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Arcadia Education Signs Second Global Partnership To Create A One Of A Kind Curriculum For Its Secondary Offering



Springside Chestnut Hill Academy to introduce its nationally recognised entrepreneurial programme at Arcadia’s secondary school* in Dubai

19th June 2019, Dubai, UAE – Arcadia Education has announced a formidable partnership with one of the top American private schools, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH), to introduce its nationally recognised entrepreneurial programme at Arcadia’s secondary school in Dubai.

The Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) is one of the Springside Chesnut Hill’s signature programmes and is committed to developing an entrepreneurial mindset and skillset in every student over the course of their academic journey. To instill this mindset, CEL is integrated into the Pre-K -12 school experience and the curriculum is embedded into students’ schedules.

Ed Glassman, SCH’s Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, says, "Our faculty have spent many years carefully crafting and refining a sequence of instruction that delivers a powerful product and impacts every student."

That curriculum first caught the attention of Arcadia’s CEO, Dr. Navin Valrani when he was a graduate student in the University of Pennsylvania’s Educational Entrepreneurship program and visited the site of SCH’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership - a hub of creativity, problem-solving, and prototyping.

"The minute I walked into the Center, I just knew that Arcadia and CEL would have an agreement to bring this outstanding programme to Dubai," says Valrani.

Arcadia's secondary school is an extension of The Arcadia School, a three-year old independent primary school in Dubai, which has grown to over 500 students in a short space of time. Its model is based on the National Curriculum for England, and bolstered by holding the status of Apple Distinguished School. It also provides a robust Junior MBA and Lego robotics programme to its students.

Arcadia Education will expand into the secondary school market in the coming months, adding Year 7 and additional grades year over year. The introduction of SCH’s cutting-edge programme will continue to distinguish Arcadia within the region’s education market.

Building entrepreneurs of the future

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s CEL program prioritises the development of four key traits that comprise the entrepreneurial mindset: opportunity seeking, creative problem solving, resiliency and resourcefulness. Equipped with this mindset, students take on interesting challenges that connect with their passions and graduate with a competitive advantage.

"Entrepreneurship has always been a core theme at Arcadia and our partnership with CEL takes our curriculum offering to an exciting level in our secondary school. At Arcadia, our ethos has always been about meeting our students’ aspirations and this partnership will give our students the necessary skills to pursue their ambitions across a wide variety of career choices," says Graham Beale, Principal.

The roadmap for the partnership between SCH and Arcadia includes curriculum guides, staff descriptions, equipment that may be necessary to execute and maintain the programme, and professional development for CEL faculty. They will have the opportunity to travel to Dubai to provide hands-on, small-group training on their subject of expertise to the Arcadia faculty, which includes three SCH teachers who will visit Dubai in the summer to teach workshops before Arcadia launches the CEL curriculum in September for its Year 7 cohort.

"The SCH program has been built inside a highly collaborative, expert faculty comprised of unique educators,” says Glassman. “SCH has ten faculty who teach CEL classes, including coding, app development, design and fabrication, digital publishing and electronics and microprocessors. The Center is also comprised of an advisory board and a cohort of mentors from various business sectors that work closely with students."

SCH Head of School, Steve Druggan says, "CEL brings purposeful, real-world learning to our campus on daily basis. This is a unique partnership and it exemplifies the essence of the entrepreneurial mindset we teach every day. At its core is recognising opportunity. I am excited to see how this work will push our practice and drive us to continue to build a standout programme for the benefit of SCH students and, now, those in Dubai."

About Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH)

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy is an independent school that offers a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum to over 1,000 students from over 100 regional zip codes and international origins. SCH’s unique educational model of single-sex programs in Pre-K through 8th grade followed by a coed 9th-12th grade experience empowers its students to thrive independently and collectively. SCH is distinguished by signature programs in entrepreneurial leadership, global travel, robotics and engineering, new media, outdoor education, and the principles of sustainability. SCH Academy is the product of a 2011 merger between Springside School and Chestnut Hill Academy and combines nearly 300 years of academic excellence.

Situated on a 62-acre campus in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, the school prides itself on preparing students to lead lives characterized by thoughtfulness, integrity, and a passion to effect positive change. Learn more at www.sch.org.

About Arcadia Education

Arcadia Education is a K-12 British school operator headquartered in Dubai with an ethos that centers on nurturing the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, artists and athletes through a holistic approach to education.

Arcadia’s secondary school is the second in a series of community-based schools delivering the vision of Mohan Valrani and the Al Shirawi Group. As the Chairman of the school, Valrani is an avid believer in providing the very best education for future generations.

For more information about Arcadia, visit www.arcadia.sch.ae.

Press Contact:

Cindy Blaser
Phone: +971 55 631 0028
Email: Cindy.b@qcomms.ae

*School name is subject to KHDA approval

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