David Hutson is our Head of School. David has been a passionate educator for 20 years, starting as a Business and Economics teacher, before moving into senior leadership positions in two UK schools. In 2011, he moved to Abu Dhabi to join an international school, in its foundation year, as Vice Principal. David then spent six successful years at the same school as the Principal. 

David completed a BA (Honours) European Business degree, at the University of Leicester, which included one year studying at the University of Catania, Sicily, as part of a languages programme. This developed his interest in the field of Business and Economics inspiring his postgraduate certificate in teaching. After several years of teaching both subjects in the UK, he moved into senior leadership positions in two UK schools and enjoyed being a member of the Equality and Diversity Forum, an organisation working on equality, human rights and social justice issues. David has achieved an MSc in Education and Training Management, and holds the National Professional Qualification for Head Teachers. In addition, he is a certified School Inspector and a Council of International Schools Evaluator.

Ms. Jaya Bhavnani is currently the Executive Director of Dwight Global Online School. Instrumental in founding the program with Chancellor Stephen Spahn, she works closely with all areas of Dwight School to ensure that Dwight's online program meets the standards of excellence for which the school is known and ignites the spark of genius in every online student.

Ms. Bhavnani came to Dwight in 2010 with extensive experience in international education in public and private schools in Bombay, Muscat, Dubai and Santiago. Ms. Bhavnani has been actively involved with the International Baccalaureate as a Workshop Leader, Site Evaluator, Consultant, Examiner and Curriculum Reviewer. She is the Lead Facilitator for the Group 5 and Continuum Online Workshops in the Diploma Programme. She serves on the Evaluation Team for the CIS (Council for International Schools). She has served as a frequent guest contributor for professional development and curriculum alignment and review.  She holds a BS in Education and Physics and a MS in Mathematics. She has an interest for learning languages and internationalism. A passionate educator, Ms. Bhavnani firmly believes in the power of life-long learning!

Sara joins the team with passion for the IB and over 10 years as an educator in Lebanon and Dubai. Prior to joining the Dwight School Dubai, she was the PYP Coordinator at Uptown School Dubai, an IB school in Dubai, where she was responsible for the development and implementation of the programme. Sara holds a BA in Education from the American University of Beirut, is an IB workshop leader and is currently training to become an IB site evaluator. She has pursued professional development through Harvard’s Project Zero and Making Thinking Visible, as well as workshops focused on Coaching, Differentiation and Inclusivity in schools, and Conceptual Based Teaching and Learning. Sara is originally from Lebanon and speaks English and Arabic.

Peter brings to his role more than 16 years of experience teaching the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and has held senior leadership positions in schools in the U.K., Italy and the UAE, with his subject specialisms being Business Management and Economics. Through his work as an IB Workshop Leader he has facilitated training for over 150+ IB Coordinators and Senior Leaders, as well as being a Senior Examiner for IB Business Management and the IB Extended Essay. 

Over the last 20 years, Ms. Rachel Smyth has taught and held senior leadership positions in a variety of international settings; previously serving as a Director of Sport and Co-Curricular, Head of Pastoral Care, Head of Middle School and as Assistant Principal in a successful IB school in Abu Dhabi. Ms. Smyth began her career as a high school teacher in England, before travelling abroad and working in international schools in Botswana, China and the UAE. Committed to the notion of lifelong learning, Ms. Smyth holds a B.Ed. (honours) in Physical Education and Humanities from Bedford, an MA in Education from Liverpool University and is currently undertaking her Doctoral studies with the University of Bath, UK. She also holds an international qualification for school inspection. Ms. Smyth is passionate about creating a dynamic learning environment, characterised by high expectations and challenge, which enables students to flourish. An advocate of student voice and leadership, she believes strongly in promoting a holistic approach to education where student aspirations and wellbeing are at the forefront of their success.