Mr. Robert (Bob) Jackson

School Principal

• Bachelor of Arts ~ University of Western Ontario, Canada
• Bachelor of Education ~ Queen’s University, Canada
• Principal’s Qualification Program ~ Ontario College of Teachers, Canada

“I am looking forward to being principal, working with the parents in a very collegial way to provide the best educational experience for their children.”

Everyone has something they love to do, and for Mr. Robert (Bob) Jackson, that was learning. Before moving to D-PREP International School, Mr. Bob was a principal in Ontario, Canada, for 25 years. He started working as a teacher and then transferred to school administration. His passion for learning and education brought him around the world and, eventually, to Thailand and D-PREP.

During his time as a principal in Canada, Mr. Bob was a member of a professional organization called the Ontario Principals’ Council. During that time, he was a founding member of the Leading Student Achievement, which trained principals across the province in literacy and numeracy instructions.

At the same time, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) held assessments called Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Ontario would constantly rank in the top, sometimes number one, in these assessments, which generated a great deal of interest and demand for their teaching and leadership techniques worldwide.

“People would ask, ‘How are you guys in Ontario getting these results?’ And so there was a big demand for our school leadership, and people were tapping into our services,” Mr. Bob said.

As they looked deeper into people’s inquiries, the Ontario Principals’ Council realized that there were not a lot of leadership courses for school leaders worldwide. From this discovery, Mr. Bob joined International School Leadership and traveled the world to share his knowledge and expertise.

“I started working for international school leadership, which was probably the greatest thing I’ve ever done because I learned so much from educators around the world,” he said.

Mr. Bob worked with educators in several countries, including Brazil, South Africa, Australia, China, Qatar, and more. His last assignment was in St. Vincent and Grenadines. When he returned to Canada, Mr. Bob received a call from D-PREP’s director, Ms. Lady Didyasarin, asking him if he could lend his expertise to the school as the principal.

Mr. Bob gladly accepted. Starting the academic year 2022-2023 as the School Principal, Mr. Bob looks forward to sharing his extensive experience and passion for knowledge to create the best educational experience for the students and the D-PREP community.

What keeps you motivated as a principal?

“What keeps me here is the students. You just have to walk into the classrooms and see them learning and see the smiles on their faces and see them grow. I have students who come back now, and they’re adults and teaching their kids. It’s just great to see them grow up to be so successful and know you’re a small part of their life as an educator— it’s the learning, and like always, it’s the people and the relationships that you may have.”

What was your first impression of D-PREP?

“D-PREP is fabulous. I think the staff is fantastic. The kids are fantastic. What Ms. Lady has going here with the focus on Dream, Deliver, Discover, and the whole expeditionary learning is a great experience. It’s a very unique and interesting school. I can see that the students’ learning is really going to go to a deeper level.”

What do you think about Thailand?

“We [Mr. Bob and his wife] think it’s a fascinating country. The people are absolutely marvelous, beautiful. We also love the food. Even back in Canada, we cook Thai food. Thai Green Curry Chicken and Tom Yum are my favorite.”

What do you like to do on the weekends?

“It changes as I get older, but I like to go out and play golf, walk, or hike. I also love beaches, which is another perk of being in Thailand.”

Do you have a message for the D-PREP community?

“I’m looking forward to being principal, working with the parents in a very collegial way to provide the best education and educational experience for their children.”