Whether in business, sports, or the world of international schools, there are numerous examples of teams that fail to work effectively because of negativity and lack of trust. Fortunately, there are also many examples of groups that power ahead, like a crew of skilled rowers, attuned to the work they are doing with and for each other. This workshop focuses on how to build trust and how to design and implement successful retreats to build consensus around priorities and responsibilities and a sense of ownership and leadership within departments. Effective retreats can help establish clear expectations as well as goals.

In addition to understanding their roles as leaders, department members should ask themselves what their responsibilities are to each other. Most international schools teach their students about both the importance of individual responsibility and the value of teamwork. Such lessons are no less important for the adults in school communities.

Richard T. Ewing, Jr., Ed.D.

Dick Ewing is a highly experienced school leader committed to educational excellence.

Currently the President and Head of School of the American College of Sofia (Bulgaria), Dick was previously the Interim Executive Director of the Elementary Schools Heads Association (ESHA, a national association of heads of independent elementary and middle schools) and for three decades served as the Head of Norwood School, a leading American independent, K-8 school in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Dick has extensive experience serving with educational and non-profit boards as a trustee and board leader as well as a head of school. He has worked to develop and implement numerous strategic plans, capital campaigns, building improvement projects, and school expansion initiatives. He has been active in regional and national educational associations, serving as President of the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington (AISGW), as Vice President of the Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS), as Vice President of ESHA, and as a trustee of the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE) and a member of the Country Day School Heads Association (CDSHA).

Dick is a graduate of Yale University and holds a M.Ed. from the University of Virginia and an Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has presented at regional, national, and international school conferences and written articles and essays for regional and national educational publications. A former world champion rower, Dick is a big believer in the power of effective teamwork.

Tim Ward

Tim Ward is a five-year veteran of the American College of Sofia where he works in the ELL Department.

Before that he spent a number of years freelancing in the EFL world, mostly giving teacher-training seminars and writing teaching materials. An earlier incarnation spent a few years working in state schools in the UK before the Tories made them horrible places, and the absolute prototype failed to become a scholar of literature. Passions: walking, poetry, cycling, family, in reverse order.