December 10, 2011

The 411 on Robert Woods, Incoming Head of School

Robert Woods, who recently was selected to be the next Head of School at ISP, grew up and completed his education in Southern California.  He holds a BA in Drama from Chapman University and a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Redlands in California.  Robert has worked in both public and international education for over thirty years.

Prior to his current posting as Director in Moshi, Tanzania, Robert led schools in Finland, Egypt, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.  He has been a Head of School, Principal, and Business Manager.  Before his transition to international education, he was a teacher in various settings.  Over his years in international education, he has worked with an incredibly diverse group of people and developed a love of learning about cultural differences and similarities.

Robert brings a passion for the IB programs to ISP and has considerable experience in implementing and refining all of the segments of the IB.  He has been known as a “teacher’s teacher” by his teammates throughout the course of his career. Those who spent time with Robert during his visit found him to be passionate about education, a thoughtful and respectful communicator, and in possession of an excellent sense of humor.

His wife Amelia is a teacher from Brazil and has not yet decided what she will do when they relocate to Portland. She is looking forward to living in America very much.  Amelia jokes that when she married an American, she was excited to live in America some day—she just never knew it would be via Europe and Africa!

After 30 years abroad, both Robert and Amelia are excited to return to the US and particularly to Portland, which they describe as a “very European feeling city”.  They have adult children in California and are looking forward to seeing them more than they’ve been able to over the past few years.

You will have a chance to get to know Robert and Amelia personally when they visit International School of Portland this spring.