Be Future Ready: Dr. Charles Yeboah Challenges ICS Staff at Annual Bootcamp
As the new academic year begins, the International Community School (ICS) once again gathered its staff for the annual Bootcamp, a retreat designed to equip, inspire, and prepare the entire team for the journey ahead. This year’s Bootcamp carried a powerful theme delivered by the school’s Co-founder and Managing Director, Dr. Charles Yeboah: “Being Future Ready: Enabling Success for All through Technology and Innovation.”
Dr. Yeboah’s address set the tone for the year, urging staff to look beyond the school’s 25 years of success and to embrace the next 25 with renewed vision and adaptability. “It is very easy to look back at all we have accomplished and become complacent,” he cautioned. “But what brought us here will not take us there.”
Future Readiness for Staff and Learners
Bootcamp is not only about reviewing past achievements but also about preparing for the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing world. Dr. Yeboah emphasised that future readiness is a responsibility for everyone, not just students. “Our relevance for the institution we serve, for the children we guide today, and for the generations to come requires that we know and speak the language of the future,” he said. This, he explained, means unlearning outdated approaches and adopting methods that resonate with today’s learners.
He reminded staff that embracing change is not optional: “If you want to remain relevant today and in the future, you must be willing to adapt to new ways of doing things.”
Enabling Success Through Technology and Innovation
The second focus of Dr. Yeboah’s speech was the importance of creating an enabling environment for success through technology and innovation. He reminded staff that every role within ICS, whether in teaching, administration, or support, contributes to the success of students. “The question each of us must ask every day is this: how does what I do enable success for others?” he challenged.
Highlighting the central role of technology, Dr. Yeboah referenced global thought leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who emphasized that “AI fluency is the new job currency.” He urged ICS staff to see technology not as an add-on, but as an essential tool for teaching, learning, and professional growth.
AI at ICS: Preparing Students for Tomorrow
Reflecting on the school’s adoption of Magic School AI in 2024, Dr. Yeboah noted that while some initially viewed it as a burden, the platform has already proven its worth, helping teachers with lesson planning and creativity, while supporting administrators in communication and decision-making. “If our students are to thrive in an AI-driven economy, then educators, and indeed everyone working in this space, must bring AI into learning and working environments,” he said.
A Year of Purpose and Innovation
As ICS staff return to their classrooms and offices for the new academic year, Dr. Yeboah’s charge remains clear: to be forward-looking, adaptable, and intentional in creating an environment where all can succeed. “Our task this year,” he concluded, “is to safeguard our success by embracing the future with its necessary elements. That means creating an enabling environment where technology and innovation are not just tools, but catalysts for success, for all.”
With this vision, the 2025/2026 academic year at ICS begins on a note of purpose, growth, and readiness for the future.
