The Roong Aroon International School - A Truly Sustainable School in Thailand
Roong Aroon International is a private school situated on the South Western fringe of the Thai capital of Bangkok. The school developed as a part of a Thai school with Buddhist traditions and a holistic approach to education. It has recently become accredited with the International Baccalaureate to offer its Middle Years, Career Programme and is a candidacy school for the Diploma programme.
The school is located on a small lake. Photo credit: K. Khan
It can be truly said that this school is making every effort to be sustainable. A conversation with the core coordinator, Dr. Katherine Khan, helped me to get an insight into the way this school practises sustainability. I am going to use the framework that Metanoia used in its survey on sustainability in international schools as the basis for discussion here. Metanoia (2023) in their survey of schools used the following headings to consider a school’s sustainability: Campus, Culture, Community, Curriculum and Communication.
Campus
The school is built around a small lake to the South West of Bangkok. Smaller canals run on the outside of the school.There are rice padis also located adjacent to the school and It has a small vegetable garden as part of the campus and was designed to fit in with the natural environment which is a part of the rural-urban fringe of Bangkok.
The buildings themselves are built in a way that allows free flow of air and yet provides protection from the tropical rainstorms that this part of the world experiences.
Below are photographs of the art, music and exam rooms used by the IB students. One of the classrooms has been built on stitls to encourage air flow and avoid flooding.
To aid in the cooling of the classrooms there are overhead fans and not a dependence on air conditioning. The buildings have been built using local woods and materials which also helps to reduce the amount of absorption of energy from the sun. In order to reduce the school’s dependence on outside energy sources the school has installed solar panels to produce power for the school.
They make every effort to promote a circular economy. The school has its own recycling centre and students have to daily remove waste from their classrooms and sort it out appropriately according to the type of waste. There is a use found for the recycled materials in the school.Even bottle tops are recycled and used as counters for the younger children.
They have tried to minimise the use of plastic, when students purchase food at the local market to cook their own lunch on Wednesday and Thursday it comes in plastic bags and containers. These bags and containers are washed, hung out to dry and reused. Whiteboard board markers are refilled rather than dispensed with.
The lake adjacent to the school building is also an important source of clay for students. They dredge the bottom of the lake for the clay which is then treated so it can be used for pottery and ceramics classes for students. Some of their artefacts are sold in the local market which is close to the school.
The clay dredged from the lake by students is stored in these containers
Culture
Metanoia says of the culture of the school: “The school uses its campus and it’s neighbourhood as a laboratory for sustainability education”.
Here, Metanoia were referring to the vision of the school and I wish to quote the founder of the school, Prapat Niyom, who stressed the importance of how “learning with nature creates tranquillity and wisdom”. She went on to say in more detail; “In Nature which is pleasant, green, open, bright and lively there are things which are living together harmoniously which are beneficial to us and can help calm our minds so we become happy, diligent with a deep understanding to create wisdom.”
In its vision statement, the school is saying that it is only by being in nature can we fully understand humanity’s role in it and the need to find a balance with other organisms. It truly reflects a sustainable approach to life which comes from the top of the school. With such support from the founder it is hardly surprising that the school’s campus is so sustainable in many ways.
Curriculum
The international school adopted the IB’s Middle Years Programme initially because it is a framework for education rather than a prescribed curriculum. The MYP particularly allows the students to work on transdisciplinary themes and see the links between disciplines. It does not teach just in subject silos. The curriculum has been designed for students to become multilingual and to work as much as possible in the local environment and with local cultures. One local issue which the students have been working with is how to prevent Eutrophication in the local lakes and canals.
Field trips are normally held in Thailand and as much as possible to allow students with immersion in the local community. As much as possible students are involved in home stays which also clearly benefit the local community. An example of this was a field trip that the year 10 students went to Koh Samui, a village that specialises in the Nora dance. The Nora dance is a traditional ritual dance performed particularly in Southern Thailand.
The school has also been authorised to the IB’s Career Programme which allows the students to undertake some academic courses and also to learn some professional or trade skills. Of course this means that the school must engage with local training organisations in the community.
Community
One of the cornerstones of the sustainable school is its ability to work with the local community on sustainable issues. The school has its own waste treatment centre so that it does not pollute local lakes and groundwater around the school.
A good example is the provision of lunches in the school. Twice a week the students from Year 6 upwards have to provide and cook their own lunches. This means that students must go to the local markets and purchase the food for their lunches. Consequently, the students have to purchase food that is grown or caught locally and so they have zero food miles. Any food waste is mulched and used as fertiliser on the local farmers' land.
Service is an integral part of the school’s approach to family life, the local community and the environment. Much of this service is focused in the local community including helping out in padi fields and vegetable gardens.
A school notice board displaying photos of student actions on field trips with Thai communities
Communication
This refers to the school's ability to communicate its vision for sustainability and more importantly its actions in promoting sustainability. This school has been very successful in doing this through its website. and through social media on Facebook, and through several videos that it has made about the work of the school on Youtube
Some conclusions to be drawn about the School’s approach to Sustainability
The school has a clear vision about seeing man as part of nature, but the only part of nature. There is in the vision a true appreciation of the world around us and other organisms’ value in it. Consequently, the school has a strong culture of sustainability.
It encourages a holistic approach to education which involves considering issues from a transdisciplinary viewpoint to problems. The expectation is that students and the school act to find solutions to problems.
This involves students in really working with and in the local environment.
The school’s policy of zero waste really encourages a sustainable approach to the use of materials. It really lives the vision of its founders.
The school has been designed to make the most of the local environment and has sourced local materials in its construction.
It makes an effort to engage with the local community about issues such as Eutrophication and pollution of local waterways.
The school is located in nature, being located around a small lake.
The school is effective in communicating with the local community about its sustainable programme.
While not every school can be located in nature, there are many lessons that can be learnt from the way Roong Aroon has developed both school philosphy and sustainable practices. it can act as a model for other schools with aspirations ot be truly sustainable.
References
Metanoia: White Paper-Paper 1 Summary of findings “Global Insights from the International School Market”
Website, Research into International SchoolsWebsites associated with Roong Aroon School: School website, Facebook page, YouTube video ‘Looking in, Looking out: Developing Roong Aroon International School’ by Tamara James-Wyachai
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Dr Katherine (Caite) Khan for her insights and photographs of the school.