About Me

Hello!  My name is Christopher Dylan Allen, and I am originally from Atlanta, Georgia.  I am a leader in education and athletics with over 20 year of experience in public and independent international schools around the world. I bring extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of strategic planning, accreditation, governance, and leading learning and extra-curricular activities in schools.

I am currently the High School Coordinating Principal at Sekolah Ciputra, an IB Continuum and WASC Accredited school in Surabaya, Indonesia.  It is an exciting school, where Entrepreneurialism is imbedded in students' learning and activities throughout.  To further expand student opportunities, we have a partnership with Ciputra University, providing our students the content and skills from their own Entrepreneurialism program of study.

I have a confession...I used to be a very traditional educator.  I handed out worksheets, lowered students grades on assessments if they submitted them late, did not differentiate in my lessons or my assessments, and spent a lot of my class time speaking AT students in a lecture format.  While the "technology" changed from a (non-interactive) white board, to an overhead projector, to a laptop connected to a projector, to an interactive whiteboard, the "stand and deliver" method of instruction did not change much.  I used to think I was an expert in a variety of areas, which greatly limited my own growth and learning.

Thankfully, I am no longer this type of educator.  As a life-long learner, I have grown both as an educator and a human being through my own experiences and continued education.  I can think of several pivotal events in my educational journey which helped make me the person I am today, and look forward to future sparks that will ignite further learning and personal and professional growth.  

I believe in having a growth mindset, and try to instill this in everyone I meet.  I understand that we need to use assessment for learning, and that students learn at different rates and should be able to reassess in order to show what they have learned and/or can do.  I embrace inclusive education, and work with staff, students, and parents to help provide the most appropriate learning environment in order to help reach individual success. I am passionate about project-based, interdisciplinary learning, where students are able to present their learning to an authentic audience.  I accept that while I might be knowledgeable about something, I should never think of myself as an expert because there is always more to learn, and at the rapid pace the world is changing, those who are not open-minded, adaptable, and ever striving to improve will be left behind.