The Dwight Family of Schools Opens Newest Global Campus in Seoul, South Korea

NEW YORK, April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dwight Family of Schools, headquartered in New York at The Dwight School's flagship campus on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, today announced it will dramatically extend its role as a premier force in global education when it opens the Dwight International School Seoul, South Korea, in the fall of 2012. 

The announcement was made at a kick-off lunch at The Dwight School featuring Dr. Siva Kumari, Chief Operating Officer of the IBO Schools Division.  The Dwight School in New York was the first school in the US to offer the full International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma program from Pre-K-12th grade. In 2011, Dwight was chosen by the Seoul Metropolitan Government after visiting more than 100 prestigious institutions around the world to be an IB model for the South Korean educational system and the anchor school in Seoul's new Digital Media City, considered Korea's Silicon Valley.

"The Dwight Family of Schools, and its Chancellor, Stephen Spahn, have a deep and long-standing relationship with the IB, and the Schools' philosophy of creating world leaders by igniting each student's spark of genius matches well with the IB philosophy," said Dr. Kumari. "We're particularly glad that Dwight was chosen by the Seoul government to operate a model IB school, due to a notable record of success in global campuses and the need for more IB schools in Asia."

Dwight Seoul deepens the global presence of the Dwight Family of Schools, which also includes the Dwight North London International School (Pre-K-12th grade) in England; Dwight International School, a day and boarding school (6th-12th grades) on Vancouver Island, Canada; as well as the Dwight American-Capital Normal High School Program (10th-12th grades) in Beijing, China. Dwight's unique "spark of genius" philosophy develops each student's individual passions and talents, and its success is reflected in excellent college placement; Dwight graduates will matriculate next fall at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Notre Dame, Oxford, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of British Columbia.

"The opening of the Dwight International School in Seoul is the latest chapter in the organic expansion of Dwight, and signifies the importance of Asia as a region of growing prominence in today's increasingly global world," said Dwight Chancellor Stephen Spahn. "We are passionate about inspiring and educating the next generation of global leaders. We've been committed to this vision since we opened our first global campus in London in 1972, and the creation of our South Korea campus is just the latest iteration of this vision."

"Dwight Seoul will embrace the values and philosophy of the Dwight Family of Schools – in particular our commitment to IB education – but will also forge its own path as a center of innovative learning at the heart of Seoul's Digital Media City," said Kevin Skeoch, Dwight Seoul's Head of School.  "With the opening of each new campus, we have an extraordinary opportunity to introduce even more innovation in learning and teacher development that will benefit our students and teachers worldwide."

Dwight was selected by the Seoul Metropolitan Government largely for its outstanding IB curriculum, as well as Dwight's leadership in international education spearheaded by Stephen Spahn.  Mr. Spahn worked with Dwight's senior administrators to found the Guild of IB Schools in 2001, a regional association of more than 100 public schools, as well as private and religious institutions. 

Dwight Seoul, which will ultimately enroll students in pre-K through 12th grade (opening with pre-K-10th grade, adding 11th and 12th grades during the subsequent two years), will offer the IB Primary Years, Middle Years, and Diploma programs upon completion of IB candidate status review. Dwight Seoul will feature state-of-the-art academic facilities, including a 200,000+ square-foot building on campus designed by D&B Architecture Group, an award-winning firm known for innovative and eco-friendly design. The school has also allocated space for a regional IB training center for IB teachers in the Asia/Pacific region. 

With more than 500 faculty and staff from over 40 countries, the Dwight Family of Schools educates 2,000 students around the world. It is led by Chancellor Stephen Spahn, the longest-serving head of school in New York City and recipient of the national Louis Hines Award in 2011 for his commitment and service to youth.  For more information, visit www.dwight.edu.

SOURCE The Dwight Family of Schools