Career Highlights
As an educator, I look at all of my experiences as aspects of four major categories: Design, Innovation, Grit, and Connection. By breaking them up into these categories, it is easier to see what skills and abilities were needed for these achievments.
Design:
Grit:
As an educator, I look at all of my experiences as aspects of four major categories: Design, Innovation, Grit, and Connection. By breaking them up into these categories, it is easier to see what skills and abilities were needed for these achievments.
Design:
- In 1994, as English teacher at Burton High School, I collaborated on a Writer’s Workshop integrating technology into an extended composition curriculum.
- In 1998, as teacher and coach at Seoul International School, I led a presentation at KORCOS with the goal to develop middle school interscholastic athletic competitions amongst all of the international schools in Korea. Up to that point, nothing existed. The following year, I took the role of Middle School Athletic Director and the Middle School Seasons of Sport took shape and was the precursor to the existing Middle School Korean American Interscholastic Activities Conference (KAIAC) for private international schools
- In 2007, I took over the position of Athletic Director at Stuart Hall High School with the goal of developing a highly respected program to help attract potential students to the still relatively young school. When I moved into the position, there were 6 varsity sport teams and no league champions. When I left in 2013, there were 14 varsity sports with 7 league championships.
- In 2012, as a member of the Schools of the Sacred Heart Faculty and Staff Development Committee, I worked with the Head of Schools developing additional ways of recognizing and awarding outstanding educators.
- In 2013, as Dean of Boarding at Korea International School Jeju, I introduced the concept of “personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom” into dorm life as a way of teaching the students how to be successful living within boundaries.
- In 2014 and 2015, as Director of the Korea International School Jeju's Summer English Camp, I coordinated the design and implementation of a new curriculum that allowed teachers to teach to their specialities, and produced Evernote student portfolios that the parents could access on a daily basis to follow their child’s experience.
- At Gyeonggi Suwon International School, I developed technological solutions to existing logistical issues with Facilities Scheduling and Club Activities Management which led to more transparent and efficient processes and greater collaboration.
- During the Pandemic. I led the design and implementation of the Global Interscholastic Association, a virtual platform for international schools across the globe to have students "Connect", "Collaborate", and "Compete".
Grit:
- 28 years of high school and middle school educational experience (21 in high school and 7 in middle school) as English teacher (8 years), history teacher (8 years), physical education teacher (10 years), athletic director (13 years), athletic coach (25 years), and dean of boarding (3 years).
- Earning a Master of Sport Science Degree through United States Sports Academy (with honors) emphasis in Sport Management while working full-time as Athletic Director at Stuart Hall High School.
- In the summer of 2016, completed the Certificate of International School Leadership through The Principal’s Training Center.
- From 1992-1996, at Burton High School, I helped coordinate and implement an exchange program with a small town in France and our inner-city students, where each group spent 3 weeks living in the other’s cultural environment (home-stays) and attended classes at the host school.
- In 2010, as Athletic Director at Stuart Hall, I coordinated and supervised a community service trip to a small town in Mexico for our soccer program, where they planted trees at a shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe, sponsored and ran a youth soccer tournament, and worked with the elderly.
- In 2018, as Athletic Director of Gyeonggi Suwon International School, I led a session at the Korea Council of Overseas Schools (KORCOS) conference on "Enhancing the Quality and Professionalism of Coaching"https://korcos18iec.sched.com/speaker/bertkenj
- In 2019, as Athletic Director at Stonehill International School, I helped found the Bangalore Activities and Athletics School Conference (BAASC) the first international school conference of its kind in Bangalore, India.
- In 2020, collaborating with activities directors from around the world (Colombia, Paraguay, Belgium, France, and Austria) created the Global Interscholastic Association, a platform for students around the world to "compete", "collaborate", and "connect". sites.google.com/view/global-interscholastic/home
- In order to develop the Stuart Hall athletics’ program to it’s fullest potential, I had to develop partnerships with organizations such as the San Francisco Gaelic Athletic Association for use of their fields (our only facility was a basketball gym), St. Francis Yacht Club for sailing, and the University of California San Francisco Sports Medicine Clinic for a physical trainer internship program (the person we hired worked for them in the morning and us in the afternoon).
- In 2004, as English and History teacher at Stuart Hall High School, I presented at the California Association of Independent Schools conference on using Moodle in the classroom. Moodle had been released in 2002, and not yet widely used in schools.
- In 2020, during the early stages COVID, introduced a student-led website platform for connecting the community during the time everyone was away from campus. The "Let's Do More" platform created opportunities to compete, share, and perform for the community. www.letsdomore.net
- In 2021, in between waves of COVID, introduced an internship program for 8th through 12th grades. Grades 8 to 10 would experience mentorship and entrepreneurship on a virtual program, while the 11th and 12th grades would be part of in-person internships while attending classes online for part of the week.