Our Leadership Team and HR Department have been working hard recently to ensure we have great teachers and administrators working at Dalian American International School next year. Today we’d like to introduce Ms. Lubaina Essack who will be joining our community in August 2022 in the role of the DAIS/DHS Secondary Assistant Principal.
Lubaina is an educational leader who is passionate about creating an environment that supports not only the achievement of academic excellence but also the physical and emotional growth of students and staff in her care. She values the inquiry-based models of teaching and learning and is committed to positive change with a focus on tangible outcomes that yield measurable results. Lubaina has lived in China with her husband and two children since 2016 and enjoys reading, travelling and experiencing new cultures.
Lubaina has a wide and varied background in education and educational leadership. Her professional experience includes being a Secondary School Principal, a Curriculum Coordinator, a Department Head, a Middle School/High School Science and Biology teacher and a School Guidance Counsellor. She also holds a Master's degree in Science and a PGCE in Education.
As a school leader, Lubaina values authenticity, transparency, academic rigor, and the spirit of harmonious collaboration. She also believes that the most effective teaching and learning occurs in real-world contexts that equip students with the core skills and attributes needed to function effectively in an ever-changing, global arena. As such, her primary educational focus is on inquiry and skills-based teaching that promotes critical and creative thinking, information literacy, communication, collaboration, and innovation.
Lubaina considers herself a lifelong learner who enjoys reading, writing and experiencing new cultures. She has thoroughly enjoyed living and working in China and is appreciative of the knowledge, perspective, and intercultural insight she has gained during her stay in this extraordinarily vibrant and incredible country. She also enjoys immersing herself in nature, spending time with her friends and family and trying new and exciting cuisine, with her favorite food being spicy hotpot and rice noodles. She is also very grateful for how warmly welcome she and her family have been made to feel in China and is always impressed by the hospitality and friendliness of her Chinese friends and colleagues.
As a school leader, Lubaina is systems-oriented and understands the importance of fostering reflection, ownership and agency among team members in order to drive sustainable, effective, incremental change. She is also committed to building genuine relationships with students and staff, based on mutual trust, shared social responsibility, and a common desire to cultivate and promote educational excellence.
As a proponent of positive psychology and servant leadership, Lubaina was first drawn to DAIS for its commitment to creating a supportive and nurturing environment that affords students a safe space within which to learn, discover and grow. Like DAIS, Lubaina also values cultivating in students a strong spirit of service, resilience, and courage so that they can become positive contributors to their immediate communities and the world at large. She is therefore very excited to be joining the DAIS family so that she too may contribute to the school-wide culture of reflection, purpose and innovation that is embedded in both the educational philosophy and pedagogy of this renowned and remarkable school.
It’s our pleasure to welcome Ms. Essack to the DAIS community. We wish her every deserved success in her new position at our school!
