The American Community Schools – ACS Athens is a student-centered K-12 international school, embracing American educational philosophy, principles and values. The institution that is the first choice for the families many of the Greek capital’s embassies is also beloved of the students who study there, as is illustrated the strong ACS alumni network.

“Through excellence in teaching and diverse educational experiences,” Acs.gr informs, “ACS Athens challenges all students to realize their unique potential: academically, intellectually, socially and ethically – to thrive as responsible global citizens.”

In her third year as President after 24 years at ACS, beginning as Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Peggy Pelonis took time from her many beginning-of-the-school year duties to speak about ACS’s mission, philosophy, and vision for the School and its students.

How has your background in psychology uniquely prepared you to be President of a school like ACS?

Let’s start with the COVID pandemic. Who would have thought that soon after the beginning of my tenure as President, COVID-19 would require schools to lockdown. The psychological impact of such an unprecedented event created tremendous disruption. Most importantly, it brought out many fears and insecurities among stakeholders; a ‘normal’ reaction when life becomes unpredictable, and the unknown becomes routine.

Though, like everyone else, I had no idea about what lay on the horizon, I did know about trauma, psychological fear, and insecurity. Therefore, I pulled in all resources, most importantly my knowledge of people, and did what I knew best, support, inform, and plan as far into the future as possible. In addition, supporting students was a priority because creating a routine while teaching online brought forth some sense of predictability and to a degree ‘normality’. Finally, I knew that none of the support required would be effective, if teachers, administrators, and staff could not come together toward a common goal that would give each meaning as life became chaotic.

Therefore, particular attention was given to the people during the school day so that they can continue their work with the best support possible. Responses to challenging circumstances, from a psychological perspective, have now become second nature and thinking about bringing people together particularly during challenging times is just part of what I do.

In English, ‘pedagogy’ refers to the theory and practice of teaching, but in Greek, it breaks down into two parts: ‘pais’ (‘of a child’) and ‘agogos’ (‘leader’). What are you and your wonderful school leading those fine children into?

Leading children to be inquirers who will make informed, intelligent, and ethical decisions for improving life and living on the planet is something we strongly believe in. I refer to this as Conscious Citizenship because it means developing the whole person and guiding them to have a good life. There is a common misconception about Conscious Citizenship; many think that when one contributes to a better world, it means developing children who are ‘soft’ and have a disadvantage in succeeding in a very complex and competitive world. In fact, it is the opposite: developing a mindset of problem solving, solving local problems that can have global impact, and developing resilient young people with strong psychological muscle. In addition, focusing on solutions can strengthen the ‘internal locus of control’ feeling and this can go a long way towards feeling strong, confident, worthwhile, valuable. Are these not the perfect ingredients for personal success regardless of the challenges and circumstances? So, while knowledge of math, science, technology, and literature are, no doubt, important, one learns best and ‘gets going when the going gets tough’ when they are psychologically strong.

ACS is not just a fine school, it is an American school in Greece. What does that mean, for the students – and for Greece.

We are an international school with more than sixty nationalities. At ACS Athens the curriculum is American, based on U.S. benchmarks and standards, and we are accredited by Middle States Association as a ‘Sustaining Excellence’ school. This means we have a stamp of approval indicating to universities/colleges that our programs are stellar. We also provide choices, so while, all students receive an American diploma, they can also receive the International Baccalaureate Diploma as well as numerous Advanced Placement courses. Why is this important? Students have choices. They learn to navigate their academic courses, their co-curricular activities, and sports through their school career, preparing them to make informed decisions later in university and in life. This is a different concept to the Greek population because they are used to deciding in high school which academic path they will take, and once in university, their path does not change. Very few students know so early in life what career path they want to follow. The American education system allows them to explore possibilities and determine where their talents and strengths lie. ACS Athens is very attractive to Greek families who appreciate that students can grow and develop while having choices and opportunities before finalizing their next steps. Furthermore, being a school that is ‘student centered’ is also an unusual concept for many. Our teaching methodology and programs are designed to be delivered according to how children learn. Many other educational systems teach a particular way, expecting students to follow regardless of individual learning needs or desires.

One of your mottos is ‘modelling education for the 21st century’. How is ACS approaching the new challenges and resources posed by things such as Artificial Intelligence, for the students and the teachers?

With an open mind. We have been working on bringing Artificial Intelligence into the curriculum for the last three years. Just recently I watched the kindergarten class explore AI possibilities via a robot named NAO. Children explored AI through reading, craft and writing and then NAO was introduced. The point is to familiarize students with AI, though its development is not something we will be able to keep up with in all areas, but what we want is for young people to understand its possibilities and to ask critical questions as they make use of it. We certainly do not want them to be victims of technological changes, instead we want them to see all these changes through an ethical, problem solving lens, so as they grow, they will also develop AI tools that will improve life and living.

That is another reason why Conscious Citizenship is vital and developing these mindsets and ways of looking at the world in relation to AI development can contribute to resilient, strong, problem solvers and initiators of tools that can be used to improve life.

Different parents and experts will prioritize one area or another – Art and Music, Math and Science, Sports, Literature, Entrepreneurship – What is ACS’s philosophy for providing balance and substance in these areas?

It is almost impossible for young children to take advantage of the all the endless possibilities that are available during their school lives at ACS Athens. All these areas are important and to a degree necessary to live an informed and balanced life. We have core requirements and options, and the options are available to help students tap into their unique potential.

What are some of the most interesting and popular programs?

Our innovation practices called on students to pitch action plans for startups that will solve a particular problem within the school. Twenty-one students came forth with great proposals. Students are being mentored and financially supported to bring these to realization.

Our sports teams are second to none in the region. We have both competitive teams that travel abroad to compete as well as recreational teams where every student can enjoy the sport. Additionally, clubs and activities range from TED talk clubs, to debate, to learning to play the game GO – a personal favorite so I joined the club. Moreover, our music and art departments are continuously developing young people who can collaborate, perform, and develop their interests. Most interesting is our Media center, where students can develop media literacy skills, including initiating and leading podcast programs. These are skills that will be useful, not only in the world of media and film but in any career path.

ACS works hard to plant the seeds of ethos in the students and to shape them into good global citizens, but the world is a tough place – how do you balance messages about ethos and success in the world?

I would say that success is very important. This is why people invest in education. But who says that success must be at the expense of ethos? In the end, all the success in the world cannot make someone happy. To live a good life, one must decide what that means. It is a personal decision, but one that will lead to the kind of life that will be satisfying or not. So, I say, provide the knowledge and the skills to succeed in a competitive world, but also the platform for Conscious Citizenship for young people who, through their work, will position themselves to improve life and living. After all, we adults are handing over to them a pretty chaotic world. It’s not enough to tell them to go out and fix it; we must provide the tools and support them to live in a better world. The choice, however, lies ultimately with each individual.