The path to principal
Leonie’s first appointment as principal
was at a country high school. She began
establishing herself as principal prior to taking up her appointment as she had
received a telephone call from a colleague working in the district to tell her
there were all sorts of stories circulating locally, such as, she couldn’t
speak English, she had a child out of wedlock and boys would be disadvantaged. In response, Leonie and her husband made an
appointment with the Chairperson of the School Council and visited the local
community. While there, they visited the editor of the local paper who did an
in-depth interview with Leonie. The interview resulted in an extensive article being
published in the local paper about her qualifications and achievements. They
then had a friendly and useful meeting with the Chair of the School Council over
afternoon tea. As they left the Chair said he did not know what he could say to
the boys at the silos! Apparently, she was
not what they were expecting. It appears they were expecting a stern woman with
her hair done up in a bun. She found that
very amusing.
Leonie was invited to be a principal
long before she became one. She didn’t accept because she wanted to learn about
educational administration. At one stage
a School Inspector advised her that if she wanted to be a principal she
shouldn’t get married! There was no
mention of the need to prepare for such a demanding and responsible job. A scholarship from the Education Department
enabled her to achieve a Masters in Educational Administration at the University
of New England.
Growing in the job
Being proactive helped Leonie to develop
a good rapport with the School Council and she believes that people were happy
to have her at the school. Furthermore, at her first school assembly when one
of the students was playing up, she told him off. This made the impression that she was a firm
disciplinarian!
An informative newsletter kept the community
well versed about the school. As Leonie was writing about educational matters she
had the school support staff check the newsletters before they were sent out to
ensure they would be easily understood. She made every effort to involve
parents in decisions made about the life of the school.
Communication and participation of
parents and staff in decisions made about the school were very important for
building her credibility in the school and community in order to bring about
structural change within the school.
Leonie brought with her a strong
educational philosophy and a commitment to union values combined with the
experiences gained from working with a range of established principals,
educators and union leaders. This formed the basis for her work.
Professional development of self and
staff was also important. She invited an experienced principal who had had a
profound influence on her to run professional development sessions at the
school with senior staff. Leonie’s
immense interest in curriculum determined that she structured the school in
order to bring a closer connection between teachers and their students.
On reflection Leonie was happy that she had
not accepted a principalship before she had completed a Masters in Educational
Administration. She knew that she needed both qualifications and a time to reflect
before taking on the very important job of leading a school.
During her first principal appointment Leonie
was able to confirm and strengthen her belief in education based on her philosophy
and this helped develop and modify actions taken in subsequent schools.
Excitement and Achievements
It was exciting seeing teachers taking
responsibility for their work and coming up with great curriculum ideas that
inspired students and related to their needs. Schools Commission programs such as
the Participation and Equity Program helped teachers in this regard as it provided
them with time, support and resources enabling them to achieve some great outcomes.
Programs developed by some great young
teachers in the Art Department also excited her. They would take students out
on art excursions to lots of interesting places to really challenge their
thinking and their views of the world around them. When there was a mouse
plague in the region, the teachers got some of the mice and cured their skins
to make bags and all sorts of things! It thrilled her to see the strategies
they used to enhance creativity.
Leonie recalled being excited later in
her career (when she was principal of a metropolitan high school) by the work
of a special education teacher who ran kinesiology sessions with his
students. A Year 8 student in the class had
to be carried everywhere and he could do very little for himself. The teacher helped him become more
independent and improve his oral communication skills to a point where he could
speak reasonably clearly. It was really
thrilling to see his development over time. The boy began to work in the hospitality
industry and years later at a function he came up to Leonie and asked her in
fairly understandable speech, “Do you remember me?” Leonie was excited when teachers
were innovative and came up with wonderful outcomes for their students. Another example at this school was
encouraging a mother to become School Council Chairperson at a time when this
was still quite unusual.
Challenging
Times
One of the challenges in Leonie’s first
principal appointment came when the Education Department changed the teacher to
student staffing formula resulting in fewer staff positions being available at
the school and a need for staff displacements. Displacement was not something
she supported and she campaigned against this decision through the union. As a
strong unionist she felt she was there to protect teachers’ jobs, not take them
away. This was a very hard time.
When the staff displacement exercise
occurred some conservative members of the local Rotary Club were negative towards
her because she wrote about the effect of cuts on school staff in the school
newsletter. When Leonie heard about this she asked to attend a Rotary meeting
to ‘front up’. The situation was resolved with Leonie receiving lots of
support. It was, however, a very hard
and unpleasant time.
When Leonie was appointed to her first
metropolitan high school she was given a mandate to bring change to the school
with an emphasis on girls’ education. This was no easy task, as a number of long-standing
teaching staff could see no reason to change their comfortable existence and
consequently endeavored to undermine her quietly. In contrast, the school
support staff were very helpful. She was
also able to recruit some excellent teachers who understood the importance of
curriculum change for girls.
Leonie was disappointed that in spite of
staff efforts and enrolments improving that after her time the school was eventually
closed along with others due to cuts in the education budget. The community
campaigned against it but was not successful.
Support
Leonie’s husband was always a great
support and immensely helpful to her. They
shared a common concern for humanity and the importance of education. They
shared information, visited schools in Victoria and overseas, attended national
and international conferences and debated social, political and economic
issues.
Support came from the teachers’ union
especially as it related to working conditions for teachers and the status of female
teachers. For her, involvement in the union was important, as she didn’t want
to see any exploitation in schools.
It was also important to maintain ongoing
learning and involvement in professional organisations such as the Australian
Curriculum Studies Association
Support also came from a range of people
she worked with, especially the young staff at the school.
Advice
Become a leader because you want to
serve the community and as a principal to serve the education of students. It is not about status. You must want to serve and make sure you
always continue to learn, be prepared and be open to change for the benefit of
your students.
Participation is absolutely key. All
staff including SSOs, parents and students – everyone should participate in
making important decisions in the life of the school. It is important to
involve students in leadership and decision making programs.
Give attention to the needs of diverse
groups (Aboriginal, special need students) within the school. This is essential.
You are there for everyone.
Public Relations - make links with a
range of people and organisations and participate in their activities where
possible. This enriches the school as well as your lifelong learning.
Don’t get stuck in curriculum matters or
ideology. Grow and learn. Lifelong learning shapes and enriches.
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