Administrating Excellence

Attending an international school can be a daunting process, as much so for the students as for their parents, who have the additional concern of worrying about how their child will adjust to a different culture, as well as a new school. And for the many who have these concerns when they bring their children to Yew Chung International School (YCIS), the first person they will come into contact with is Shanghai-born school office administrator Jeanette Zhang.

Jeanette has been with YCIS for almost 10 years, and balancing the juggling act of answering queries, providing a personal service towards solving students’ and parents’ problems within 24 hours (is a core policy that YCIS prides itself on) and assisting the co-principal in a secretarial role, her job is a diverse one. But what is clear from the moment you meet her, is that what has kept her in this role for so long, is her particular love of engaging with the little ones, and growing with them in the school.

“I feel just like I have a family here,” she says, and reflects on when she first joined YCIS back in 2001, how the students quickly came to call her jiejie – big sister. “Now they call me ayi (auntie),” she laughs.

Indeed there is something touchingly motherly about her, and it’s hard not to warm to her within the first few minutes of meeting her, which has made her very good at what she does, and played a large part in YCIS’s decision to recognise her as their school achiever. Gentle and softly spoken, yet with an energy about her that hints at a very youthful sense of humour, it’s easy to see how she engages so well with those who come to her for help. She smiles and speaks enthusiastically about the time she spends with the students, in particular the jokes she’ll often share with pupils when they’re waiting for the school bus at the end of the school day. “We tease each other and share a laugh, it’s great,” she says.

The result being that YCIS has seen the contribution that Jeanette has made to the school, recognising that more and more students are coming to feel that she is somebody they can warm to and trust. When she first joined in 2001, there were approximately 150 students at the Gubei campus. Now there are over 500. “It’s getting more and more difficult to keep up with everyone’s names,” she laughs. “I’ll find more and more that I’ll suddenly hear a small voice say, 'Jeanette, can you help me?' And I’ll take their hand and show them around, or give them a hug.”

Noticeably passionate about her role, and with a confidence in providing strong customer service, taking a leadership role in supporting school assemblies and many of the events that YCIS hosts throughout the year, and yet Jeanette is touchingly modest about the impact she’s had on both parents’ and students’ lives. Despite being awarded Top 10 Excellent Staff in YCIS Shanghai twice in the last 10 years, when asked to recount a particular occasion which stands out in her mind as significant to the excellence in her role, she is at first shy to talk about what she has achieved.

“I remember one family with three kids when I first started here. The youngest child was one, and because of that the mother had her concerns, and would often stand outside class in the morning. I invited her in and gave her a cup of coffee, and we spoke for an hour about what I could do to help, and promised to keep an eye on and look after her son. That was 10 years ago, and that student is still here at YCIS, speaking not only Spanish, but Chinese at full first language fluency. Since, the mother has enrolled two more of her children in the school.”

Speaking about the particular service she provides to the parents she explains the role that she fulfils in helping them gain confidence in her and the school. “A lot of parents who arrive in Shanghai and bring their children to YCIS need information on where to find an ayi, a driver; they come to me with lots of different questions. Being patient, listening carefully to the them, and really understanding their concerns, letting them feel you are someone they can turn to is all part of what I have aimed to achieve in the years that I have been here.”  

And it’s not hard to see how she has been successful in her role. With strong fluency in English and Mandarin Chinese, Jeanette has been effective in instilling confidence in people from a variety of backgrounds, from the minute they arrive at the school; as a culturally-aware professional who is friendly, sociable, and can offer some of the best advice for navigating a city like Shanghai.

The parents leapt at the chance to provide commentary on the role that Jeanette has played in their lives over the years. “I can’t imagine YCIS without Jeanette,” said one moved parent, “She’s like the backbone of the school. I remember when my son fell ill, and Jeanette took him herself to the hospital for me, while I was at work. For the next week, all I heard was, 'Jeanette took care of me,' and I was touched by her efforts towards looking after my son. That’s really something special about Jeanette, that she will always go that extra mile for the students, and that she provides such personal service. She really is a star at the school.”   

Yew Chung International School, Gubei Campus. 11 Shuicheng Lu, near Hongqiao Lu.
Tel: 6242 3243. Web: www.ycis-sh.com