{"id":577390,"date":"2022-11-21T04:00:07","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T04:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/meet-the-gouna-boarding-school-that-wants-to-build-future-leaders\/"},"modified":"2022-11-21T04:00:07","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T04:00:07","slug":"meet-the-gouna-boarding-school-that-wants-to-build-future-leaders","status":"publish","type":"blackboard","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/meet-the-gouna-boarding-school-that-wants-to-build-future-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Gouna boarding school that wants to build future leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> How leadership- and service-oriented residential school Manara plans to weave<\/strong> itself into Egypt\u2019s educational fabric:<\/strong> Six years ago, Naguib Samih Sawiris put his eyes on realizing his dream to give talented students the chance to make a difference in their communities by providing them with a holistic world-class education. Inspired by his grandparents and longtime philanthropists, Onsi and Yousriya Sawiris, he turned that vision into a reality with the introduction of Manara School<\/a> in El Gouna. The school, whose launch was announced last month<\/a>, wants to offer its top-tier education to a wide segment of society, starting from the families and students who can afford the tuition fees and including less-privileged students through need-based scholarships, offered with the support of two nonprofit foundations. Manara School is set to open its doors for its first class in 2023, with the application process kicking off next month.<\/p>\n

Enterprise sat down with Manara School Head Peter Saliba to discuss the school\u2019s plans and goals<\/strong>, how Manara will shape its graduates to serve Egypt\u2019s future, the idea behind opening its doors to students regardless of their socioeconomic background, and the choice to make Manara residential \u2014 rather than boarding \u2014 school. Edited excerpts from our conversation:<\/p>\n

Manara is a school \u201cfor the nation,\u201d<\/strong> not just the El Gouna community, with a goal to bring in students from all governorates across the country and not restraining itself to those in a specific area, Saliba told Enterprise. \u201cThere isn\u2019t another school in Egypt like this one. No other schools have the class sizes we\u2019ll have, the residential curriculum we\u2019ve developed, or a focus on developing leadership skills like us,\u201d he said. Manara plans to have an average class size of fifteen students, according to a statement (pdf)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There is, however, a detailed admissions process<\/strong>, which is designed to bring the best talent to the school, he explains. The process requires students to submit supporting documents on their academic performance, teacher recommendations, and an essay or video along with a standard application form. Eligible applicants who make it through the first cut will then sit for tests to assess quantitative and qualitative reasoning and leadership skills. The following stage sees applicants and their families invited to the school\u2019s campus for personal interviews.<\/p>\n

The school will apply the Advanced Placement (AP) curriculum<\/strong>, opting for the American program over the British curriculum thanks to the breadth and wider range of courses it offers, Saliba told us. \u201cIt also allows space and time to execute the residential part of the curriculum,\u201d he adds, giving students the chance to do other things. \u201cFor teenagers, when you give them choice, that broadens their experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But Manara isn\u2019t looking to copy a certain model. Instead, it\u2019s bringing together the best practices in partner schools to make it work for Egypt.<\/strong> \u201cWhat we\u2019re really doing is choosing what we believe to be the best parts of the six or seven schools that we\u2019re working with and bringing them together,\u201d he said. The models at UK\u2019s Eton or the US\u2019 Phillips Exeter might be very contextually relevant to the US or UK, but might not be a good fit for Egypt, he adds.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about the quality of teachers:<\/strong> The curriculum choice, while important, is not as essential as the quality of teachers delivering the material. \u201cFor me, whether it\u2019s the AP system or the British system, the question I\u2019d be asking [as a parent] would be the quality of the teacher. That\u2019s the most important thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fundamentally, the school is looking to fill some gaps in Egypt\u2019s traditional education offerings.<\/strong> Manara is doing this by relying on a skills-based curriculum, rather than one that is content-based. \u201cI think Egypt has set its sights to become more skill-based. It\u2019s not there yet, but they\u2019re making their way,\u201d he said, adding that the issue is one that \u201ceveryone is trying to address.\u201d<\/p>\n

Labor market impact is a key goal:<\/strong> Manara wants its graduates to be impactful in the country\u2019s labor market, and is prioritizing honing skills that are critical for the workforce, including being able to both lead and be part of a team, operate in diverse environments, and communicate effectively. \u201cThese are all the fundamental underpinnings for our school,\u201d he said. The school isn\u2019t focused on turning out graduates \u201ccentered on one particular industry or area,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Choosing to make Manara a residential school is also geared toward building these key skills:<\/strong> Residential schools offer a learning journey for both the students and teachers, with the chance to cultivate deep relationships that \u201cprovide the best teaching environment,\u201d Saliba said. Students in residential schools are able to develop independence, teamwork abilities, and a sense of community more than those at day schools, he said.<\/p>\n

The school is focused on grades 8-12, rather than pre-K-12, because teenage years are when students\u2019 development peaks<\/strong>, Saliba said. \u201cWe focused on these years specifically because it\u2019s where we think we can make the most difference,\u201d' he said. The school decided against expanding to earlier grades, since it would make the school\u2019s mission too broad to deliver the impact it wants.<\/p>\n

Manara chose El Gouna to house its campus as the Red Sea resort town is emerging as an educational hub<\/strong>, being home to several educational institutes, including an international school and other facilities, which \u201cwas part of the attraction for us,\u201d Saliba said. El Gouna\u2019s safe environment and reliable infrastructure were also key factors in deciding on the school\u2019s location.<\/p>\n

The school\u2019s tuition fees haven\u2019t yet been announced, but accepted students can apply for financial aid or a scholarship.<\/strong> This is an \u201cexciting\u201d model that applies the school\u2019s vision \u201cto provide an outstanding education regardless of financial background,\u201d Saliba said. US-based nonprofit The Friends of Egyptian Leadership Academy and Swiss-based Egyptian Educational Foundation will provide the scholarships, Saliba said, stressing that the foundations do not have any involvement in the school\u2019s admissions process.<\/p>\n

Manara takes pride in having philanthropists, rather than investors, backing the school financially.<\/strong> \u201cWe have people who are giving money, time and energy to create part of the educational fabric for Egypt. They\u2019re not doing it to look for a financial return, they\u2019re doing it to invest in the future of Egypt,\u201d he said. Manara\u2019s main philanthropist backer is the Sawiris family, who Saliba describes as the \u201cdriving force\u201d behind the school.<\/p>\n

Manara sees its model inspiring others:<\/strong> The school sees itself as contributing to boosting the diversity of educational options accessible for Egyptians. \u201cI believe once we\u2019re on the way, after two to three years, other like-minded residential high schools will pop up in Egypt,\u201d he said. \u201cI see Egypt recapturing its educational prominence in this part of the world and we\u2019re going to be part of it. That\u2019s the exciting part of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How leadership- and service-oriented residential school Manara plans to weave itself into Egypt\u2019s educational fabric: Six years ago, Naguib Samih Sawiris put his eyes on realizing his dream to give talented students the chance to make a difference in their communities by providing them with a holistic world-class education. Inspired by his grandparents and longtime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":577391,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[257,179,72,6402],"class_list":["post-577390","blackboard","type-blackboard","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-el-gouna","tag-enterprise-blackboard","tag-enterpriseam","tag-manara","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"bd769039-c1e8-4cdd-a13e-d04a5457c3cb","is_powered_by":true,"section_story_id":"30e5f197-4c71-4e6a-9487-49ea22814aec","story_type":"2","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2022\/11\/323.jpg","photo_position":"above","related_issue":[577368],"teaser":"","voice_url":""},"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Gouna boarding school that wants to build future leaders - EnterpriseAM Egypt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/meet-the-gouna-boarding-school-that-wants-to-build-future-leaders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the Gouna boarding school that wants to build future leaders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How leadership- and service-oriented residential school Manara plans to weave itself into Egypt\u2019s educational fabric: Six years ago, Naguib Samih Sawiris put his eyes on realizing his dream to give talented students the chance to make a difference in their communities by providing them with a holistic world-class education. 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