Albany Senior High School

Going from strength to strength Celebrating two years leading Albany Senior High School!

The beginning of Term Three 2020 marks my two-year anniversary as Principal at Albany Senior High School (ASHS). In the last six months ASHS has gone from strength to strength as it has grown its roll to over 900 students and not only survived but thrived when having to respond to a quick transition to online learning due to Covid-19.

Claire Amos. The fact that we have spent the last two years ensuring our model of education is future-focused and fit for purpose for the changing world in which we find ourselves meant that we were well positioned to deliver learning online and continued to deliver engaging and relevant learning for our young people. ASHS has also committed to learning from our recent experiences and is working hard to develop young people with increased learner agency by supporting self-directed learning. This means our young people work closely with their teachers to take ownership of their learning across their tutorials, Impact Projects and specialist subject learning.

The last two years has seen Albany Senior High School experience many changes. Since I arrivedin the middle of 2018, ASHS has seen its roll grow (by nearly 30%), attendance improve and academic results go from strength to strength. Over the last two years our leaders and teachers have been working hard to ensure that learning is, at all times, visible, deep and inclusive. This means that our teaching is underpinned by the principles of universal design for learning and that our teachers work with students to assess them when they are ready in a way that best showcases their learning. This has resulted in improved outcomes for learners and we look forward to building on these successes in 2020. ASHS students have continued to experience authentic real-world learning in their Impact Projects and this year Year 11s experienced Scaffolded Impact Projects ensuring that project based learning works for all.

At the end of last year we received our three yearly report from the Education Review Office (ERO) and it was exciting to see our national review office also recognised the powerful learning enabled by the approach to teaching and learning we have here at ASHS. Below are a few of the key quotes from the report.

… our teaching is underpinned by the principles of universal design for learning and that our teachers work with students to assess them when they are ready in a way that best showcases their learning.

“Teachers have a relentless focus on achieving equitable and excellent outcomes for all students. Most students achieve NCEA at the relevant year level. In 2018 there were high levels of achievement in NCEA literacy and mathematics with endorsements. School data indicate an increasing number of students are on track to achieve NCEA and endorsements in 2019.”

“The school processes and practices that effectively promote and support equity and excellence include a responsive curriculum, strong educational leadership, collaboration and professional capability building, and focused and strategic evaluation and decision-making.

Students experience a rich, broad and relevant curriculum that challenges their critical thinking and creativity. The school’s integrated approach to learning means that the curriculum is connected and coherent and promotes students’ depth of learning.”

You can also check out the full ASHS ERO report here: https://bit.ly/2OquXg9 Claire Amos, Principal