Breaking News from African Leadership Academy: One of Africa's top Educators joins the Academy as Founding Dean! 

   

 

Letter from the Founder and CEO

  

Dear Friends & Supporters,

  

It gives me great pleasure to announce another very significant milestone in the Academy’s development: we’ve hired our Founding Dean! Two weeks ago, Christopher Khaemba, the Principal of Alliance High School — one of Kenya’s (and indeed one of Africa’s) top secondary schools — was selected as the Founding Dean of African Leadership Academy. After an exhaustive search that lasted over 7 months, we feel we could not have found a more exceptional individual to join our leadership team!

 

Dean Khaemba has an unparalleled record as a school leader. His dedication to his students, drive for excellence, passion for Africa, and unquestionable values led us to believe that he was the right person to lead day-to-day school operations at African Leadership Academy. Many of his former students have told us that Chris has been one of the most important influences on their lives, and we have heard countless tales of his commitment and compassion. We look forward to hearing similar stories from the Academy’s alumni in a few years’ time.

 

I thought I would share one such story and a few facts about Alliance that will illustrate how fortunate we are to have Chris Khaemba on our team:

·        The story: A few years ago, a boy graduated from Alliance but returned to his home in rural Kenya because he did not believe he had the resources or talent to attend a top university. But Chris Khaemba saw a brighter future for this boy. He collected application forms from top US universities, drove several hours to the boy’s village, and convinced the boy and his family to fill out the application forms and sit for the SAT examination. In 2007, this same boy will graduate from Harvard University! We look forward to Chris bringing a similarly tireless dedication to the students at ALA. 

·        The facts: Each year, up to 400,000 boys (yes, that’s not a typo!) from communities across Kenya apply for the 200 slots available to join Alliance. This 0.05% acceptance rate must make Alliance one of the most selective schools in the world! By mandate, Alliance High School must accept students from each of the 57 districts in Kenya, meaning that the incoming student body includes the children of nomadic farmers, Masai warriors, cabinet ministers, and leading Kenyan financiers. Under Chris’ leadership, all of the students at Alliance – regardless of background – excel and form a strong, cohesive community. Many go on to attend the top universities in the world, often on full scholarships. We look forward to learning from Chris as we build a similarly cohesive and high-performing community from the diverse pan-African student body at ALA.

  

Chris will join us full-time in January 2008, nine months before the Academy opens in September 2008.

 

You can read more about Dean Khaemba below—make sure to read the newspaper articles, which show how remarkable an individual he is!

 

With best wishes,

 

Fred Swaniker

Founder & CEO

African Leadership Academy

fswaniker@africanleadershipacademy.org

  

Profile of Christopher S. Khaemba

  

Christopher S. Khaemba, 47, is currently Principal of Alliance Boys’ High School on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. In 2006, Alliance was the highest performing school in Kenya on the KCSE secondary school examinations. A former military officer and physics teacher by training, Chris has served as a school leader for the past 12 years.

 

Chris began his career as a Mathematics and Physics teacher at Alliance High School in 1984 after leaving his position as an officer in the Kenya Air Force. Over the next fourteen years, Chris served in positions of increasing importance, including Housemaster, Careers Master, Senior Master, and Deputy Principal. In these positions, he guided curriculum implementation, coordinated university placements, and led a variety of co-curricular activities.

 

In 1995, Chris was called by the Kenyan government to lead Friends School Kamusinga, a once highly-regarded school that had slipped to 138th position on the Kenyan league tables. In just three years at Kamusinga, Chris implemented reforms that enabled substantial gains in academic and co-curricular performance, and when Chris left in 1998 the school was ranked among the top ten schools in Kenya. His successor at Kamusinga, Simon Nabukwesi, notes that when Chris arrived, the school had heavy debts, dilapidated facilities, and poor performance in both academic and co-curricular activities. Chris’ impact has been sustained, and in 2006 Kamusinga remained ranked 8th among all schools in the country. For his work at Kamusinga, Chris received the Distinguished Service Medal from the President of Kenya.

 

Having proven his leadership ability at Kamusinga, Chris was asked by the government to take over the Principalship at Alliance High School in 1998. In his 9+ years as Principal at Alliance, Chris has steered the school back to 1st position in the national academic rankings and has expanded enrollment by 25%. He raised $500,000 USD from private donors to construct and renovate Alliance facilities, and he has dramatically increased scholarship allotments for Alliance students from poor families.

 

As one Alliance governor wrote, Chris brings “indefatigable energy and commitment” to his role. Despite his myriad commitments as Principal he finds time to teach a math class each semester, and each Saturday he holds a “Principal’s Talk” with the full student body. He has traveled extensively in vacation periods to raise the profile of the school, establishing exchange programs with schools in the UK and USA and building deep relationships with colleges and universities overseas. For several years running, Alliance has successfully placed 20-30 boys from a wide variety of backgrounds into Ivy League universities in the United States. And four times, Chris has received a written commendation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One such commendation reads:

 

Each year we ask students to share with us the name of a teacher who has been especially influential in the student’s development. We congratulate you on being named again this year by John Gachora Mburu. More importantly we thank you for the time, patience, expertise, love, discipline, and all the other qualities which have had such an important impact on your students. You do the work from which we all benefit.”

 

To read profiles of Chris Khaemba from leading Kenyan newspapers, click on the links below:

The Sunday Standard, December 25, 2005: “Chris Khaemba: Aiming for the Best”

The Sunday Nation, May 11, 2003: “A Principal’s Guiding Principles”

 

The new ALA Leadership Structure

 

With the appointment of the Dean, the Academy now has a deep leadership team made up of (1) Founder & CEO Fred Swaniker, (2) Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer Chris Bradford and (3) Dean Chris Khaemba. These 3 individuals will lead the Academy into launch and the first phases of its existence. An immense amount of work is required to establish a brand new institution with such an audacious vision — to transform Africa by developing its future leaders — but we believe our leadership team has the depth necessary to make our vision a reality.

 

The roles will be split as follows: Co-founders Chris Bradford and Fred Swaniker will continue to drive the vision of the Academy and lead efforts in curriculum development, hiring of staff, external relations, & fund-raising. Dean Khaemba will complement the founders with his vast experience in day-to-day school operations. He will inspire and mentor students, lead and coach teachers, interact with parents, and facilitate the placement of our alumni in top universities around the world. At some point over the next few years, we anticipate adopting a structure similar to a University and bringing a President – likely a leading academic or corporate executive – to lead external relations and fundraising activities, while Dean Khaemba continues to lead the day-to-day operations of the school.

 

  

Looking ahead

  

We are set to begin recruiting an Associate Dean to work with Chris Khaemba on the day-to-day leadership of the Academy. We will also soon recruit our inaugural set of teachers – 10 of Africa’s most outstanding teachers – over the next 12 months. Please check www.africanleadershipacademy.org for our latest job postings. Several new positions will be posted over the next month.

 

In addition to building the school faculty, we will continue to recruit our first class of 100 young leaders, develop our curriculum, and raise the remaining funds necessary to make the Academy a reality. 2007 will be full of important milestones at the Academy, and we look forward to sharing our progress with you. Thank you once again for your support of our dream to create peace and prosperity in Africa by developing ethical and entrepreneurial leaders who can transform the continent.

 

  

You can make a Difference

  • Share your ideas and contacts! Are there schools, companies, government officials, or nonprofit organizations that we should be in contact with? Do you have thoughts on leaders or stories we could highlight in case studies in our curriculum?  Let us know!
  • Give a gift to support Africa’s future. Your contribution can help make this unique vision a reality. To buy a brick on our Founders' Wall or make a donation to African Leadership Academy, visit: http://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/support.asp
  • Support African Leadership Academy with your shopping! If you shop online, do so through our new-and-improved Freepledge portal and ALA will receive up to 15% of the value of your purchases! Whether you intend to shop on Amazon, eBay, Target, Expedia, or elsewhere, you can support us by starting your shopping from http://alf.freepledge.com.
  • Refer a candidate. Know an admissions officer or teacher looking for a unique challenge? A business school student looking for a rewarding internship? We’ll be hiring a number of new faces in 2007, beginning with an admissions team that will recruit the finest 15-18 year old students from across the African continent. We are always accepting resumes and inquiries at info@africanleadershipacademy.org

 

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ABOUT THE ACADEMY:

 

Our Vision

African Leadership Academy believes that ethical leadership is the key to a prosperous and sustainable future for Africa. Opening in 2008, African Leadership Academy will be the first secondary school of its kind focused on developing and supporting the next generation of African leaders. With an innovative curriculum in leadership, entrepreneurship, and African studies, African Leadership Academy prepares talented youth from across Africa for a lifetime of leadership on the continent. In addition, African Leadership Academy is assembling a larger network of like-minded mentors, partners, and leaders to provide alumni with the long-term support system needed to lead Africa toward equitable and lasting development. 

 

Our Offering

African Leadership Academy offers students aged 16-18 years old from all 54 African nations and around the world the opportunity to attend our two-year, coeducational boarding school in South Africa. Our rigorous secondary program emphasizes the following attributes:

 

  • Entry based on academic merit and leadership potential
  • Generous financial aid for admitted students with financial need
  • Integrated curriculum in Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and African Studies
  • International Baccalaureate academic program
  • College counseling, career placement, and ongoing alumni support

 

African Leadership Academy offers like-minded individuals, organizations, and alumni a growing global network of local Chapters and strategic partnerships committed to fostering our long-term vision.