Chairman Mr. Chan Chee Seng, Chairman of ISS International School, was one of the first generation PAP Members of Parliament serving in the Singapore government from 1957 until he retired in 1984. When he retired he held the position of Senior Parliamentary Secretary. He then entered the field of education and became Chairman of the Boards of various international schools. ISS International School, located in Singapore, was founded in 1981 and, in 1994, the Beijing BISS International School was established in Beijing, PRC. Mr Chan is a firm believer and driver of the school's multi-cultural educational ethos.

ISS Board Members

		Mrs. Chan Ching Oi, attained her B. Pharm. (Hons) from University of Singapore, her M. Pharm. from the University of California (S F Medical Center. Prior to taking on this role she was Head of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and then Pharmaceutical Purchasing Departments, Ministry of Health, and finally, Head, Pharmacy Department, Singapore General Hospital. She has transferred her broad management experience from health care and Pharmacy to education.
		Mr. Chang Kwai Meng who first worked as a press columnist, later served as Acting Principal of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. He was consultant to the Chairman of the Far East Organisation and also serves as Chairman of the Composers Authors Society of Singapore and Advisor to the National Theatre Club. Currently, Mr. Chang is Director of Marketing / Administration of the Centre for American Education, a member of the ISS group.
		Mr. Clarence Lim was Programme Coordinator in the early 2000s with Beijing BISS International School teaching a Special English Course to the staff of Beijing Television Station. Today Mr. Lim works three days a week as a linguistic consultant in a publishing house and teaches English once a week in a tertiary institution.
		Ms. Chan Mun-E, Deputy CEO of the Beijing BISS International School, started her career with the Development Bank of Singapore. She was responsible for the banking needs of corporate clients and later managed the syndication of loans and the bank's overseas branches when she moved onto international banking. In preparation for the challenges of work in the field of educational, Ms Chan received a Masters in School Counseling from University of Buffalo, the State University of New York (SUNY Buffalo). Ms Chan made her transition into education when she joined the ISS Group more than 10 years ago. She has spent time in all the schools and campuses under the Group, involved with the work in the various departments within the schools. She has been a part of the ISS board since the mid-90s.
		Mr. Leong Weng Kam, a senior writer with The Straits Times, is a veteran journalist who started his journalistic career as a reporter with the Singapore Armed Forces' monthly Pioneer magazine in 1975. He joined The Straits Times as a bilingual reporter in 1977 when the paper launched its Bilingual Page. Later, he moved to the other desks, writing news reports and features for the local news, China, foreign, and political desks and the Life! section of the paper. He was one of the three senior journalists from the paper tasked to write the book, Men In White, The Untold Story Of Singapore's Ruling Political Party, which was published in 2009. His current writing interests include Singapore political history, the local Chinese community, Chinese culture and history, Singapore-China relations and new Chinese immigrants in Singapore. He has a bachelor of arts degree in Chinese language and literature from Beijing Normal University, and master of arts degrees in Asia Pacific Studies and contemporary China from University of Leeds and Nanyang Technological University respectively.
		Ms. Karen Kaylor has been the Director of the US Education Information Center in Singapore since 2003. USEIC is the official US Department of State EducationUSA office for Singapore. EducationUSA officers provide comprehensive, unbiased, and timely information about higher education opportunities in the USA. She possess a Master's Degree in Political Science and Public Administration and has worked in US higher education both as a university lecturer and in university admissions for over 25 years. Ms Kaylor has lived in Singapore since 1990. She is a member of the Overseas Association of College Admissions Counselors and NAFSA: The Association of Foreign Student Advisers and has presented papers at both conferences. Karen has toured more than 200 different US college and university campuses and is well versed in accentuating commonalities and differences among the more than 4,200 degree granting institutions in the US.

Ex-officio Members

		Head of School and ex-officio member Dr. Margaret Alvarez
		Senior Manager of Accounts and ex-officio member Mr. Justin Sim
		Director of Administration and ex-officio member Ms. Joyce Chia

Roles and Responsibilities

Extract from 'ISS School Board Manual'

Duties of the ISS School Board

The Governing Body:

• Serves as the ultimate authority of the school.
• Establishes policy.
• Authorizes, monitor and evaluates the annual school budget.
• Ensures that the Singapore Education Act, and the charter approved for the school are complied with.
• Serves as the ultimate authority for settling grievances arising from personnel actions.
• Represents the school to the community at large.
• Sets the fee structure for the school.
• Sets the long term direction of the school by means of the ISS Strategic Planning Process.
• Ensures Accreditation with appropriate agencies.
• Approves ISS programs.
• Approves staff salary and benefit schemes.
• Approves contractual terms and conditions.
• Supports and participates in the school's advancement efforts (marketing, public relations, fund raising).

ISS School Board Codes of Conduct

The Board Chair shall:

• Serve as the leader of the Board and spokesperson for the Board.
• Be the Headmaster's mentor and partner and provide counsel and advice on behalf of the Board.
• Plan the agenda for Board meetings.
• Be the focal point for Board feedback and perspective to the Headmaster.
• Chair board meetings ensuring that the Board focuses on:

1. Governance versus operational roles.
2. The task at hand
3. Time
4. Full participation of all members.

Board Members shall:

• Maintain 'student focus' in all decision-making.
• Support the ISS Mission and Strategic Plan.
• Be responsible to the institution as a whole not a constituency.
• Become familiar with school policy.
• Communicate honestly, 'actively' listen, value diversity of opinion, respect
• Differences, remain optimistic, maintain a sense of humor and perspective and honor Board decisions.
• Avoid raising individual concerns unless broad policy implications are involved.
• Support school programs and events.
• Be an advocate for the school.
• Be a guardian of due process.
• Maintain confidentially at all times.

The Headmaster shall:

• Serves as spokeperson for all employees to the Board.
• Promote consistent, comprehensive and effective communications between all ISS constituencies (students, parents, faculty and staff and the Board).
• Propose all program plans and budgets to the Board.
• Maintain high standards for teaching and learning, including continuous improvement of program and delivery.
• Network with educational institutions and organizations.
• Implement and administer Board approved policies and programs.
• Appoint, direct, supervise, evaluate, develop, motivate, re-appoint or terminate all academic personnel.

ISS School Board Committees

All School Board Committees work under the direction and authority of the Board.

The School Board Chair and the Headmaster are either members or ex-officio members of all committees (expect the Nominations Committee which consists solely of the Board of Directors of the ISS Education Group).

Finance Committee
The Finance Committee oversees the financial management of the school. Its main task is to approve, monitor and evaluate the school's budget.

Policy Committee
The Policy Committee reviews proposed new policies and proposed policy changes before making recommendations to the School Board. The Policy Committee leads the ISS Board Biannual Policy Review Process. Members include: the Headmaster (Chair), and two other School Board Members.

Executive Committee
The Executive Committee acts when necessary between School Board meetings with the consent and delegated power of the Board. Members of the Committee include: the School Board Chair (Chair), the Treasurer, the Secretary and the Headmaster.

Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee is responsible for appointing new ISS School Board members. Members of the Committee are the Board of Directors of the ISS Education Group.

Ad Hoc Committees
Ad hoc committees may be formed at any time to deal with specific projects.

N.B.: On occasions, members who are not part of the School Board may be co-opted to supplement the skills of other members.

Policy:

Members of the School Board are appointed to serve ISS International School and its constituencies. The men and women who accept this position are expected to carry out their duties in a manner that inspires and ensures the confidence of the school and the broader community.

The members of the ISS School Board shall exercise the utmost good faith in all transactions touching upon their duties to the organization and its property. In their dealings with and on behalf of the organization, they are held to a strict rule of honest and fair dealing between themselves and the organization. They shall not use their positions as School Board members, or knowledge gained there from, so that a conflict might arise between the school's interest and that of any individual member.

A conflict of interest arises in any situation in which a School Board member (and his or her immediate family) is involved in an activity that could adversely affect his or her judgement with respect to the business of the school or otherwise diminish the interest of the organization. When such a conflict arises, the individual with the conflict is expected to disclose in writing the existence of the conflict.

Date of Adoption : 2 October 2010
Authority : ISS International School Board

Procedure:

A copy of this policy should be signed and dated by each School Board member

Dates of School Board Meetings 

Full School Board Meetings 2010 - 2011

 Full School Board Meetings 2011 - 2012

More information for ISS Parents is available here.