Being part of the leading international school group Nord Anglia Education, not only offers global reach but students at The British International School of Houston enjoy a learning experience like no other.
BIS Houston students have hit the headlines with their Social Impact Food For Friends project! Their groundbreaking initiative, targeting positive change to our local community, has been featured in The Katy Times - read more here.
Every Nord Anglia student can apply for a Social Impact grant by submitting an application outlining their project, how they will use the funds, and how they will measure the impact. Nord Anglia’s Student Advisory Board, a group made up of student representatives from across its 87 schools, review each funding application to ensure students’ voices are heard during the approval process. Proposals are then evaluated by Nord Anglia’s Grants Committee, which includes members of the Education Advisory Board, as well as Nord Anglia Principals and teachers. In 2023, students at BIS Houston were successful with their application and awarded the Nord Anglia Education Social Impact Grant, for their “Food for Friends Project” and received a grant of $6,600 to re-renovate a greenhouse on campus and establish a new community farm to grow produce for food-insecure communities locally.
The NAE Grant Committee commented “The longstanding dedication of your school community to SDG 2 is very clear and it is exciting to see how you all are creatively problem-solving to deepen and sustain the impact you are making on this SDG. This is an exemplar application and social impact initiative. It is sustainable in the long term, it creates opportunities for the whole school to get involved and you have developed a relationship with an external community in a respectful, collaborative way. Furthermore, the milestones you have set out for yourselves and the benchmarks to measure the progress of your initiative is excellent. Well done BIS Houston and thank you for your commitment to #SDG2!”
A key element of Nord Anglia’s education strategy is to help students develop their sense of purpose and global citizenship as they create and lead community impact initiatives.
BIS Houston students seized the opportunity to use the funding to expand and enhance their community activities, aligned to addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This allows them to take their community service to another level and address Sustainable Development Goal #2: Zero Hunger. Over 60 students from grade levels 8-12 have been busy planting, re-building their greenhouse, and already provided spinach, beets, carrots and herbs for Hope Impacts, a homeless shelter, supported Brookwood and Houston Food Bank, with more to come.
Dr Leslie Williams, Senior Programme Lead for Social Impact and Giving at Nord Anglia, said: "As well as taking the initiative to make a change in their communities, these grants are about learning valuable skills that have real-world impact. Whether that’s budgeting for supplies or balancing schoolwork with their projects, these are the skills that can set up our students for real future success.”
A key element of the school’s education strategy is to help students develop their sense of purpose and global citizenship as they create and lead community impact initiatives. Social purpose is embedded in the curriculum and students are encouraged to become global change-makers – ready to take on the world’s most pressing problems. A global partnership with UNICEF also helps open students’ eyes to the world around them and encourages them to develop their own sense of purpose. Each year, students at BIS Houston support local causes through activities with UNICEF and on the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. On top of that, students are encouraged to deliver meaningful change through local outreach activities where they can join fundraising and volunteering activities on issues they truly care about.
Learn more about social purpose at BIS Houston here.
Does teaching children about making a difference, make a difference, read more here.
