Creating Cohesion and Connection at GOS

Case Study

Sep 1

Impact Highlights

80+ staff joined Peersphere’s PD solution
225 live PD sessions attended
Used as evidence for Council of International Schools (CIS) standards in 2024 reaccreditation

About GOS

Green Oasis School (GOS) is a well-established international school in Shenzhen, serving students aged 5–15 across two campuses, soon to be unified. Led by Principal Peter Garnhum, the school is focused on strengthening staff collaboration and professional development to prepare for its next chapter—a unified campus and an increasingly global student pathway.

The Challenge for GOS

Green Oasis School (GOS), an independent international school in Shenzhen, China, faced significant professional isolation among staff due to its standalone nature and lack of affiliation with larger school networks. Key challenges included:

Siloed Departments: Subject and specialist teachers operated in isolation, limiting collaboration and innovation.
Limited PD Opportunities: Traditional professional development (PD) was often irrelevant or inaccessible, leading to low staff engagement.
Accreditation Pressures: Upcoming Council of International Schools (CIS) reaccreditation required evidence of comprehensive, school-wide PD initiatives.

The PeerSphere Solution

In late 2024, GOS partnered with PeerSphere to implement a scalable, peer-driven PD model. The approach included:

Whole Staff Access: With the PeerSphere School Pass, Green Oasis provided professional development to over 80 staff across teaching, admin, and support roles. This would have been financially out of reach through traditional PD options.
Cross Departmental Engagement: PeerSphere brought together academic and non academic staff. Teams like HR, librarians, and technicians connected with peers and contributed to a more unified school culture.
Breaking Professional Isolation: Staff in standalone roles, such as the school’s only dance teacher, gained valuable peer connections and support they previously lacked.
Value for Accreditation: PeerSphere offered strong and affordable evidence for CIS reaccreditation, helping meet multiple standards for professional learning.
Strong Core Participation: Green Oasis led all PeerSphere schools in staff signups and maintained an engaged core of 80+ regular participants across departments.

Results That Matter

Top signup rate among PeerSphere schools with 80+ staff actively engaged.
Wide PD access: All staff gained practical strategies through PeerSphere’s peer communities.
Major savings by replacing costly traditional PD conferences with PeerSphere PD.
CIS-ready evidence provided for multiple standards, boosting reaccreditation efforts.

LeeAnne Lavender

LeeAnne has been a service learning coach and mentor for 20 years in South Korea, Kenya, and China. Now, as an educational consultant and coach, she is working with schools and teams of educators in many places around the world, and she specializes in helping schools build impactful and robust PreK-12 service learning programs. She also specializes in the intersectionality of storytelling with service learning and active global citizenship (everything from deep listening in story circles to digital storytelling for advocacy as action).

In addition to working independently with schools, she is the Service Learning Advisor for the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA) and a facilitator for global citizenship education with Peer Sphere. She also partners with CBK Associates and Inspire Citizens.

https://www.leeannelavender.com/