TCS - Key Persons
Ruth Allen, Ed.D., is currently the Head of School at The Columbus School in Medellín, Colombia. She holds a doctorate in education from the University of Bath, UK, where she received the Jeff Thompson International Education Award for her thesis. In addition, she has a Master's degree in Multidisciplinary Studies, a Master's degree in Language and Linguistics, and a Bachelor's degree in English and Secondary Education. With over thirty years of experience as an educator, she began her career as a teacher in the UK before moving to Colombia in 1997, where she has worked in several different schools in a variety of roles including teacher, curriculum coordinator, higher education, director, and head of school. In total, she has over 17 years of experience in leadership positions in bilingual schools in Colombia.
She also has extensive knowledge of the American curriculum, as well as Colombian legislation issued by the Ministry of National Education. She has expertise in implementing International Baccalaureate (IB) programs and experience in strategic planning, budgeting, and accreditation processes. Over the past 15 years, she has had the opportunity to participate as a team member and as a lead evaluator in review teams for AdvancED (now Cognia), at a global scope. She has also been the director of the AdvancED Latin American Council. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.
She is currently the President of ACCAS (Association of Colombian-Caribbean American Schools) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Tri-Association, at the international level. Likewise, she is part of the Board of Directors of the Consortium for Childhood and Youth and member of the Board of Directors of Adecopria, in the city of Medellin.
Staff at TCS can choose to enroll in a Master's Degree program offered on campus. The program is A Masters of Science in Multidisciplinary Studies Degree from SUNY Buffalo completed over 3 school years. This program is heavily subsidized by TCS and currently costs $250 per course for a total of $2,500 for a Master's degree (the cost is reviewed on a yearly basis and subject to change).