Award Descriptions

international schools

EEE Diamond Award = FAME

EEE gives individual awards in each of the following 4 categories: Facilities, Academics, Management, and Expat Support. Schools that achieve excellence in all 4 of our assessment categories will be awarded the prestigious Excellence in Expat Education Diamond Award. This means they have achieved FAME!

 

Many schools will excel in 1 or 2 or even 3 of our award categories, and this is extremely helpful to families who may have special interest in specific areas of excellence. Those schools that achieve Diamond Award status clearly excel in all 4 of our areas, and will meet the needs of the broadest range of expat families.

Facility Excellence

Schools are given this award for facilities that exhibit clear standards for the students’ welfare, health and safety. The buildings and grounds all actively contribute to the cognitive, social and physical development of the pupils.

Our facilities assessment considers factors such as the school’s location, transportation services and/or accessibility by car, and of course all of the internal school facilities. Our assessment visit includes a close examination of all of the school spaces, including classrooms, bathrooms and changing rooms, labs, play areas, lunchrooms and sports facilities.

Academic Excellence

This award is given to schools which emphasize student success through a combination staff that is well qualified in school’s curriculum, a student-centered approach to learning, and teaching strategies which enable each child to reach their individual potential.

If the school teaches a particular national curriculum (ie American, British, French) are the teachers qualified in that system and experienced teaching in that country? Is there clear evidence of active student engagement in the classroom? Do the teachers apply a variety of strategies to address the various learning styles of their students? Are there specialized teachers who offer support to learners with special needs?

Our team of assessors has previous school accreditation experience. We include accreditation by international, regional and/or local bodies as part of our school assessment.  However, it is important to note that EEE is not a school accreditation body, and the EEA Award is not an accreditation.

Management Excellence

These schools have strong and experienced leadership as well as effective and collaborative management structures. The school leadership and management provide support to students, teachers and families, and guide the school to be a flourishing international community.  They can be seen in and around the school throughout the day, and are readily accessible to teachers, staff and parents.

One of the challenges that many international schools face is a high rate of turnover – both teacher and management. One sign of a strong leadership team is the ability to retain staff for longer periods, and to establish staged turnover cycles. This allows for a balance between longer-term teachers/staff and newcomers.  The longevity of the leadership team and their commitment to staff retention is one of the criteria we look at while assessing schools.

Expat Support Excellence

This award is given to schools that demonstrate a proactive approach to welcoming and supporting new families from diverse international backgrounds into the community. These schools understand the challenges that newly arrived expiates face as they adapt to life in a new country, far from family, friends and a familiar culture.

Schools can play an integral role in helping students and their families adjust to their new expat locations, and this award is for those schools with active support systems and activities for new expats. Some examples of this type of support are welcome events for newcomers, buddy systems for new students and new parents, and activities that focus not only on the school but also on the surrounding city and neighborhoods.

Do you want to increase your school's FAME?

FAME stands for excellence in Facilities, Academics, Management and Expat support.

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