Mr. David Frankenberg’s Learning Tour Officially Begins

As part of his mission-driven commitment to continuous and enduring learning, Mr. David Frankenberg, our 17th Head of School, is embarking on a Learning Tour during the 2024-25 school year. During this time, Mr. Frankenberg will meet with parents, guardians, students, and employees from every grade and across every discipline at Taipei American School.

Thanks to the community’s participation in over 55 meetings, Mr. Frankenberg will have the opportunity to hear diverse and engaged perspectives on our school, community, and TAS culture, from longtime Tigers and our newest arrivals. Critically, these sessions focus on three key questions:

1. Where are we living our mission?
2. How can we better align with our mission?
3. What advice do you have for Mr. Frankenberg as the Head of School?

In addition to a great opportunity to get to know Mr. Frankenberg in a small group setting, these meetings are an important opportunity for community members to share, in their own words and from their own experiences, a rich variety of perspectives and hopes for TAS.

The in-person sessions are complemented by short, targeted surveys on the three guiding questions, as well as a brief evaluation of our strengths and areas of growth as a school. This robust, anonymous data will build on the insights gleaned from the Community Experience Surveys of SY22-23 and SY23-24 and inform Mr. Frankenberg’s understanding of where our community stands on our mission alignment and room for growth.

These sessions kicked off during the last week of August, with two gatherings of Kindergarten A and Kindergarten employees and a large group of faculty and staff representing key roles in the Upper School, from office administration to counseling, college counseling, and more. These sessions opened space for participants to share their pride points about TAS, and to dig into their perspectives on our opportunities for transformative, mission-aligned growth. Attendees embodied our values of kindness and respect when sharing areas where TAS still has room to grow, focusing on the areas where we could better live our mission at every level. 

Parent, guardian, and student sessions begin this month, with dates for each grade-level meeting available on the Parent Zone. After such a strong beginning with employees, we’re already looking forward to the next sessions!

Mr. Frankenberg’s approach to continuous learning and relationship building within all corners of our community exemplifies a leadership style rooted in collaboration and a genuine desire to understand and support the community he serves. We encourage everyone to participate in this important dialogue, as your voice will help guide Mr. Frankenberg’s learning and reflections moving forward!