6 minute read
TIPS FROM THE TOP
Down the road of success
Northern Territory primary school principal Jacklyn Roberts says her life changed almost four years ago when she visited Canada’s Alert Bay, a small village northeast of Vancouver, on a study tour examining school leadership and improvement. She spoke with Deniz Uzgun.
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Jacklyn, you’re originally from Queensland. What motivated you to become a principal in the Top End?
I believe that the NT is an innovative and exciting system to work in and that it truly has ‘students at the centre’ as its moral compass point. The system is small enough that people really matter, yet large enough to make a substantial difference to the education of students. There is an amazing sense of collegiality amongst our principals and teach ers that is not determined by the size or geography of your school, but rather the common goal of brin ging our students to the forefront of academic excellence and strong social and emotional well being. My family’s shift to the NT was also about lifesty le – what isn’t to love about the beauty of the NT and the glorious weather?
In 2016 you participated in a study tour in Canada examining the Spirals of Inquiry approach. What were the key learnings from the trip and what did you bring back to Australia?
Spirals of Inquiry is a collaborative inquiry model that is based around the British Columbia (BC) model introduced by Linda Kaiser and Judy Halbert. The model was introduced in response to issues of practice around individualised contex tual problems. BC directly attribute the use of the S piral of Inquiry model to the international success it has achieved in the past decade in terms of educational outcomes. This model was chosen in our context, not only for its demonstrated suc cess, but also because it is in line with the education department’s operating principles – “we use
an inquiry-based approach to underpin our system”. There are six stages of the inquiry project that are undertaken. These are scanning, focusing, developing a hunch, engaging in new professional learning, taking new action and checking that a big enough difference has been made,
and then re-engaging to consider what is next. By using this model at my previous school, Wagaman Primary, the impact was substantial and was led by teachers. Our attendance had improved and academic results were in the Territory’s top 20 per cent. This grass roots approach led to a high level of teacher ‘buy in’ and a collaborative team work ing towards a common goal – solving a puzzle of pr actice that is meaningful and impacts on students. I am proud of the high level of teacher and student voice that was part of Wagaman’s journey whilst I was there, and that continues today, even after I’ve moved on to another school. At my current school, Bakewell Primary, we are at the beginning of our journey in this area and have only j ust started Spirals of Inquiry. My vision is that we have strong voice from all of our stakeholders within our school community and from those partnerships outside of our school that are vital to our c ontinued success.
The essence of Spirals of Inquiry is ‘learners at the centre’. Why is this important?
Our students are active participants in their own learning. The days of ‘empty vessels that need to be filled from the font of teacher knowledge’ are well and truly over. Our students are being prepared for a world that is constantly changing and w e need to develop their skills so that they can be capable and productive members of society. If they are not at the centre, then I believe we must question what our role is in education. If we are not here with a vision for the continued academic growth and social and emotional wellbeing of our students, then we are not fulfilling the role of trust given to us by parents. Each student needs to be considered individually, so that we can contin
ue to help them move forward with their learning. If students are not at the centre and if they do not have an active voice in their own education, then they are not going to engage fully in their learn ing. Education will be something that happens ‘to them ’ and not ‘for them’ or ‘with them’.
How can school leaders bring parents in as active participants in school life?
Invite them in. Seek their opinion. Ask the questions around ‘what is it that is important to them?’ and ‘how do we organise forums for them to be heard?’ Seek options so that you hear not only the loud voices but the quiet ones that will often sit back and reflect before they are heard. Work with your School Council/Board to actively engage them as partners in moving the strategic direction of your school forward.
Why does the phrase, “A great school has another great school down the road” resonate with you?
No school works in isolation. The strength in achieving good student results comes from sharing expertise and building the capacity of our entire system – especially from a network ing perspective for school leaders and teachers. We learn from our colleagues and the
strength of networks cannot be under appreciated. One of my favourite educators is Andy Hargreaves and I love his work around Collaborative Professionalism. He talks about how being collabora tive ‘enables leaders to share and distribute their leadership, to release the knowledge and expertise possessed by others’. There are so many great schools ‘down the road’ from me and I learn from them all, and I hope they also learn from me. Since my arrival in the NT I have become part of many innovative networks in my local area and across the globe. Each network has many ‘great schools down the road’ in them and I admire the work being done in them. Even in a society that tends to league table schools, it is fabulous to see schools work ing together for the good of students and sharing their knowledge for the benefit of more than j ust the kids on their rolls.
What have been your proudest career achievements?
Being awarded a Commonwealth Bank Teaching Awards fellowship is a high point for me, but I look back at a career that is filled with many proud moments that are not so big. These relate to day-to-day celebrations with students and staff. The day when one of my students Ruby came to my office for a milkshake and a cupcake because she had finally made it above PM Level 3 through sheer grit and determination, the day when a mid dle school student finally opened up and told me
w hy he felt that he had no future and we talked it through and then a year or so later he came to say that he’d been offered an apprenticeship in the Army, and the times when teachers have sat and we’ve talked out problems of practice that they have faced and together we’ve come up with a solution. These are the moments that count in education – they’re often real and raw but, boy, do they resonate with the all the reasons why I start ed in education. People provide you with your pr oudest moments and awards are the cream that affirm the work you and your team do every day.
