99 - Conversation with Brett Gray, Director The Ostrava International School

The International Schools Podcast

Brett shares his journey founding and leading a small international school in Ostrava in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. As Director of the first IB Continuum World School in the country, Brett gives us insights to his struggles with the Czech state school system, and what he has been fighting for as a teacher and educational entrepreneur for over 30 years: Leading a Mission-driven school at a time of great local and global change.

About Brett Gray

Brett Gray is the Founder and Director of TOIS - The Ostrava International School, Czech Republic.

Armed with a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and French from the University of Southern California, Brett arrived in post-communist Czechoslovakia in January 1991 with plans to write news articles about the Czech transition to democracy, and teach English on the side - for perhaps 6 months, a year at most.

Thirty-two years later he finds himself leading the only International Baccalaureate Continuum World School in the Czech Republic, and a devout believer in the principles of the IB as a foundation for education and support of Civil Society.

Over that time, Brett has confronted the challenges and opportunities inherent in creating a truly internationally accredited school in a region that desperately needs one, but doesn’t quite understand why, including; the local, regional and national politics of Czech education; the economics of a region transitioning out of heavy industry into an unknown future; the opening of a culture and way of thinking that had been sequestered behind the Iron Curtain for over 40 years, and on and on.

Brett is also a founding member and current Board Chair of ACES - the Association of Central European IB Schools, with 43 members across 12 countries working together to implement the best of IB practices, many of whom are also facing the challenges of moving beyond the traditional approaches to education in their national systems.

Brett Gray on Social Media

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brett-gray-8b6bb4171

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TOISWORLDSCHOOL/

Web: www.tois.world

Email: [e-mail]

Resources

Books:

Vaclav Havel: Letters to Olga

Simon Sinek: Start with Why

Sir Ken Robinson:

Creative Schools, Revolutionising Education from the Ground Up

Patrick Lencioni: The Advantage

John Mikton on Social Media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton

Web: beyonddigital.org

Dan Taylor on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantcz/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanTaylorAE

Web: www.appsevents.com

Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube

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