many others. The funds raised have been used for campus construction and scholarships as well as to support outstanding teachers, whole-person education, Chinese culture, and science and technology.
In 2010 with the establishment of the Primary School and with a focus on cultivating outstanding teachers in six key areas, the Pao School Foundation began to support the employment of art, music, and PE teachers. In 2013, the Foundation launched the annual fund project and supported the professional development training of more than 100 teachers in the following five years. Teachers thus had the opportunity to participate in major international education forums and subject training for IGCSE and IBDP courses. There were also specialized training opportunities for Chinese teachers, alongside additional opportunities for overseas exchanges and bilingual training for both Chinese and foreign teachers.
In 2015, donations to the Foundation allowed the school to establish bilingual teaching and gifted teaching training project for teachers. For three consecutive years thereafter, the teachers at Pao School received professional development courses provided by the Education and Child Development Department of the South Australian government.
Further, the Foundation also supported Pao School in holding the first large-scale character education forum for its 10th anniversary in November 2016, during which character education experts visited Pao School for a discussion. Overall, more than 300 people from both the Pao School community and elsewhere including education experts, parents, and teachers attended the event.
It is important to mention that in recent years, Pao School’s efforts in education and teaching have also been recognised by the municipal party committee, the governments at all levels, and by various other groups. For instance, in 2012, the school was approved by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission as one of the first private primary and secondary schools in Shanghai. In 2020, Pao School was selected by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission as an experimental school for the first stage of the three-year action plan for project-based learning in compulsory education in Shanghai.
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