Leadership Conversation- Episode 36 with Donnah Ciempka

Name: Donnah Ciempka

Current title: Head of School

Current organisation: Ascot International School

Mrs Ciempka is currently Head of School at Ascot International School and is a dynamic leader who has worked in education for over 20 years. Her teaching career began in 1997 in Brisbane, Australia, and since then she has worked and held leadership roles in a wide range of schools, including state and independent schools, both internationally and in Australia. Donnah has driven exceptional teaching and learning practices that are at the forefront of education today with an intentional focus on curriculum design and instruction.
She is highly qualified with a Bachelor of Education, with Honours in Early Childhood Pedagogy, an Advanced Certificate School Leadership and Positive Education.
Donnah is an experienced International Baccalaureate (IB) Educator who has supported schools across Asia for the last 10 years. Having worked in such schools as Western Academy of Beijing and Geelong Grammar, she brings to our community a diverse understanding of international education and what it means to be an IB World School. She has held many roles throughout her career and is also the recipient of several accolades including:
IB workshop leader and facilitator, school visitor and team leader.
CIS and WASC school visitor and acreditor.
Curriculum writer for IB, Pearson Education and Australian State Educational bodies.
Published author of pedagogical and curriculum documents.
Scholarship recipient for Executive Leaders Colloquium through the National Excellence in School Leadership Institute, Melbourne University 2016.
In addition to her work in schools, Donnah ran her own educational consultancy business guiding schools through accreditation processes, strategic planning and curriculum implementation. She has worked alongside universities, non for profit organisations and government departments aligning policy and pedagogy throughout South East Asia. Her strengths are driving organisations to ensure a collective focus, placing the learner at the centre of all decision making.