Trevor Fletcher: How to choose a great school for your child

PARENTS of school-aged children are, not surprisingly, very interested in the quality of schools serving their local areas and in the ongoing dialogue regarding the centrality of success in education for individuals, communities and our nation.

Generic stock image education Schoolchildren and Teacher in Science Class

PARENTS of school-aged children and members of the broader community are, not surprisingly, very interested in the quality of schools serving their local areas and in the ongoing dialogue regarding the centrality of success in education for individuals, communities and our nation.

Too often the discussion is restricted to debates over funding, structural or industrial issues, which in my experience are not the main factors we ought to be looking at, as we seek to genuinely improve our schools.

A recent article in The Advertiser by Peter Mader highlighted the pivotal importance of quality teaching for parents as they make the decision about which secondary school their child should attend.

I support this view and I am optimistic that as we fully implement the recommendations of the recent national review of teacher education in Australia, we will see a lift in the overall quality of teaching in our public and private schools.

However, having worked in senior positions in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, I have observed some very interesting developments and emerging trends which have changed the landscape for students, teachers, principals and parents. These developments include:

A BLURRING of the distinctions between government and non-government schools as the levels of local decision-making and scope for innovation have increased in the public sector.

MORE DATA and information about school and system performance available for all to see.

A GREATER emphasis in many schools on developing a genuine focus on continual improvement, staff performance reviews and raising expectations regarding opportunities and outcomes for students.

SUCCESSFUL schools realising the need to devote most of their time, energy and resources on building their internal capacity to impact on the “main game”, which is improving teaching and learning for our students.

THE SHIFT to a new set of “three R’s” which are relationships, relevance and resilience.

There are three critical aspects which I have consistently observed in successful schools whether they are primary, secondary, specialist, public or private.

These defining aspects are thinking, disposition and school culture, which in my view are much more important than funding, regulations or history.

Effective school leadership must exist for these elements to grow and flourish in a school. We need to have principals in particular who are accessible to students, parents and staff, who are proactive rather than reactive, who demonstrably operate as leaders of learning and who are seen as optimistic, positive individuals who possess a “bias to yes”.

It is encouraging to note that in all of the jurisdictions where I have worked, I have come across quite a few school leaders who match the above description. However, it is disappointing that over the years I have also encountered too many principals across Australia who do not fit this description.

They are too often absent landlords or landladies; away from their school at conferences or meetings and when they are at school they can be locked in their office, reacting to the latest crisis and not sufficiently interacting with students, parents and staff.

School communities have every right to expect that their principal will be in their school at least 90 per cent of the time. Great schools ensure that their leaders are visible, accessible and connected to their communities.

One of the great challenges across Australia in 2016 is the imminent retirement of a large number of our current school leaders. This is occurring at a time when there has been a concerning decline in the level of interest in advertised school leadership vacancies.

One lingering and disturbing urban myth is that there are simply not enough talented professionals who are capable of taking up these important positions. The truth is that in schools where the prevailing culture is lacking in encouragement and belief, cynical and focused on people surviving rather than thriving, there is not surprisingly little interest in school leadership roles.

In those schools the leadership roles are too often perceived to be disconnected from the main game, undesirable or at worst undoable. However, the reverse is also true.

At Eastern Fleurieu School, we currently have at least 25 teachers and leaders who are both very interested in and most capable of being highly effective school principals in the foreseeable future. Half of those are already at the point where they could be very successful if they were to take on such a role next week.

There are sufficient numbers of similar schools in every jurisdiction, for those schools to become the main suppliers of our future school leaders. More could and should be done to make this happen.

The end result could then be more schools led and driven by a positive combination of thinking, disposition and culture.

Trevor Fletcher is the principal of Eastern Fleurieu School and member of Boards for Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership and Australian College of Educators.