Fast-track program for NSW future school leaders

A program to attract — and keep — schoolteachers in NSW has seen Isaac Keenan make a total career change. He will be fast-tracked to principal within a decade.

On ethe fast track: Airds High School teacher Isaac Keenan, with students Isaiah Ao, Jessica Mayor, Unitty Tauo and Justice Dixon 15. Picture: Tim Hunter

He’s made the switch this year from a chemist at the Port Kembla steelworks to a science teacher in southwest Sydney, and thanks to a new program Isaac Keenan will be fast-tracked to principal within a decade.

The 25-year-old is among 41 future school leaders chosen for the next round of the education department’s FASTstream program, set to start in 2023.

It’s the second group to take part in the intensive mentoring and accelerated leadership scheme, and for Mr Keenan it’s his chance to “make a difference”.

“I grew up in a disadvantaged home in a disadvantaged suburb — Berkeley, south of Wollongong,” he said.

“After I finished my science degree I got a job as a senior analytical chemist at BlueScope steel, analysing environmental and metal samples.

Airds High School science teacher Isaac Keenan, centre, has been selected for a new program which will see him fastracked to be a principal. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“But I didn’t want to be in a lab all day, I really wanted to make a difference in the world and so undertook further study and switched to teaching.”

Mr Keenan said his role as a science teacher at Airds High School, a Connected Communities school, was very rewarding — and he was thrilled to be selected for the FASTstream program.

Isaac Keenan during his previous work life as a chemist at BlueScope Steel, during a visit with Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Picture: Supplied

“We have a diverse demographic here, including a high Indigenous enrolment, and to see a ‘light bulb’ turning on for students when they learn something new and apply it is fantastic,” he said.

“The FASTstream program accelerates your career pathway into executive leadership — and I’d love to be a principal by 35 — I’m passionate about making big system changes and making sure every student, no matter their background, is given abundant opportunities to flourish.”

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the second group of FASTstream participants would be placed in a range of different school settings, including regional and remote schools.

“The program helps bring our best teachers and future leaders to regional and rural communities, encouraging participants to consider a career in the bush,” she said.

“We know great school leadership is crucial in lifting student and school outcomes and providing all our students with opportunities to succeed.

PUSH TO ATTRACT – AND KEEP – TEACHERS

“That’s why it’s so important to identify and support our school leaders at every stage of their career.”

Ms Mitchell said the program was part of the department’s investment in school leadership development, and its push to attract and retain teachers.

She acknowledged a damning report released this week which found two thirds of public school teachers felt burnt out. In the 2022 People Matter Employee Survey, 63 per cent of teachers said they would leave within the next 10 years while one in 10 said they would quit within a year.

“All frontline staff have been through an incredibly tough year — nurses, paramedics and teachers all reported high levels of burnout. For teachers, 2022 was the first time we operated schools face-to-face while Covid was in the community since the pandemic began,” Ms Mitchell said.

“It meant that students could return to the classroom, but it also meant schools were operating with an incredibly high amount of sick leave, with more than 700,000 sick days taken – the equivalent of at least two weeks off for every teacher in the public system.”

She said to acknowledge this, there would be an additional two student-free days for teachers and an increase of release time from face-to-face teaching for high school teachers to six hours a week and two-and-a-half hours a week for primary school teachers.

Meantime applications for the third FASTstream cohort will open for teachers and teaching graduates in December.