EDUCATORONLINE.COM.AU ISSUE 5.03
HOT LIST
2019
Get to know 50 movers and shakers who are leading Australia’s schools into the 21st century
SPECIAL REPORT
HOT LIST 2019
HOT LIST
2019
In an industry rife with talent and strong leadership, who are the movers and shakers of Australian education? The Educator spotlights 50 individuals at the top of their game
WELCOME TO The Educator’s fourth annual Hot List. Another year has passed, and education professionals around Australia continue to push ahead with the critical responsibility of ensuring that all students have the highest-quality educational experiences. Identifying the educators whose tireless work merits recognition remains an unenviable task, and one that remains virtually impossible without the assistance of our readers. The Educator turned to you to tell us who you think deserves a place on this prestigious list, and we were once again inundated with excellent nominations from across Australia. That made the process of narrowing down the candidates rather arduous, but the 50 individuals on the following pages truly represent the cutting edge of educational excellence in Australia.
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A WORD FROM THE SPONSOR The University of Melbourne is proud to be a supporter of the Hot List 2019. By creating innovative pathways into teaching, the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education is committed to developing high-quality teachers, preparing them for the challenges and complexities of the 21st-century classroom. The individuals on this year’s Hot List have demonstrated excellence in linking theory and practice, providing insights into a wide range of learning opportunities and reflections. Congratulations again to the members of the 2019 Hot List. Dr. Merryn Dawborn-Gundlach Academic, lecturer in science and physics education Melbourne Graduate School of Education
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HOT LIST 2019 INDEX NAME
SCHOOL
Cameron Bachelor
The Knox School
Les Barnard
Living Faith Lutheran Primary School
Chris Bettiol
St Patrick's College, Campbelltown
PAGE
NAME
SCHOOL
4
Steven Hogan
Shelford Girls' Grammar School
17
Giovanna Iannicelli
St Mary's College
5
Stella Jinman
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Cecil Andrews College
17
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Jodie Jurgs
Ipswich Girls' Grammar School/ Ipswich Junior Grammar School
Robert Kay
Incept Labs
13
Leslie Loble
NSW Department of Education
11
Maura Manning
Schools Plus
11
Jen McVeity
Seven Steps to Writing Success
9
Adam Nahal
Australian International Academy
3
Chris Niven
Sheldon College
15
Kieran Nolan
Wooranna Park Primary School
10
Cameron Paterson
Shore School
4
Dan Pearson
Emmanuel College
5
3
Fiona Robertson-Neil
Scholastic Australia
6
UNSW Sydney
16
Daniel Robins
Sunnybank State High School
5
Suzanne Farley
Caroline Chisholm Catholic College
12
Mark Savery
Emmanuel College
12
Kim Flintoff
Curtin University
12
John Savopoulos
St John's College
9
Steve Francis
Happy School
16
Melissa Schoorman
Toorak College
13
Sue French
NSW Department of Education
10
Jean Scott
NSW Department of Education
17
Jade Frewin
Sheldon College
7
Karen Spiller
John Paul College
9
Gregory Grinham
Granville Public School
7
Laura Strentz
All Saints' College
11
Jeffrey Grundy
The Scots College, Sydney
8
Ray Swann
Brighton Grammar School
13
Michael Ha
Hillcrest Christian College
12
Kathryn Todd
Djarragun College
10
Melinda Haskett
NSW Department of Education
17
Kevin Tutt
Seymour College
10
Tracy Healy
Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School
15
Brett Webster
Ormiston College
4
Paul Browning
St Paul's School
16
Vanessa Browning
Seymour College
15
Claire Cherrington
Giant Steps
4
Marco Cimino
Magdalene Catholic College
11
Deng Chuor
St Peter's College
6
Darren Cox
St Philip's Christian College, Cessnock
6
Simon Crook
CrookED Science
15
Caralyn Dea
Toorak College
5
Adriano Di Prato
Marcellin College
3
Jamie Dorrington
Saint Stephen's College
7
Bek Duyckers
Perth College Anglican School for Girls
Scott Eacott
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SPECIAL REPORT
HOT LIST 2019 BEK DUYCKERS Head of Imaginarium PERTH COLLEGE ANGLICAN SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
Bek Duyckers is an influential figure in education, recognized for her ability to innovate and create unique opportunities for gifted girls in Western Australia whilst leading change through various avenues in the education community. She has built and grown the Imaginarium at Perth College Anglican School for Girls, continually expanding to cater for ages 4 to 16 and driving flourishing enrolments for the school. Duyckers’ approach to the Imaginarium is unlike any other program in Australia, in that it holistically develops gifted girls’ cognitive, social, emotional and vocational domains in line with empirical research in the field.
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ADRIANO DI PRATO
ADAM NAHAL
Deputy principal
Head of health, PE and sport
MARCELLIN COLLEGE
AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY
Adriano Di Prato is recognised as one of Australia’s most innovative thinkers. He was recently invited to attend the inaugural Space Series, which brings leaders from various industries together to envision a more ambitious Australia. Di Prato also works with the Future Schools Alliance in sharing knowledge and expertise with member schools via scheduled events and online UnScriptED webinars. He presented at the 2019 CaSPA Conference in Adelaide and at the 2019 IBSC Conference in Montreal, Canada, about the power of design thinking and its impact on student learning.
In 2016, Adam Nahal, along with Rowan Sawers, director of umpiring for the Essendon District Football League, created the Umpiring Academy at the Australian International Academy’s King Khalid Campus in Coburg. The academy introduces people from multicultural backgrounds into umpiring, giving them a 10-week course in umpiring basics and then linking them with a local umpiring group. Nahal was also integral to his school’s nomination for Best Secondary School of the Year (Non-government) at the 2018 and 2019 Australian Education Awards.
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BRETT WEBSTER
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Headmaster ORMISTON COLLEGE
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In 2018, Brett Webster launched Ormiston College’s Centre for Learning and Innovation with a vision to reconceptualise the college library precinct and create a world-class social and educational epicentre for the college. To bring this game-changing development to life, Webster devoted several years to personal learning, research, and national and international study tours to inform the school’s thinking about how to transform a traditional library culture into a vibrant, innovative, in-demand ‘learning commons’ with a gravity all its own. The centre now attracts students and teachers to engage with next-level learning experiences that will provide students with an education worth having in the decades to come.
CAMERON PATERSON
CLAIRE CHERRINGTON
Mentor of teaching and learning
Director/teacher – secondary program
SHORE SCHOOL
GIANT STEPS
Cameron Paterson is a passionate advocate for student voice, teacher agency and shifting the dial from ‘How do I cover the content?’ to ‘What sort of learners are we trying to produce?’. Paterson is responsible for the strategic leadership of learning and teaching, innovation, and promoting excellence in teaching practice at North Sydney’s Shore School. Paterson initiated and co-leads the Project Zero Sydney Network, which provides free professional development for hundreds of educators annually. He has received the 21st Century International Global Innovation Award for Teaching, an Australian Davos Connection Future Summit Leadership Award and has been a top 50 nominee for the Global Teacher Prize. He is also the co-editor of Flip the System Australia: What Matters in Education and writes about innovation in education for Getting Smart.
As part of her role at Giant Steps, Claire Cherrington has been working on a research project that examines how outdoor education can assist students in engaging in classroom-based lessons and activities. Cherrington’s project has mapped and graded outdoor education activities, then measured data on each student’s stamina, fitness, problemsolving and flexibility against levels of student engagement. Initial results demonstrate that outdoor education programs have an effect on students’ resilience, health and fitness, attention, and emotional regulation. Giant Steps’ outdoor education program includes Indigenous perspectives and skills such as climbing, kayaking, bushwalking, mapping, and taking care of oneself in a non-built environment. One key outcome has been participation in overnight bushwalking camps, in which students travel up to 30km on foot.
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CAMERON BACHELOR Vice principal THE KNOX SCHOOL
Cameron Bachelor is at the vanguard of the next generation of school leaders. Currently in his fourth year as vice principal at The Knox School, he has led the community through a systematic revitalisation of teaching, learning and wellbeing. He has overseen recent curriculum changes, including the introduction of entrepreneurship education at Year 7 that coalesces with the school’s design thinking framework and offers students a problem-solving toolkit to adapt and apply across their learning. This initiative culminated in the recent success of the school’s Year 10 entrepreneurship team at the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Global Challenge.
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HOT LIST 2019
CHRIS BETTIOL Assistant principal – learning and teaching ST PATRICK’S COLLEGE, CAMPBELLTOWN
DAN PEARSON
To address a surging population of students from non-English speaking, low-income backgrounds at his previous school, Chris Bettiol implemented visible learning strategies, such as making learning intentions clear and providing success criteria to create a shared language for all students and staff members. Bettiol collaborated with the school’s middle leaders in investigating contemporary research and created a professional learning team to anchor interventions in evidence-based practices and visible learning strategies. His initiatives resulted in a remarkable shift in student and teacher relationships, which led to students having more control over their learning. Data analysis in NAPLAN and HSC improved, and the school rankings went up an impressive 150 spots.
Director of ICT
DANIEL ROBINS HOD technologies and STEM coordinator SUNNYBANK STATE HIGH SCHOOL
Over the last 12 months, Daniel Robins has grown the capability of Sunnybank State High School’s staff to design and innovate curriculum offerings. He has analysed national STEM school education strategy and researched future workforce requirements to lead
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EMMANUEL COLLEGE
Dan Pearson has developed a reputation for his leadership in the areas of educational technology and innovation. He inspires a ‘teach’ rather than ‘do’ model of technology assistance – unlike most IT departments, which take your device and fix it for you, Pearson and his team take the time to guide users through how to fix the problem, enabling them to learn rather than always being reliant on the IT department’s technical knowledge. Pearson’s unique approach has had a positive effect throughout the college community; as people learn through the process, it also eliminates multiple requests for assistance with the same issues.
the development of the school’s Innovation HUB, which promotes key 21st-century learning skills. Robins has also sought opportunities to enrich school programs and learning outcomes through his involvement with the CSIRO STEM Professionals in Schools program, which brought industry professionals into the classroom to provide real-world insight and ensure programs are addressing current needs.
CARALYN DEA Director of international education and boarding TOORAK COLLEGE
Two years ago, in the midst of a decline in boarding school enrolments across Australia, Caralyn Dea embarked on a plan to attract students to Toorak College. Her solution was to cater for international families looking for a combination of lifestyle and rigorous academics within an environment of unparallelled support. Thanks to renovations to the college’s facilities, improved systems and procedures, and a commitment to raising the expectations of each student, the school’s boarding sector started to see significant change. Toorak’s recruitment process improved with 24-hour turnaround, support networks for international students were overhauled and re-established, and English entry levels were raised.
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Mid-yearhas enrolment now open. Fiona Robertson-Neil 25 years of experience as aeducation.unimelb.edu.au/m teacher and spent another 15 years as a principal in inner-city London and NSW. Throughout her career, she has chosen to work in low socioeconomic areas, where she has helped to raise the standards of poor-performing schools. Since 2017, Robertson-Neil has been working to develop and institute PR1ME Maths in Australian schools. Through her excellent professional development and in-class observations, she has been instrumental in raising maths standards throughout Australia.
DENG CHUOR Pastoral associate ST PETER’S COLLEGE
Over the past year, Deng Chuor helped to create the Casey Titans/St Peter’s College basketball and soccer teams and align them with the school’s Homework Club. The teams have grown rapidly and now consist of 70 students in Years 7 to 12 from South Sudanese backgrounds, who must attend Homework Club twice a week to be able to play. The impact has been much-needed academic and pastoral support for this group of students, many of whom come from homes where education is not prioritised. The success of Chuor’s Casey Titans project has been widely acknowledged; the local council has supported it with a grant, and the regional basketball association has recognised the talent on the teams, especially the senior male basketball team, which has become dominant on the court.
DARREN COX Principal ST PHILIP’S CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, CESSNOCK
St Philip’s has come a long way in the six years Darren Cox has been principal, growing from a small campus at South Cessnock to more than 1,100 students from kindergarten to Year 12 on a 100-acre campus at Nulkaba. Cox has helped change the trajectory of students’ academic futures; they now value learning. When St Philip’s first opened in Cessnock, 70% of its students were below minimum standards in education. This has significantly improved in recent years, and students are now achieving at 80% or above. Developing an engaged school culture is critical for Cox, who says the school “works hard to identify and recognise individual student strengths”. The same philosophy flows through to staff development: “We take a strengths-based approach and put a lot of time into nurturing and developing our staff,” Cox says.
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HOT LIST 2019 GIOVANNA IANNICELLI Technology coordinator ST MARY’S COLLEGE
After being awarded AITSL’s Lead Teacher accolade, Giovanna Iannicelli became an AITSL assessor and today uses her skills to mentor other teachers at St Mary’s College who aspire to HALT status. She puts a priority on not only demonstrating ICT skills, but also showing how they can be embedded into curriculum. Iannicelli has been recognised by Microsoft as a Minecraft Education Global Mentor. She is also an Adobe Educational Leader and an Adobe Campus Leader, and has been selected to attend the Adobe Educational Leaders Summit for the last few years.
JAMIE DORRINGTON Headmaster SAINT STEPHEN’S COLLEGE
GREGORY GRINHAM Principal GRANVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL
As head of Granville Public School, Gregory Grinham has proved to be an inspirational educational leader on many levels, including community engagement and the development of an inclusive school campus that fosters community use of facilities. Grinham has led the growth of the weekend community languages program from two to six programs using school facilities. He has also overseen the introduction of a community church that caters for African Christians in the Granville community.
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Dr Jamie Dorrington is a recognised leader in the field of innovative learning. His vision, support and participation in transforming systems within Saint Stephen’s College has resulted in a focus on transformational and experiential learning. One example is the school’s Team Projects, a Year 10 course that provides students with the opportunity to build soft skills and apply them in collaborative projects. Teams link with industry experts to either test or review their projects. The course is continually tweaked each year and will soon be expanded to other year levels. The Team Projects course has allowed the college to build one of the strongest STEAM educational programs in Australia. The teams are given the chance to not only explore for their own learning, but also compete against other schools. A team from Saint Stephen’s College won the regional Science and Engineering Competition at Griffith University in 2018 and came in second place in 2019.
JADE FREWIN STEAM coordinator SHELDON COLLEGE
As Sheldon College’s STEAM coordinator, Jade Frewin leads STEAM initiatives for Years 1 through 8, providing teacher professional development opportunities and adopting a team teaching approach to build teacher capacity. As part of Frewin’s role, he has led a variety of teacher professional development opportunities, giving the college’s teachers the confidence and capacity to independently and collaboratively design and implement STEAM education in the classroom. Frewin was recently selected as one of Australia’s Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts and is recognised by international educators for his contribution to education forums on creating immersive educational experiences using transformative tools such as mixed reality.
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JODIE JURGS
JEFFREY GRUNDY
Head of the arts
Director of Glengarry
IPSWICH GIRLS’ GRAMMAR SCHOOL AND IPSWICH JUNIOR GRAMMAR SCHOOL
THE SCOTS COLLEGE, SYDNEY
At Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School and Ipswich Junior Grammar School, Jodie Jurgs has created innovative performing arts programs and used the subject as a platform to address social issues in the community. Under Jurgs’ leadership, a group of drama students from Years 9 to 12 has been working with the local Domestic Violence Action Centre to uncover and voice issues related to domestic and sexual violence. The students are creating a performance that raises awareness about the personal and social trauma associated with domestic violence and explores how individuals and communities might bring about positive social change.
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Shape the next generation with In his three years as director of Glengarry – The Scots a professional education degree College’s world-renowned residential experiential Alearning global leader in teaching and education research, the Melbour knowledge with transformative thinking across a range of course With an emphasis on practical tuition, you’ll benefit from direct a campus in the Kangaroo Valley – Jeffrey Grundy has made their field - learning from those who are themselves driving chan Mid-year enrolment a remarkable contribution to furthering boys’ education innow open. education.unimelb.edu.au/m Australia and beyond. Grundy leads a team of 30-plus staff as they shape the lives of two successive cohorts of Year 9 boys undertaking a six-month adventure of learning and living together in community. He is responsible for everything from boys’ learning and pastoral and physical needs to safety on their four-day solo hikes. He also supports staff and families to prepare the boys for their 200km journey back to the college’s main campus in Sydney’s Bellevue Hill.
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HOT LIST 2019 JEN MCVEITY Creator SEVEN STEPS TO WRITING SUCCESS
KAREN SPILLER Principal JOHN PAUL COLLEGE
Not only does Karen Spiller inspire and influence the staff of John Paul College to achieve great things, but she also challenges the hearts and minds of its students. Just 18 months into her principalship, Spiller has helped dramatically turn around the primary school’s results; its 2018 NAPLAN results landed JPC as one of the most improved schools in the country. Spiller has held national and state leadership roles in significant educational bodies and remains the state chair of Independent Schools Queensland. She has presented at national and international conferences and is well recognised and respected for her powerful and dynamic presentations, professional knowledge, and collegiality, as well as her desire to make a difference for students and staff alike. In 2018, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her contributions to the education field.
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Jen McVeity has been described as a “human dynamo” – and for good reason. McVeity is a former teacher, award-winning author of more than 20 books and the creator and CEO of Seven Steps to Writing Success, the largest educator of writing literacy in Australia. A firm believer that words are the power behind knowledge and growth, McVeity created the Seven Steps 13 years ago to inspire students to love writing. Today, more than 1.5 million students and 60,000 teachers around Australia have been trained in the Seven Steps program, which has proved to improve writing scores by at least 10% in 10 weeks. Some schools have skipped an entire NAPLAN band, while others have seen as much as a 35% increase in scores.
JOHN SAVOPOULOS Director of students, Years 7–12 ST JOHN’S COLLEGE
Throughout his teaching career, John Savopoulos has made his students his number-one priority, and his achievements reflect his diligence and leadership. In 2018, Savopoulos helped students at St John’s College improve their average ATAR score, ranking and median study score. As a result, the college was recognised by the Herald Sun newspaper as one of the 25 most improved schools in Victoria.
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KATHRYN TODD
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Principal DJARRAGUN COLLEGE
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Kathryn Todd inspires those who work with her through her endless energy and insights. She has worked across Catholic, state and independent schools in remote communities in the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York. Todd’s dedication and commitment to the education of Indigenous students has led to significant improvement in educational outcomes at Djarragun College. She has led initiatives that have seen school attendance rates increase from 54% in Term 4 of 2016 to 75% in Term 1 of 2019. During the same period, the percentage of students achieving a QCE or VET qualification grew from 70% in 2016 to 100% by the end of 2018.
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KIERAN NOLAN Education technologist WOORANNA PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL
As the education technologist at Wooranna Park Primary School, Kieran Nolan has helped establish the school as a world leader in education technology and future thinking. Students have developed everything from virtual reality games and custom-built computers to fully functioning Cisco networks. They have built their own 3D printed computer lab using Raspberry Pi, created their own cryptocurrency, voted on hardware and software for the school’s open-source STEAM centre, built their own full nodes for various blockchains, and created an educational game that teaches people how to mine Bitcoin. Students have even created an international Minecraft environment to learn about hardware wallets and financial literacy. These efforts led Wooranna Park Primary School to recently become only the third school outside of the United States to be filmed by the George Lucas Foundation.
SUE FRENCH Strategic projects officer NSW DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
As the NSW Department of Education’s strategic projects officer, Sue French led the school education program for the Invictus Games in Sydney in 2018, which supported veteran athletes with disability and brought awareness to all students across NSW. French is currently leading a team within the department to develop its first learning and teaching policy in 15 years. Based on the principles of equity and excellence, the policy aspires to lift growth and achievement for all students across NSW public schools, with a focus on students who need additional support to achieve their potential.
KEVIN TUTT Principal SEYMOUR COLLEGE
As principal of Seymour College, Kevin Tutt has overseen the introduction of the college’s GIRLbeing wellbeing framework and Strength Optimism and Justice program, which have allowed teachers to develop lessons that promote gender equity. The program consists of four 45-minute sessions for every year level each week, designed to encourage the growth of gritty, resilient and independent learners in a school environment that models and nurtures the attributes of a successful woman in the 21st century. The prominence of this program within the college’s curriculum is based on Tutt’s belief that wellbeing is as fundamental as academics in today’s world.
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HOT LIST 2019 MAURA MANNING Fair Education director SCHOOLS PLUS
Maura Manning has held a range of school and system leadership roles across the independent and Catholic sectors in NSW. In 2018, driven by the strong desire to contribute to greater educational equity in Australia,
Manning joined national charity Australian Schools Plus as director of the Fair Education program. An innovative collaboration between philanthropic organisations, Schools Plus and approximately 100 disadvantaged schools across NSW, Queensland and Victoria, the Fair Education program addresses the challenge of engaging families and communities to improve student learning outcomes.
LESLIE LOBLE Deputy secretary, education futures and governance NSW DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Leslie Loble is shaping the future of education. In addition to leading the negotiation and implementation of the Gonski school funding reforms and introducing preschools for 3-yearolds, Loble leads the Education for a Changing World initiative, developing policies and reforms to ensure education prepares young people to successfully navigate a more complex world. As part of this work, she established the Catalyst Lab, which is currently leading a new challenge with 600 schools. The Lab encourages real innovation by placing power in the hands of those on the front line, while the Department of Education plays a supporting role. Loble is also working with experts around NSW and globally to build an evidence base around how educators can best prepare students to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.
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MARCO CIMINO Teacher MAGDALENE CATHOLIC COLLEGE
Marco Cimino’s teaching career has been going from strength to strength. Since being named to The Educator’s Hot List in 2017, he has continued to find new ways to develop both himself and other educators. In 2018, Cimino turned his #HASSchat Twitter chat into the Oh, the Humanities! (and Social Sciences) podcast, which is dedicated to the teaching and learning of humanities and social sciences by providing educators with a new and innovative way to access professional development. In 2019, Cimino was recognised for his services to education with an Honorary Fellowship of the Teachers’ Guild of NSW.
LAURA STRENTZ English teacher and head of Propeller Industries and InnovatED ALL SAINTS’ COLLEGE
Laura Strentz has been promoting student agency from the ground up as head of Propeller Industries, a co-lab and maker space that gives students the opportunity to identify problems and explore and develop ideas, solutions, and products to solve these issues. By equipping the students with tools and resources, then gently reducing the impact of teacher leadership, Strentz actively promotes student responsibility. In addition to hosting regular classes, Strentz also welcomes drop-ins; students know they can decide what they want to work toward, how they learn it and when they can do it.
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Director of digital innovation HILLCREST CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
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Michael Ha has a passion for understanding and implementing educational technology strategies required to enhance learning outcomes in the 21st century. In 2017, he developed a new subject, The Lab, which combines Year 9 and 10 students in the same class and aims to foster creativity and problem-solving in all areas of life, whether it be music, history, languages or sport, while exploring the value of deeper learning.
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KIM FLINTOFF Learning futures advisor CURTIN UNIVERSITY
As the leader of Curtin University’s Learning Futures Network, Kim Flintoff has been tireless in making authentic connections between all levels of schools, universities, museums and anyone else keen to support the education of people around the globe. The network has provided a beacon of innovation by fostering collaborative practice and breaking down the barriers between private and public universities and schools. Flintoff has been ground-breaking in his use of 21st-century technology and experiential and hands-on projectbased learning at Curtin University. He has actively facilitated sharing of best practice, guiding leaders and empowering students who showcase STEM and demonstrate student agency through e-sports, drones, virtual reality and other cutting-edge projects.
SUZANNE FARLEY Deputy principal – learning and teaching CAROLINE CHISHOLM CATHOLIC COLLEGE
With a drive and passion for student improvement, Suzanne Farley has overseen significant progress across a number of areas in learning and teaching at Caroline Chisholm Catholic College. From establishing a partnership with the University of Melbourne Network of Schools through to delivering a university subject to the college’s Year 12 students, she has set high standards for all staff and students. Her introduction of a significant literacy program and strong effort in establishing professional learning teams have led the college to be recognized by ACARA as a lead school in improvement in reading.
MARK SAVERY Head of e-learning EMMANUEL COLLEGE
A previous member of The Educator’s Hot List, Mark Savery continues to be a leader in education technology and innovation. In April, he was one of just four Australian Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts invited to attend the Microsoft Global Educator Exchange Conference in Paris, where he represented Emmanuel College’s achievements in using technology to enhance learning, engagement and school administration. Savery has also been influential in sharing what Emmanuel’s students are doing across social media platforms, especially on Twitter. As a result, the school’s best practices and educational ideas reach hundreds of schools around the world on a regular basis.
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HOT LIST 2019
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RAY SWANN
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Deputy headmaster and head of the Crowther Centre
BRIGHTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL Shape the next generation with a professional education degree.
A global leader in teaching and education research, the Melbourne Grad knowledge with transformative thinking across a range of courses in con
With on an emphasis Dr Ray Swann has embarked a on practical tuition, you’ll benefit from direct access to their field - learning from those who are themselves driving change in ed Mid-year now open. generational change program atenrolment Brighton education.unimelb.edu.au/midyea Grammar School, using his background and PhD in medical education to inform measurable programs. Swann is helping to transform the school from a place of learning to a centre of community support and a place of exchange to develop healthy and balanced social, emotional, physical, and intellectual habits for students, parents, and teachers. One of Swann’s successful programs is BioDash, a world-first program in the application of mindfulness to improve wellbeing outcomes for students, developed through a MOU with Melbourne University’s Centre for Positive Psychology.
MELISSA SCHOORMAN Deputy principal and head of Wardle House
ROBERT KAY
TOORAK COLLEGE
Co-founder and executive director INCEPT LABS
In her 12 months as deputy principal and head of Wardle House at Toorak College, Melissa Schoorman has made ground-breaking progress to the school’s culture, reputation and academic programs. Her unwavering commitment to Wardle House, the college’s early learning and junior school, has been a key element of her visionary leadership and direction. Schoorman has been the driving force behind Project Shine, a new holistic academic approach designed to take the college’s students on a journey from early learning to Year 12 that allows them to truly capitalise on their potential, expand their world view and find their place within it.
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Dr Robert Kay believes Australia’s current education system is failing children because it is preparing them for the previous century, not the one we’re in or the one we’re facing. Through thousands of hours of in-classroom observation and evaluation, Kay found that only 8% to 15% of Australia’s teachers are teaching the way the education system needs. He’s leading a push to reorient Australia’s education system toward teaching children the higherorder skills they’ll need to thrive in a future economy – skills like problemsolving, collaboration, communication, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Build your knowledge. Broaden their horizons. Shape the next generation with a professional education degree. A global leader in teaching and education research, the Melbourne Graduate School of Education builds students’ knowledge with transformative thinking across a range of courses in contemporary learning spaces. With an emphasis on practical tuition, you’ll benefit from direct access to influential educators who are experts in their field - learning from those who are themselves driving change in education worldwide. Mid-year enrolment now open.
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HOT LIST 2019 SIMON CROOK Director CROOKED SCIENCE
Dr Simon Crook is arguably the busiest K-12 science teacher-consultant in NSW, if not Australia. Now in the fifth year of his STEM education consultancy, CrookED Science, Crook travels across the state to work with teachers and students,
VANESSA BROWNING Head of junior school SEYMOUR COLLEGE
Vanessa Browning has an extensive career in primary education and leadership across a range of independent single-sex and co-ed schools, both
helping them succeed with the new science syllabuses and various facets of STEM. CrookED Science has received a Category 2 endorsement from the NSW Education Standards Authority to deliver high-quality professional development across the state. This has allowed Crook, over the past year, to recruit expert teachers to join him in travelling NSW to support as many science teachers as possible.
in Australia and internationally. She consistently demonstrates a capacity to think critically and creatively, ensuring an innovative approach to leading a junior school, while also striving for academic rigour. Browning believes in targeted and intentional teaching that fosters student engagement and enhances teacher impact, enabling every student to achieve significant growth.
CHRIS NIVEN Head of faculty mathematics, Years 7–9 SHELDON COLLEGE
TRACY HEALY Deputy principal and head of senior school LOWTHER HALL ANGLICAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Tracy Healy is an industry leader in the field of adolescent health and student wellbeing, tirelessly developing and refining programs that nurture self-confidence, self-esteem and resiliency in young adults. Under Healy’s leadership, every year level
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from 7 to 12 at Lowther Hall boasts its own tailored, formally timetabled wellbeing program, led in collaboration with year level pastoral care coordinators. Healy’s knowledge and experience are enhanced by research obtained through her Graduate Diploma of Adolescent Health and Welfare, Diploma in Mental Health and study through Harvard University. She has presented on student wellbeing at the Global Forum on Girls’ Education in Washington, DC.
Within Sheldon College’s learning management system, Chris Niven created a blog platform that includes a weekly interactive math puzzle to encourage curiosity and challenge students’ mathematical thinking. The site also includes flipped video tutorials and resources that support the development of self-directed learners. Niven has built community engagement by hosting the MC² Maths Challenge Question of the Week, which is broadcast live throughout the whole college assembly. He has also facilitated the development and implementation of teacher observation protocols and opportunities for the college’s middle years teachers.
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STEVE FRANCIS
Build your know Broaden their ho
CEO HAPPY SCHOOL
Shape the next generation with a professional education degree
Steve Francis believes Australian education is facing a teacher shortage and that great practitioners will be more in demand than ever. He is passionate about work-life satisfaction, keeping things simple and helping great school leaders optimise their schools. Over the past year, Francis has worked with schools to increase student voice and ensure teachers are receiving formative feedback from their students using the Survey My Class instrument he developed. For the past two years, Francis has also been a member of the judging panel for the Australian Education Awards.
A global leader in teaching and education research, the Melbour knowledge with transformative thinking across a range of course
With an emphasis on practical tuition, you’ll benefit from direct a their field - learning from those who are themselves driving chan Mid-year enrolment now open.
education.unimelb.edu.au/m
PAUL BROWNING Headmaster ST PAUL’S SCHOOL
SCOTT EACOTT
STEVEN HOGAN
Associate professor of educational leadership
Classroom teacher
UNSW SYDNEY
Scott Eacott is a national figure in the field of educational leadership. His work has consistently attracted attention, including the Australian Council for Educational Leaders’ Hedley Beare Award for most outstanding educational leadership writing, as well as multiple Paper of the Year awards from academic journals. In addition to his published works, Eacott teaches his approach through courses at UNSW and professional learning programs. He has also developed a reflection guide for school leaders to refine their practice and has presented his work to educators in Australia, Canada, South Africa, Mexico and Indonesia.
SHELFORD GIRLS’ GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Over the course of the last year, Steven Hogan has implemented the SPARK Film Festival, an innovative new project for Year 5 and 6 students at Shelford Girls’ Grammar School. Students were given the opportunity to find their own personal ‘spark’: a topic they were passionate about, such as bullying, climate change or pollution. With Hogan’s guidance, the students learned a range of key filming techniques that enabled them to create meaningful and moving films. Students then submitted their films into a competition. Hogan has since shared this unit of work with other teachers around the globe.
Dr Paul Browning is one of the most respected and sought-after educational thought leaders in the world. In 2018, he won Headmaster of the Year – Non-Government at the inaugural Australian Education Awards, and over the past 12 months, he has been a keynote speaker at events across the globe. Under Browning’s leadership, St Paul’s School was named one of the 100 most innovative learning organisations in the world by Cambridge University in 2018. Browning regularly leads strategic planning workshops for more than 60 state, independent and Catholic schools across the world and has been a guest speaker for professional organisations such as the Australian Institute of Company Directors, as well as organisations in Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, the UK and the US.
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HOT LIST 2019
MELINDA HASKETT Build your knowle HALT and PSO Broaden their hori NSW DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Shape the next generation with a professional education degree.
Melinda Haskett is an inspiring A global leader and in teaching and education research, the Melbourne Grad knowledge with transformative thinking across a range of courses in con With an emphasis on practical tuition, you’ll benefit from direct access to motivated educational leader who their field - learning from those who are themselves driving change in ed Mid-year enrolment is focused on supporting Highly now open. Accomplished and Lead Teachers education.unimelb.edu.au/midyea [HALTs] and the quality of teaching in Australia. Haskett also works around the clock to influence others – including the Department of Education and educators across other sectors in Australia – to acknowledge the work of HALTs. In addition, she has co-created and led a number of high-profile, forward-thinking programs for the department to improve teaching and learning.
STELLA JINMAN Principal CECIL ANDREWS COLLEGE
LES BARNARD Business manager LIVING FAITH LUTHERAN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Les Barnard is much more than a business manager at Living Faith Lutheran Primary School – he is an educational leader, a dreamer, an innovator, a designer and a strategic thinker. Through his creative vision and meticulous attention to detail, Barnard has overseen the construction of indoor and outdoor learning spaces that support the school’s innovative and award-winning pedagogical framework. He has travelled the globe to explore contemporary workplace and school environments, and he applies his learning to address school-wide and individual student needs.
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In 2018, Stella Jinman was awarded one Women in Technology WA’s 20 in 20 Awards, which recognise 20 women who have made a significant contribution to technology in Western Australia over the last 20 years. Jinman is challenging the status quo on traditional teaching approaches by directly involving industry and mentors in the school and the classroom through a project-based learning [PBL] program and workplace visits. She has also incorporated virtual, augmented, and mixed reality and drone technology into the PBL program and is working to pilot ‘vortals’ for the first time in an Australian school.
JEAN SCOTT Teacher quality advisor, school services NSW DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
A recipient of the NSW Minister Quality Teaching Award, Australian College
of Educators Quality Teaching Award and Red Cross Ruby Storey Award, Jean Scott has inspired many beginning teachers. An experienced leader within the HALT network, she is currently a member of the steering committee for the Q Project, a five-year project by Monash University and the Paul Ramsey Foundation to improve the use of research evidence in Australian schools and school systems.