Late last week, over 250 delegates, speakers and partners in education gathered at Siena College in, Camberwell, Victoria for the Educate Plus Vic/Tas chapters conference.
Educate Plus is a network of advancement professionals working in the schools sector in Admissions, Alumni & Community Relations, Fundraising and Marketing & Communications in Australia and New Zealand.
With many independent schools also enrolling international students, it is a fantastic opportunity for school professionals to gather and reflect on COVID trials and tribulations, and discuss, most importantly, the victory and success stories for schools coming out the other side.
Leisl Bruhn, the Dean of International Students from Ivanhoe Grammar School presented on Overseas Students Compliance and Well Being. Compliance is a “hot topic” for all and forms the basis of which we stand on the global stage as a quality offering. However, changing landscapes mean there are such important lessons to be learnt and considered for the entire international education sector, especially now.
The mental health of students separated from their families has permeated the concerns for tertiary-level education. The biggest shock comes when you consider that Ivanhoe Grammar had over 100 students from overseas through the pandemic, some of them as young as 15 years of age, who were separated from their families for more than three years.
Even when borders re-opened, some countries still had quarantine restrictions and/or snap lockdowns, leaving students reluctant to leave for fear they would not be able to return to complete their high school goals. When students are under 18, you simply don’t close the school for the holidays and see them in January. School staff remain on duty to support students and Homestay families who were providing homes and love 24-7 throughout an incredibly uncertain time.
Leisl told her school story as a matter-of-fact story of what occurred. What the audience can take from it is this is that a school that has an international culture and not international students, is a school that proved successful in supporting student well-being.
It is a shift in mindset.
Ivanhoe Grammar has welcomed international students since 1941. They are specialists who also offer not only secondary education but their own preparatory English courses. Through the success of such special programs as; international student mentors, a new and international student prefect role, and an International Student Council, Ivanhoe incorporates “international” into the whole school in a way that circumvented many of the potential depression and separation issues during Covid and beyond, that other higher education schools may have faced.
To those who first read about the programs, one might think, “Oh, how lovely to get international, students involved.” The clincher is that these roles and groups are not roles exclusive to overseas students. They are often domestic students who take on these international roles and programs. They work side by side and seamlessly for the same goals no matter where they are born. International is truly a way of life and not a title or a label.
They work very hard to have an “international” school, where everyone in the school is involved and participates in an international culture. Every student, whether they were born down the street or around the world, defines and promotes internationalisation at Ivanhoe Grammar.
Leisl asserted that for Ivanhoe Grammar, ‘well-being is always important.’ This is not something that was a concern for COVID. It is a concern every day.
There are lessons for us all to take from this example.
