Our Visionary Director

“East is east and west is west, but the twain meets here!”. Blending the best of both worlds, Ms Anjum Babukhan is adept synergizing and synthesizing from across the globe as a lifelong learner. Ms Anjum Babukhan was born and raised in the U.S. Her parents were key influence on her and she gives them credit for her ethics, humility and moral commitment for all that she does. Placing premium on quality in whatever she does, seamlessly blending her enriching experiences, intellectual accomplishments and leadership towards delivering substance in whatever she sets out to do. She is a visionary who journeys towards an upward spiral of growth towards excellence.

When Ms Anjum Babukhan became a parent, she realized what all children were missing from the educational scenario, as far as experiential learning and holistic development were concerned. It was from this lacuna, that she grew a strong desire to contribute to the field of education in India.

Her passions include anything that has qualities of nurturing, rejuvenating, or is rooted in spiritual. She loves nature and all natural things from aromatherapy to zinc. Her hobbies include, reading, journaling, yoga, photography, ikebana, art & other creative pursuits. Ms Anjum Babukhan has successfully carved a niche for herself in multi-faceted areas of enrichment for herself which she loves to share with others including faculty and students.

This dynamic yet simple lady of substance has made Glendale Group of institutions, an abode of learning & enrichment. Ms Anjum Babukhan lives in Hyderabad with her husband, mother-in-law and has three children.

THE EDUCATIONAL LEADER

Director - Education & Co-Founder

Ms Anjum Babukhan has developed an innovative and a creative educational ecosystem across all her institutions that focus on “cherishing the experience called childhood” and create “learning places that are nurturing spaces.”

Ms Anjum Babukhan leads the teaching-learning community (TLC) with the vision to deliver both character and competence through pedagogy, curriculum development, capacity-building of teachers with professional development, procuring the best international resources, giving creative interior design inputs, and guiding of the academics/co-curricular /extra-curricular activities as well the administration. Multiple intelligence, brain-compatible learning and 7 Habits are among her many areas of expertise that she has cultivated at her institutions.

As a transformational instructional leader, she feels increasing leadership density is key to the optimal delivery of great education. Having attended Harvard’s Strategy in Action program, she steers a competent team to lead the schools towards achieving the lofty vision and mission for the complete development of children. The result of increased leadership density is that more individuals have a stake in the success of the institution while carrying the school’s institutional memory of shared values with a sense of belonging to cultivate both character and competence among students.

THE EDUCATION INSTRUCTIONAL LEADER

MANAGING DIRECTOR - EDVANTAGE TEACHER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

Ms Anjum Babukhan, Managing Director - EdVantage Teacher Leadership Institute believes the best way to make a difference in society is to empower the teachers who can then bring about a positive change among the future generation. Her focus for the last two decades has been on teacher training which paved the way to set up the teaching training institute in 2011. Ms Anjum Babukhan has designed modules that have trained thousands of teachers over the years that have become an expanding part of what she calls the Teacher's Toolbox. She equips teachers who are keen to learn more “tricks of the trade” to improve and effectively teach instruction to students.

EdVantage Teacher Leadership Institute also has collaboration with its U.S. partner Envision that has been successfully running the Global Teacher Development Program, which has won a National award for the year 2013 - e-India Award for Innovation in Global Collaborative Learning. GTD has mentors from across the globe are who are willing to coach and share their teaching-learning expertise. A number of batches have successfully received the Global Teacher Certification which is also recognized by the Board of Education in Illinois, USA.

THE TRAINER & CHANGEMAKER

Her Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) workshops on Parenting have been popular since 2002. The parenting workshops help to share the principles of how one could increase their effectiveness as a parent - to raise children who feel loved, who will have high self-esteem and who are at the same time responsible and cooperative. She is an empowering Teacher Trainer and has to her credit many a teacher orientation workshops on Multiple Intelligence, Brain Compatible Learning and Early Childhood Education. Under her mentorship, she equips teachers with all the teaching tools required to enhance their skills and expertise in teaching. In 2014, she took the co-curricular activities to the next level by empowering the physical education staff to deliver physical literacy and visual performing arts department to deliver cultural literacy.

Ms Anjum Babukhan expertise lies is in the application of multiple intelligence theory, which is holistic and more student-centered. She believes that, ‘the more ways we teach the more children we reach!' Other initiatives employed through her, draws more from developmental psychology from the works of Erik Erikson ages and stages of psychosocial development, Maslow, Piaget and Vygotsky. This body of research and theory guides the school to incorporate developmentally appropriate teaching practices. Moreover, even the administration utilizes organizational psychology and it is applied to staff’s professional development and effective execution of strategy in action.

THE LIFE-LONG LEARNER

Ms Anjum Babukhan believes in ‘learning and leading’ and thus continues to equip herself with courses in a multitude of areas particularly, in education, creativity and leadership. Ms Anjum Babukhan loves to learn! Every number of months, she attends and participates in courses and national and international conferences in education.

Ms Anjum Babukhan has attended some of the best universities in the world, where she took part in the "The Three-day Learning Lab: Systemic Change for Student Success" and “Strategy in Action” at Harvard Graduate School of Education in Boston and Educator’s Conference at Cambridge University in UK.

Furthermore, she keeps acquiring feathers in her cap. In 2006, she completed her Early Childhood certification and completed a practicum at Meadow Glens Elementary School in Naperville through National Louis University during a semester sabbatical. Ms Anjum Babukhan has regularly participates in the XSEED Leadership Conference held in Dubai, Singapore and Sri Lanka as well as University of Iowa’s International School Leadership Summit (ISLS) which are some of the milestones covered in her learning journey.

Ms Anjum Babukhan is also a voracious reader and very passionate about her her spiritual book club of 15 years. Her favorite books include, The Power of Now, New Earth and Soul to Soul.

Recently, she has embarked on an ART JOURNEY as well! In the Fall of 2014, she has taken another semester sabbatical and completed courses in Methods of Arts Education, Design, Fine Arts and Methods of Physical Education. In order to learn the best practices of arts integration before launching GCAA, Ms Anjum Babukhan personally observed the following schools abroad: Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts in Los Angelos, Franklin Fine Arts Center (CPS) in Chicago, Oakland School for the Arts in San Francisco, Lionel Hampton Fine & Performing Arts School in Chicago, Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, and the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA).

“I love to learn from everyone and synthesize those experiences into my life and professional space.” - Ms Anjum Babukhan