History
Mahmut Naci Şener, born in Kırklareli on November 4, 1935, arrives in Istanbul to attend Çapa Teachers Boarding School and after graduation, he starts his first teaching job in Adana. Later he marries Hatice, whom he met in primary school in Kırklareli, moves to Istanbul and is promoted to the post of school director. After he serves as school director in various schools, the Office of the President of Turkey appoints him to be one of the first five head inspectors in the Ministry of Education. After serving as head inspector in all the provinces of Turkey, he returns to Bakırköy, Istanbul to the post of school director in order to be with his family. He then works at Bakırköy Commercial High School until he retires.
Known as 'Mahmut Hodja' among his associates in the Ministry of National Education, Naci Bey's unique dream is to establish a private school which provides a contemporary, state-of-the-art education reflecting the vision of the founding father of modern Turkey, Atatürk. During this time, he becomes a founder of the Motherland Party Province Office in Bakırköy,Istanbul and is later elected as the Vice Mayor of Bakırköy. After working in this capacity for a couple of years, he leaves the post in order to fulfill his dream of establishing a private school. Thus, in 1986, he founds Şener Private College in Merter, Istanbul. Encompassing many new trends in education for that time, the school registers 150 students during its first year. Here the school implements many firsts including the use of smart boards. Moreover, in its first three years, the school registers 1000 students and continues to function successfully for 10 years.
Not only do Şener Private College graduates attain high placement, such as 3rd and 5th place, in the Turkish university entrance exams, but they also study at such prestigious universities as Bosphorus University and other notable schools of higher education in Turkey. All of these students easily pass the university English preparatory classes because of the superior English education they obtain at Şener College. This is an incredible success for a private school during thisperiod in Turkey.
In addition, during this time, while Mahmut Hodja, who had continuously been searching for land to build his dream school on in order to offer even better opportunities to students, buys property on Florya Avenue and in 1992 establishes Prestij College, a second school but with such facilities as a gymnasium, a conference salon, and a swimming pool.
Although he wishes to manage both schools at the same time, he decides to close Şener College and concentrate his efforts on Prestij College. He then manages Prestij College from 1992-2005. Naci Bey, his daughter, Özlem Şener Öz, a Marmara University graduate in Education, and his two sons, Dinçer Şener Hannover University Mechanical Engineering Germany graduate, Serdar Şener, a Bosphorus University graduate in Political Science, join hands to support the continuation of the school. Teacher, Özlem Şener Öz, later becomes Prestij College's high school director.
Moreover, Mahmut Hodja's grandson, Cem Şener, a Bilgi Üniversity graduate in Management-Economics with Honors, and a London School of Economics graduate in Business & Economics, studied at Prestij College and married hisclassmate whom he met in primary school, just like his grandfather did.
Today, even if CND Schools, with its student body from 44 different countries, changes its name, it will still continue to insure that its current and prospective students will have a quality education because there are three generations of family educators who are dedicated to providing a sustainable, modern and innovative approach to training students on an international platform in the 21st century.
