VERSO Founding Head Cameron Fox

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VERSO Founding Head Cameron Fox

 

 

VERSO International School opens in August 2020 near Bangna and Expat Life was honoured to be able to interview the founding headmaster Cameron Fox.

In a bold departure from the traditional school design process, VERSO is a school unlike any other. In a groundbreaking partnership with IDEO, the San Francisco based global design and innovation company, VERSO gives Bangkok, a compelling and inspirational vision for the future of international education.

 

Using human-centred design, they are creating a unique architectural environment offering operational structures, physical spaces and a learning culture to produce innovative, entrepreneurial lifelong learners prepared for a dynamically shifting future.

 

VERSO values and responds to the uniqueness of each child to develop a strong sense of personal and cultural identity, an ability to engage with the world and the confidence to lead their own journey.

 

Where are you from and what is your educational background?
I’m originally from Scotland and I did my undergraduate studies at the University of Strathclyde where I studied Politics and Industrial Relations. I was the first person in my family to go to university. I moved to Hong Kong in 1993 and then did a master’s degree through the University of York in the UK in Teaching English to Young Learners, which was the first distance learning programme introduced by the university. I then did a post graduate diploma in Education at the University of Hong Kong, where I got my full teaching qualification.

 

What attracted you to teaching?
When I went to university, I didn’t foresee a career in education. That came later. When I finished university and was looking for my next step, at that time, the opportunities in the UK were quite limited. It was a time when jobs were difficult to find, so Hong Kong was an attractive place to go because there were lots of opportunities there. I initially got a job at a language institute and that’s where I really started my teaching career and developed a good rapport with students and found that I enjoyed it.

 

When did you first become a headmaster?
When I joined the American International School in Hong Kong in 2000, I went in as one of the founding teachers in their new middle school. Shortly after I joined the person who was in charge of the middle school left, so there was a leadership opportunity available. I was invited to step into the position. It happened quite quickly when I joined AIS. I became a Vice Principal and then a Principal before becoming the Head of School. I spent 19 years as an administrator at AIS.

 

Are you teaching at VERSO?
I won’t be so much involved in the day to day learning and teaching. A headmaster’s role is a much wider role nowadays. It’s about building the team. I feel my strength as a school leader is being able to develop a highly capable and confident team, and working closely with them to push the school forward.

 

Do you have a core team on board?
We recognised early on in this project how critical it would be to have people who understood what we were trying to do, or at least willing to go with us on this incredible journey. I approached a few people I trusted and asked if they wanted to be part of the project. We started small but now have 12 full time educators from around the world who are part of the leadership team. Together we are recruiting VERSO’s founding faculty.

 

When you open in August, how many teachers will you begin with?
We will probably have about 30-35 staff, in terms of faculty.

 

What are the benefits of an international education?
I see so many advantages. It is so rich in its diversity and gives families and students a much broader vision of the world. Families invest in their children’s education, so we have a huge responsibility to deliver a high quality school experience. Standards and expectations are high and that attracts great teachers. Why wouldn’t you want to work in an environment where you have this level of resources and support? International education is a highly dynamic and attractive sector to be in. The end result for the students is that they’re working with really high quality teachers in wonderful facilities and are getting an incredible experience. Everyone is in this together, it’s a partnership. There’s a sense of investment that merits high quality. It puts the onus on us to deliver and that’s what’s exciting about international schools.

 

Tell us about your facilities, everyone is talking about the architecture.

The architecture of the school is inspired by our research into the design of learning spaces. Today we understand so much more about the critical role our physical environment plays in the way we behave and learn. Our unique looped buildings are intentionally designed to promote a sense of flow and movement. The architecture is actually quite simple. It’s bright, spacious and allows us to be highly adaptive and responsive to the learning needs of our students. It’s an integrated and interdependent network of zones, levels and spaces where learning is limitless. The campus has been designed as an ecosystem that interconnects buildings and spaces with the natural landscape.

 

I think facilities are important and they must have a purpose and function. Function over form is important and at VERSO, it is all driven with learning in mind.

 

What are the challenges of third culture kid syndrome?
I have two daughters and my wife is from Hong Kong so they grew up in a bicultural environment. It’s been a very interesting journey as a head of school and a parent in the same school as my kids. I think where my daughters have benefited enormously is that they had a solid foot in the culture they were living. Hong Kong was their city even though their Dad was not from Hong Kong and they were at an international school. A lot of international school kids sense they exist in a bubble. They don’t quite know where they are or who they are. Our research showed that it was common for international school students to feel disconnected to the world beyond their school’s walls. The ability to transition, to build a community and understand what’s going on outside, is an essential skill for students who will probably remain internationally mobile way beyond their school years. Through our conversations with families, we realised that many schools don’t place a big enough emphasis on connecting deeply to the people, and issues in the communities where the school is situated. The school shouldn’t be a bubble. It needs to be porous, where ideas and influences flow in and out.

 

You talk a lot about connection, how will you foster that at VERSO?
VERSO places a huge emphasis on connections and developing networks. We are deeply committed to connecting the life of the school to the world around it and ‘popping the bubble’. As much as CEOs are very important players in networking, we are also interested in talking with small businesses and local entrepreneurs. We want to connect our learning to the outside world. It’s about finding new pathways and building opportunities for students to see how the work we do in school is relevant for their future. We want our students to see learning as meaningful, purposeful and how their work at school can be applied to the real world. We are training solution finders and problem solvers, and kids need to learn what this actually means. An important benefit for the businesses we partner with, is the insights they get from working with our students. It’s a really symbiotic relationship that we see as being a hallmark of a VERSO education.

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/education/verso-founding-head-cameron-fox/

 

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