Despite WAB’s campus closure, learning has never stopped for students, teachers, or parents.

WAB has a rich learning culture, and our parents have always been eager to learn and support their child’s learning. But a forced shift to online learning has thrust the school-parent partnership into the spotlight, and the school community has adjusted and transitioned in an effort to maximize the student experience.

The importance of a parents’ role in the learning community has been highlighted during online learning, and we as a community are grateful for the support, engagement, and time our parents have given to the learning process.

Parents have responded well to WAB shifting information sessions and workshops to video conference calls, where our faculty discusses a wide range of academic, social-emotional, and technical topics.

Middle School Principal Huiman Cheng said her faculty have updated their regular series of parent seminars to fit the context all of our families are facing right now. Counselors, curriculum coordinators, teachers, and specialized staff are working with parents daily online to solve problems, plan, deliver lessons, and beyond.

In the high school, parents have attended several sessions for parents about student course selection, transitioning to High School, and university application procedures in regions throughout the world.

In the Elementary School, parents have joined the regularly scheduled Parents as Leaners series events via video conferences with the faculty. This week’s workshop was about “Helping my Child Develop Good Habits” – a topic several parents said was relevant and helpful given the current situation

“This was a topic our parents had told us was important. For me, this session came just at the right time since we are doing home learning,” said Phoebe Wong, WAB’s Early Years and Elementary School parent representative. “I do feel some of the techniques shared in the workshop will help families, and it is comforting that the school is showing its support in this way.”

And PYP Coordinator Jonathan Mueller has been grateful to work closely with so many WAB parents like Phoebe, teaming up for student success while navigating the changes that come with online learning.

“This situation has been a great example of WAB’s core value to remain learner centered,” he said. “Our parents are collaborating with us, and if we continue to focus our effort and resources on student learning, we will emerge from this challenging time more knowledgeable and stronger as a community.”

To learn more about how WAB approaches the parent partnership with the school, please check out this article from our Future of Learning blog.