PROFILE
Marsden State High School:
Making space for staff learning attracts, retains good teachers
Image courtesy of Marsden State High School
By Shannon Meyerkort Industry Reporter
Each issue, we profile a spectacular school that has developed an innovative program, initiative, or pedagogy. This Term, we sat down with Principal Kylie Steinhardt to learn all about Marsden State High School’s awardwinning professional learning program, and the insights it has gleaned for how best to attract and retain staff in low socioeconomic schools. Marsden State High School’s impressive win, taking home the gong for “Best Professional Learning Program Suite” at this year’s Australian Education Awards, is the result of eight years of hard work and sustained outcomes. The school’s current Deputy Principal, Michael Smith started developing its beginning teacher program in 2014 to attract and retain staff, and the
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program’s impact has snowballed since, with the school’s retention rate for beginning and early career teachers blossoming. As Principal Kylie Steinhardt recalls: “Previous to implementing this program, we lost 50 percent of our early career teachers due to leaving the teaching profession or transferring to another school. Since 2014, we now hold a 95 percent retention rate of our beginning and early careers teachers within the profession.” The incredible success rate of the South Brisbane school’s professional learning suite comes at a time schools around Australia are struggling under the pressure of a teacher shortage, exacerbated by COVID. So, how does the country’s best professional learning program stack up against these challenges, and what sets Marsden’s approach to professional learning development apart from the rest? Principal Steinhardt explains that the focus of the program is targeted development and training for staff in all career phases across the school, from preservice teachers to senior
teachers as well as the leadership team. However, one aspect that makes the program suite different from those offered at other schools is that it not only focuses on individual skills and learning, but also on nurturing new staff with mentors and supporting these mentors with ongoing, specialised development. “We are committed to investing time and resources into supporting our staff,” she explains. “Each staff member participates in regular professional development opportunities throughout the term. Each beginning and early career teacher has a staff member mentor them through their first three years of teaching. We also provide mentors with professional development and support to ensure they have strategies and are confident in their ability to mentor new and beginning teachers.” The school has developed a lead mentor team: “These staff are responsible for representing the wider team at Marsden to ensure the mentor voice is heard to improve and deliver quality outcomes.”
EDUCATION
Furthermore, the principal says that all teaching and learning heads of department “work collaboratively with the entire leadership team to ensure that the school priorities are also met in the programs”. “We currently have 85 staff at Marsden that mentor our beginning and early career teachers. Of those 85, five are lead mentors.” So, it is this careful balance between individual professional learning and school-wide priorities that gives the Marsden State High School program its award-winning edge. “The creation of the program to be delivered each year takes into account not only education policy, but school-wide priorities,” says Principal Steinhardt. “One of our main priorities is staff development and performance, including our professional learning programs, and our Whole School Strategies Plan explicitly focuses on four areas of staff development.” The principal outlines these four areas as follows: Term 4, 2022 | school-news.com.au
