UAE: Award-winning principal urges parents to boost reading habits among children
After winning the Best Principal Award at the ADEK Awards 2025, Lee Dabagia of Summit International School in Abu Dhabi, actively called for parental involvement in reading and AI responsibility among students.
An overwhelmed Dabagia, who is a seasoned educator from Indiana, USA, attributed his win to the unwavering dedication of his teaching team.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the event, Dabagia said, 'My advice to parents is limit their screen time at home, make sure there is a library of something to read at home. We surveyed our parents and realised there's not enough reading materia l in their houses... give them a book. It's simple, but true,' urging families to steer their children away from excessive screen time.
Dabagia, who moved to the UAE 12 years ago and brings over 30 years of experience in education and administration, expressed deep concern about the impact of AI and social media on student learning.
He noted that the examination season is increasingly complex due to students' ability to access AI tools even within 'lockout browsers.'
'We are trying to teach our students respect, responsible use of AI... I'm hoping that as we use that model, use it for something more productive and practical, our students will kind of dovetail with that and understand, that this is a tool that can make my life easier, but it's also a tool that I need to respect,' he explained.
Disruptive role of social media
Beyond AI, Dabagia emphasised the disruptive role of social media in education and student well-being.
'Trying to balance our students to authentic learning... Accessing curriculum and putting the social media aside for a time is a big challenge for us,' he said. 'Students are in the privacy of their rooms, but they don't understand how dangerous it can be... so we have spent a lot of time teaching them about that responsibility.'
The annual awards event, organised by the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), celebrated outstanding contributions across the emirate's education sector.
This year, over 33 educators, schools, and initiatives were honoured across 30 categories, with more than Dh7 million awarded in prize money.
'There are basically multiple award categories. Some are individual, and then there is a program award categories and standardised benchmarks... We received more than 500 submissions altogether,' said Mariam Hallami, Executive Director of Nurseries and spokesperson for Early Education Initiatives.
Expanded categories
Notably, this year featured expanded categories, including artificial intelligence, anti-bullying, inclusivity, and student well-being.
'What was different this year is the expanded, new categories... schools did more programs and initiatives to kind of try win this award,' Hallami added. 'So, the award is not just for an outcome, but it encourages schools to adopt new programs and expand their impact.'
Among the notable winners were Al Huiteen School in Liwa, which earned the Best Anti-Bullying Programme Award.
'As part of our anti-bullying initiative, we've implemented a school-wide programme that focuses on instilling core values in students. By strengthening relationships between peers, students, and teachers, we've fostered a sense of accountability and mutual respect. This has played a crucial role in the success of our anti-bullying efforts and ultimately helped us earn this award today, ' said Liaili Abu Rumman, a social worker and instructor at the school.
Meanwhile, The British International School Abu Dhabi secured the Best Parental Engagement Award, winning Dh100,000.
'We've got a really clear ethos... a genuine home away from home for our community,' said Aine McGlue, Head of Secondary.
'We have run parent events such as (different) tools around the city to help parents connect. We have parent heads meetings regularly, which is where they get to come in and meet with the senior leadership team, and we explore initiatives together. Many ideas are generated from the parent community. So for example, if Internet safety or certain aspects of wellbeing are on the parent community's mind, that will drive our agenda. We then action plan together. We come up with 'you said and we did approach' where they know that their (parents) decisions and input is actually driving forward improvements across. This prize money... will go straight back into the community to look at how we can develop and grow our current offer.'
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