Araz Keshishian

As Director of Innovation and STEAM at Chamlian Armenian School, I believe the most meaningful innovation in education begins with a simple question: What do we want our students to question, envision, and ultimately bring to life? My work is grounded in the belief that schools should do more than prepare students for the world as it exists; they should empower students to think critically about that world and participate in shaping what comes next.

With more than 20 years in education, spanning classroom teaching, instructional leadership, and educational technology, I have had the opportunity to work across many facets of teaching and learning. These experiences have shaped my approach to innovation and allowed me to collaborate with teachers and school leaders to explore new approaches to instruction, curriculum, and pedagogy. They have also reinforced my belief that innovation is not simply about adopting new technologies. Rather, it is about creating the conditions in which students can explore ideas, take intellectual risks, test solutions, learn from failure, and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.

At Chamlian, I am excited to expand opportunities in STEAM, AI literacy, design, and cross-curricular project-based learning while supporting teachers in bringing creative and purposeful practices into every classroom. Through emerging technologies, design thinking, authentic problem-solving, and interdisciplinary learning, I strive to foster a school culture in which curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking are woven into every student’s educational experience. Whether students are designing, building, coding, investigating, or collaborating across disciplines, I want their learning to be rigorous enough to challenge them, relevant enough to matter, and engaging enough to inspire genuine curiosity. My goal is to ensure that innovative thinking and ownership of learning are embedded throughout the student experience.