ASHA ALEXANDER

The Principal at GEMS Legacy School

Educator and champion of sustainability

Asha Alexander is an educator with a difference – her steadfast commitment is not merely towards her student community but also to planet earth and this has meant a relentless mission to take the two together in building a sustainable future together. As Principal of GEMS Legacy School, Dubai, she has demonstrated a passion for leading impressionable younger generations in a way that they value and conserve available natural resources. Not surprisingly, Ms. Alexander is a UN-certified Climate Change Leader in the UAE and has made presentations at numerous conferences and conducted workshops on leadership and change management at several schools in India and the UAE.

In her mission, Ms. Alexander was helped in no small measure by the United Nations Climate Change (UNCC) Teacher Training Course she undertook in 2019 as well as her 360 staff members and numerous students who followed her path. Now GLS had a place on the world map as the first school with a climate change teacher ambassador in each classroom. Curriculum coordinators and teachers work towards mindfully aligning and embedding Sustainable Development Goals in the school’s enhanced CBSE curriculum through problem-based and action-based learning. Formerly The Kindergarten Starters, a trusted name in early childhood education, GLS has blossomed under her nurture and stewardship since 2012.

Ms. Alexander, who has 33 years of experience in the provision of education to K-12 students including at GEMS Modern Academy and Our Own English School Al Warqa, has overseen GLS’s transition to an exclusively digital curriculum. Armed with two Masters’ degrees -- in Education and English -- from Bangalore University, India, and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from Walden University, Minnesota, USA, she focuses on providing value-based education to nurture students’ hearts and minds. A futuristic educator, she steered the e-learning trajectory in the school smoothly even during the pandemic years.

The innovative teaching practices at the school combined with its 129 Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts have gone a long way in GLS bagging the Microsoft Showcase School status since 2018. Ms. Alexander is the first and only certified MIE principal in the Gulf Region. Ms. Alexander is the Executive Leader of Climate Change for the GEMS group and was instrumental in founding the GEMS Global Ambassadors’ Society she aims to put schools and students world over at the center of decision-making, recognizing them as key influencers in addressing complex social, economic, and environmental challenges that affect planet earth. The GGA’s STREAM ability project acts as a cross-curricular and inclusive bridge with sustainability. Each school team includes children of exceptional ability as well as slower learners and Children of Determination. To take this initiative forward, GEMS collaborates with organizations such as DULSCO and SIEMENS as well as experts in the field.

Ms. Alexander successfully represented the education community of the UAE at COP 28 in November 2022 in Dubai. Thereafter, she envisioned a platform called SCOPE (School Conference of Parties Expo), which was the first ever-global platform for students to debate issues relating to climate change and brainstorm innovative solutions.

Mrs. Alexander is also leading the future of community health with ‘Nutrition Curriculum’, Dubai’s first K-12 innovative specializing in nutrition, health, and food innovation. For this, the school has partnered with “Train the Ninja Way”, a UAE-based holistic fitness firm to develop nutrition-centered content and strategies that can be flexibly integrated into lessons and executed effectively throughout the school day. The GEMS Legacy School Nutrition Curriculum is designed to give teachers and students the information, tools, and motivation needed to make healthier choices.

Under her stellar leadership, GLS also began an ecological food revolution, with learners and staff committing to UNCC actions, and also advocating a healthy lifestyle. Students learn, share and grow through an array of school initiatives such as Plant a Legacy, SCOPE (School Conference of Parties Expo), The Climate Diaries (a collection of stories written by students), Hydroponics, and Vegetable Gardening. Her commitment has elevated GLS to one of the top 10 schools for environmental actions.

GEMS Legacy School

Ms. Alexander is the GEMS Global Ambassador for Hub schools with schools being established in Italy, Indonesia, and India (Budhgaon, Kashmir). GEMS are also working with Angel Express Foundation Mumbai to attain the goals of sustainability, gender equality, and Beti Padhao Beti Bachao.

The accolades and awards that have come Ms. Alexander’s way are many. In 2017, she was honored by the UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for the school’s continuous support of Dubai Cares, the UAE-based philanthropic organization that advocates children’s rights. The same year, she also received the GESS Award for Ambassador for the Environment and the LEGO Education Award for Best Principal in the Gulf Region.

In 2018, GLS entered the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the largest human mosaic of HH Sheikh Zayed bin Nahyan, founder and first President of the UAE, on his 100th birth anniversary.

Ms Alexander has two children – son Siddharth George, who after his BBA in Human Resources, is working with the GEMS group, and daughter Uthara Talreja, a marketing postgraduate working with Astra Zeneca.