Name: Khassiyat Saidiganiyeva

Title: Head of School (IB)

Organisation: Oxbridge International School

Originally from Kazakhstan, I am a fully qualified school leader with 17 years of experience as an international educator and senior school leader. My career includes roles such as teacher, HOD, deputy principal and head of school at Cambridge and IB curriculum international schools.

I hold a B.Ed. in English, TESOL, and an MSc in Educational Leadership. My professional development includes completing school leadership training at the University of Sussex and an internship program involving job shadowing principals of top Ofsted schools in the UK. Additionally, I have earned the Certificate of School Management and Leadership from Harvard University Graduate School of Education and Harvard Business School. I am also an IB Authorization School Visit Team Leader, Authorization School Visit Team Member and Authorization Consultant.

My strengths as a school leader are rooted in my extensive experience and successful outcomes in founding schools, strategic planning, and development, as well as leading the school's international accreditation (CIS, COBIS) and IB authorization. Currently, I am the Head of an international school in Uzbekistan, which achieved IB World School status within eight months of my tenure and became an IB Continuum School within two years. Our graduates have received admission offers from prestigious universities around the world. I am a happy wife and a blessed mother of three global citizen children. I am always open to new knowledge and challenges and look forward to contributing to the development of international education around the world.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Educational Leadership!

I hope Khassiyat's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as an Educational Leader?

The most challenging part of being an Educational Leader is, sadly, having to deal with difficult adults. Oftentimes, school children cannot receive immediate and high-quality support and learning experiences due to the unwillingness of their parents to take their own roles seriously, the inability of some educators to change their long-time adopted same-size-fits-for-all approaches or the school boards' avoiding investing in the quality assurance services by looking for shortcuts and and cutting finances.

2. How did you become an Educational Leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I became an educational leader very young. After receiving an offer to work as a lecturer at the university I graduated from with my bachelor's and master's degrees, I was promoted to the deputy rector for pastoral programs position at the same university when I was only 23 years old. After 5 years there, I transitioned to secondary school education by joining an international school for gifted and talented students as a teacher, but was quickly promoted to head of department and later a deputy director within 6 months of my joining this school.

I was 27 at that time. Having dedicated 5 years of my professional life to higher education, I had a 2.5-year-long teaching job in Jakarta, Indonesia, afterwards and was offered a head of school position in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2020. So, I became a head of school when I was 34. I have still been working at the same school since then and in the same role and am now being deployed to the new campus of the school to establish it from scratch.

I guess the reasons why and how quickly I got promoted to senior leadership roles are based on my being a reliable and proactive educator with outstanding enthusiasm and willingness to take initiative, which was quickly recognised and appreciated by the managers.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

My day starts early at 6 am and I spend 1 hour on myself by taking care of my body and my soul. I treasure this time in the morning because I am not interrupted and I can enjoy my cup of coffee, meditate and make my plans for the day before waking my three kids up to prepare for school. Then my beloved husband drives us all to the school (yes, I am a truly lucky mother whose kids go to the same school where she works as the head of school).

My work day starts with routine admin tasks followed by meetings with the school board, SLT team, teachers, parents, and communicating with students. Sometimes we have some school functions, lesson observations, or visitors scheduled during the day which makes my professional life even more exciting. In between my busy days, sometimes I have time for lunch or a not-too-cold cup of coffee.

Even though my official work day ends at 5 pm, I never end my daily allocated energy resources by then and stay back to check off some actions in my to-do list, add new ones and plan for upcoming events, as this time is also very quiet and uninterrupted. After going home, I focus on my wifely and motherly duties by leaving my head-of-school hat back in the office as that is the main reason why I do what I do in my life.

4. What's a recent lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of as an Educational Leader?

I have recently attended a webinar organised by the IB for IBEN members like myself, where they presented the importance of "unteaching" old-fashioned, outdated and ineffective work habits and approaches some educators have developed over decades. I have always been aware of and actively promoted a wide range of ongoing professional development opportunities for school staff when we teach, introduce and implement certain new approaches, technologies and mindsets, but would not always remember that unlearning these concrete-like skills that we want to change requires explicit and systemic unteaching.

I have been looking at our professional development programmes quite differently since then by ensuring that we regularly, purposefully and effectively unteach what we don't want to be seen as used at our school.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your journey as an Educational Leader so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted you?

What Goes Unspoken by Krystal Hardy Allen has had a profound impact on my journey as an educational leader, pushing me to reflect deeply on the unseen dynamics and unspoken truths within my school community. The book challenged me to uncover my own biases and examine how they may influence decisions, relationships, and the culture I aim to create. It reminded me of the critical importance of cultural responsiveness and the need to build inclusive spaces where every voice, especially those that often go unheard, feels seen, valued, and empowered.

Krystal Hardy Allen's emphasis on leading with vulnerability inspired me to open up difficult yet necessary conversations, fostering trust and growth within my team. I have found myself reevaluating systems and policies to address equity gaps, while also striving to create an environment where barriers, both spoken and unspoken, are acknowledged and dismantled. This book has reinforced my commitment to leading with intention, empathy, and authenticity, ensuring that I am not only hearing voices but actively amplifying them to drive meaningful and lasting change.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young educator who aspires to be an Educational Leader, what would you say to them?

To a young educator, who is dreaming about the role of a senior school leader, especially that of a principal or head of school, I would recommend buckling up and being prepared for flying solo most of the time. This role, unfortunately, comes with a huge difficulty in finding friends within the school community, as you don't want to be biased or be blamed for favouritism, and, unfortunately, lots of friendships do not pass the test of power or authority.

I have seen teams where subordinates start taking advantage of their friendships with their leaders by taking a laid-back approach and not following the requirements as everyone else. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand that despite having been blessed with a big support system of dedicated and caring SLT team, teachers and even parents, when it comes to facing really big challenges and decisions, it must be only you whom you can rely on.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as an Educational Leader, so far?

When I just joined my current school in the role of head of school, it had already existed for one year with only a PYP coordinator and some primary classes present. When I showed up at school at the beginning of the school year and started talking to staff about the necessary changes, developments and actions needed for a successful PYP authorization I faced huge resistance from the returning staff. They would sabotage every single staff meeting, and would almost gang up and take over every professional development or collaborative planning meeting, trying to stop the implementation of the changes and improvements by making every suggestion a mockery.

It was beneficial for them to keep everything the way they were used to, but I had a big vision and plans to make this school one of the top-tier schools in the country and wasn't ready to give up. At one such meeting, one of the returning staff called the school a circus implying that we all were clowns here, probably, expecting that that would be my last straw and I would give up or at least hesitate to push forward. He couldn't be more wrong. Not only did we proceed in our transformative development into a top-notch school, but we also transformed this one teacher into almost a role model for other teachers. How did we do this?

By not falling into the predicted pits and not getting manipulated into giving up, we continued talking to staff and started talking even louder and more confidently, by role-modelling the behaviours and attitudes we wanted to see in others, by advocating for them in the eyes of the school board, by hearing them and protecting them from angry parents, by appreciating every small step they made towards the same direction we were heading to, by empowering them with flexibility and choices, by building transparent and safe communication channels and many give and takes.

Eventually, this one teacher stayed for two more years under my leadership and was super productive by not only becoming a strong exemplary IB teacher for others to learn from but also by initiating and organising a series of student-led musicals and projects that are still dearly remembered by our school community. Such stories in my memory fuel my passion for my work, and I continue doing what I do.