EOI Cohort 12

Welcome to our new EDvance team member, Stacey Plaut

Stacey will be joining the FED team as the Program Lead on 20 January 2020. Stacey comes with over 9 years’ experience in the business world as a HR executive, and over 3 years’ experience as a secondary school HASS teacher at Cecil Andrews College.

Stacey has previously completed the Teach for Australia Leadership Development Program and the Teach-Well Masterclass Series, and regularly practices Explicit Instruction in the classroom. She will bring a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to the team, as well as a secondary focus which will help Fogarty EDvance continue to deliver a high quality program to secondary schools in WA.

Welcome Stacey!

Congratulations and welcome to all Cohort 7 schools who will commence the Fogarty EDvance School Improvement Program in February this year. School leadership teams from both primary and secondary, regional and metro and public and Catholic schools will come together in Perth for their first few workshops of the 3 year school improvement journey.

School Principal Location
Bluff Point Primary School Celine Bellve Bluff Point, Geraldton region
Busselton Senior High School Dainon Coiuzic Busselton
Cassia Primary School Narelle Ward South Hedland
Como Secondary College Digby Mercer Como
Darkan Primary School Eloisa Goss Darkan, Wheatbelt region
Endeavour Schools Chris Burgess & Jayne Gorbould Mandurah
Greenbushes Primary School Kylie Loney Greenbushes
Lakelands Primary School Bradden Mitchell Lakelands
Mullewa District High School Nicki Patterson Mullewa, Geraldton region
Newman Senior High School Carolyn Cook Newman
Nollamara Primary School Bradley Trpchev Nollamara
Sacred Heart Primary School Steve Gibbs Thornlie
Swan View Senior High School George Sekulla Swan View
Xavier Catholic School Travis Bienkowski Hilbert

Thank you to all of those in the FED Network for your assistance and support during the recruitment drive for Cohort 7. We are really excited to see where these school leaders take their schools in the next 3 years!

Please contact Georgie Wynne at georgie.wynne@fogartyedvance.au if you have any questions about Cohort 7.

In November 2019, Fogarty EDvance launched a new initiative for EDvance primary schools entering Year 2 of the School Improvement Program – known as the FED Instructional Adviser model (IA model).

The IA model partners EDvance school leaders together with other schools that have previously been part of the Fogarty EDvance program and have successfully transformed classroom instruction in their schools. The main aim of the IA model is to build the capacity of instructional leadership in schools throughout Western Australia.

There is growing support for school leaders collaborating with other school leaders that have navigated a similar challenge in changing teaching practice – see for example, Networks for School Improvement (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) and the Communities of Practice approach in Victoria (Bastow Institute). Other Fogarty EDvance initiatives, including school visits as part of Year 1 of the program and the FED Explicit Instruction Secondary Network, have also demonstrated the impact of intra-school collaboration on teaching practice.

The partnership between schools is supported by FED Mentors, the FED team and requires up to 4 structured meetings a year. The IA schools for 2020 include:

Fogarty EDvance will continue to update the FED Network on the success and impact of the new initiative towards the end of 2020.

For any questions or comments regarding the IA model, please contact Katie O’Driscoll at katie.odriscoll@fogartyedvance.au.

The Fogarty Foundation and Fogarty EDvance congratulate Lisa Ledger of Baynton West Primary School on becoming WA Primary Principal of the Year for 2019.

Lisa was recently recognised in the WA Education Awards 2019. The award recognises the exciting and significant role of principals in primary schools. As mentors and motivators, they create partnerships and work with their communities. They secure the best possible learning outcomes for their young students.

Lisa and her leadership team at Baynton West Primary School are in their second year of the EDvance program as part of Cohort 5.

Further information on the awards and the winners can be found here.

Congratulations to all the finalists and to Lisa.

Annie Fogarty has been announced as the 2020 WA Australian of the Year for her exceptional work in education advocacy.

Annie founded the Fogarty Foundation in 2000 to help advance education, support young people to reach their full potential and build stronger communities.

Under Annie’s leadership, the Foundation identifies areas of need, supports partner organisations with philanthropic funds, connections and knowledge, and develops initiatives that deliver educational opportunities, inspire community leadership and enrich lives.

Mrs Fogarty is also involved with several boards and committees to help foster innovation and creativity in young people, and is committed to ensuring excellent education and learning for all.

Each year, the Australian of the Year awards celebrate the achievements and contributions of eminent Australians by profiling leading citizens who are role models for us all.

Also receiving the prestigious award are fellow West Australians Professor John Newnham AM, a world-leading authority in modern obstetrics; Yarlalu Thomas, a medical student and Precision Public Health Fellow in genetic and rare diseases; and science educator (and Fogarty EDfutures Catalyst) Suzy Urbaniak.

Annie will join award recipients from all over Australia for the national awards ceremony at the National Arboretum in Canberra on 25 January 2020 – the 60th anniversary of the awards.

Congratulations Annie!!

Congratulations to two EDvance schools – Warriapendi Primary School and Lynwood Senior High School – that have recently been nominated as finalists in the Primary School and Secondary School of the Year categories of the WA Education Awards. Both schools have seen significant improvements in outcomes for students in their communities and we are thrilled to see their achievements and efforts recognised at state level.

Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery recently announced the finalists for the WA Education Awards 2018. The WA Education Awards are the State’s premier awards for teachers, principals, school support staff and public schools. In the Minister’s words, “The WA Education Awards are a stellar opportunity to acknowledge our inspiring teachers, outstanding principals, excellent school support staff and successful Western Australian public schools.”

This year, two schools in the Fogarty EDvance School Improvement Program have been nominated. Warriapendi Primary School, nominated as a finalist for WA Primary School of the Year, is part of Fogarty EDvance Cohort 3 (now in their final year of the 3-year program). Warriapendi Primary School has seen significant improvements in academic outcomes, particularly in relation to students’ writing. As can be seen below, Warriapendi primary students are performing above the WA State average in writing:

Further details of Warriapendi Primary School’s recent successes in academic achievement, as well as how they did it, can be found in the Fogarty EDvance 2018 Interim Report Card.

Lynwood Senior High School, part of Fogarty EDvance Cohort 4 (and nearly 2 years through the EDvance program), has been nominated as a finalist for WA Secondary School of the Year. Lynwood Senior High School’s commitment to the student voice and community feedback has seen Lynwood’s success skyrocket. In the words of Principal Geraldine Hardy, “If schools aren’t focused on well-crafted programs with caring people in place to make sure kids can get to school, feel safe at school and enjoy school, they won’t perform well.”

Associate principal Jo Willesee agreed, adding that “The changes which have led to where we are today are things like a focus on student wellbeing, introducing academically focused programs, specialist soccer program and having a focus on sustainability, so you’ve got a unifying focus for the school.”

Further details on Lynwood Senior High School’s recent successes and their nomination as a finalist can be found here.

A full list of the finalists can be found here, with the winners announced on 26 November 2018.

Congratulations to all finalists and in particular, Warriapendi Primary School and Lynwood Senior High School, for all of your hard work. We wish you all the best for the finals in November.

Lynwood Senior High School, Cohort 4, are have made a significant improvement in students’ academic performance. The Lynwood staff have a clear moral purpose of supporting their students to perform at or above the State average for key indicators, including NAPLAN and ATAR.

The recent release of ACARA 2017 data shows Lynwood students are out-performing their peers in NAPLAN reading and are close to the National average in NAPLAN writing and numeracy. This is a significant improvement in achievement of the students, as in 2015 and 2016 almost all areas of NAPLAN were close to ‘like schools’. See Lynwood’s NAPLAN profile here.

Lynwood’s high aspirations for student outcomes does not stop at Year 9 NAPLAN. The school was ranked 28th in the State in median ATAR score for 2017. They were the 7th highest ranked public school on the Better Education ranking. See the full list here.

On behalf of the EDvance community, we congratulate all the staff at Lynwood Senior High School on the dedication to supporting their students to aim and achieve high! We look forward to seeing the great results continue.

During the January school holidays, 29 dedicated teachers and pre-service teachers, 28 eager students, three expert coaches and a magician met at Dawson Park Primary School. The Teach Well Intensive is a week-long, professional development program for experienced and pre-services teachers to develop high impact instructional practices.

Teachers from 11 schools observed English and math lessons by Dawson Park teachers Mr O and Mr B, with year 3 and 4 students. The teachers had several opportunities to practice the skills they were observing and learning, by teaching the students throughout the week. Many teachers were apprehensive as the style of lessons are fast paced, systematic and teacher led, but with the support of experienced teachers and Dr Lorraine Hammond, teachers finished the week confident to teach their own classes using the high impact, explicit instruction method. The student’s schooling during the holidays was rewarded with a range of activities each afternoon, including a magician, activities with Sports Challenge Australia and CoderDojo WA. The teachers were fortunate to have such engaged students to develop their teaching skills with.

The Fogarty Foundation initiated the program to provide teachers wanting to teach explicitly with the content, support and practice often difficult to access in traditional professional development. The initiative generated interest from the media and system leaders. The West reported the program, here, and Minister for Education and Training, Sue Ellery, MLC as well as the Member for Forrestfield, Stephen Price, MLA came and saw the program in action.  See the Minsiter’s selfie with the students here.

The Teach Well Intensive pilot program is being evaluated by Murdoch University professor Dr Tony Fetherston, including follow up reviews to investigate if and how these new skills are being used back in the schools.  We look forward to sharing the report with educators, advocates and the community in April.

Image – Minister for Education and Training Sue Ellery, MLC with Dawson Park Primary School students, Teacher Jared Bussell, Annie Fogarty and Dr Lorraine Hammond.

On May 4, we had a very successful launch of Cohort 2’s Report Card, with much cause for celebration. There was an excellent attendance of Executive Directors from theDepartment of Education, Deans of Education from 3 of the 4 major teaching universities and the corporate community was well represented.

The Education Minister, Hon. Sue Ellery MLC, officially launched the Report Card and spoke generously about the importance of school leadership and the role that our leaders play in ensuring an excellent education system. She praised the Foundation and our Partners for the work that EDvance has undertaken, in particular acknowledging the efforts and successes of our school leadership teams in improving student outcomes for their students.

Photo 1: The Hon. Sue Ellery MLC – WA Minister for Education

Photo 2 (right to left): Hon. Sue Ellery MLC with secondary school principals – Bernadette, Everal, Stella, Mary, Hilary, Alen – Jeannette Gee (WASSEA), Annie and Ingrid

Congratulations to the people from Fogarty EDvance Schools who were announced as winners at the WA Education Awards ceremony this week. Great schools are made by great leaders and great teachers and the kids are the winners on every occasion. Well done everyone.

Mark McClements, Challis Community Primary School – WA Beginning Teacher of the Year

After a dream career with the world-famous Arsenal Football Club, Mark McClements found his calling to become a teacher and his impact on the school has been remarkable. With limitless enthusiasm and creativity, he takes a hands-on approach to teaching. He introduced a new program to the school, Talking for Writing, which is getting results – 84 per cent of Year 3 students achieved above the national minimum standard in the 2015 NAPLAN results.

Jodie Schicker, Bungaree Primary School – WA Premier’s Primary Teacher of the Year

Jodie Schicker teaches her students that circumstance does not define who they are or what they do; it is their choices that matter in life. She inspires a curiosity in her students, sharing her love of science. Mrs Schicker supports students to succeed, encouraging them to achieve their goals and be responsible for their learning. She has also spearheaded changes to improve how students with autism move on to secondary school, and how the school and parents manage challenging behaviours.

Congratulations also go to: