Zubair Kassam is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School. In his role, Zubair works closely with the Division Principals, Curriculum Leaders and IB Programme Coordinators to promote effective teaching and learning through curriculum design and development, assessment and professional development. In addition to providing early direction for STS[?]s Centre for Excellence in Teaching, including the creation of a new grant to support extraordinary teacher professional development, Zubair chaired STS[?]s Safe and Caring Schools Committee which made recommendations to ensure that STS continued to provide a safe and respectful learning environment for students of diverse gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations. Prior to joining STS, Zubair worked at The Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya, where he initially served as the Head of the English Department before becoming the Diploma Programme Coordinator. He began his career in the public system in Calgary, working for six years with the Calgary Board of Education. A teacher at heart, Zubair values the learning that takes place through the exchange of ideas and thus relishes the opportunity to teach Senior School English each year and to be an IB examiner for English Literature HL paper one. Zubair holds a Master of Education in International Education Policy from Harvard University, a Bachelor of Education in Secondary English Language Arts from the University of Calgary, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Alberta.