Westbourne Grammar School parents concerned by teacher losses
A former AFL player has hit back at claims the Westbourne Grammar School board, of which he is head, has ignored parent concerns over the direction of the private school.
Education
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Several key senior leaders have quit Westbourne Grammar School and a number of parents claim the board, headed by former AFL footballer Ilija Grgic, has ignored their concerns and those of teachers about the direction of Westbourne Grammar School.
They have called for board intervention after teachers, some of them responsible for key VCE subjects and long serving staff members, quit or were moved in recent months.
The rumour mill at co-ed Westbourne Grammar School, in Williamstown and Truganina, has been in overdrive with some parents upset about the loss of staff.
A request was made to the board to investigate the resignations and how the school is operating under principal Meg Hansen.
But the board said it would not get involved in personnel issues and Mr Grgic said he had only personally received one letter.
The board recently reappointed Ms Hansen for a third term. Ms Hansen was previously principal at Lauriston Girls’ School, in Armadale, from 2000 to 2010.
The announcement said that under Ms Hansen’s leadership the school “has undergone significant growth and renewal”.
“In managing a dynamic program of strategic educational endeavours, coupled with extensive development and renewal of our buildings and grounds, Meg and the school’s executive team have secured Westbourne Grammar’s place as the school of choice in Melbourne’s fast growing west,” Mr Grgic wrote.
Parents said it was interpreted as a message from the board that they were not taking their concerns seriously. Parents have been loathe to be named as they fear it will affect their children at the school.
Mr Grgic, who played for Footscray, West Coast Eagles and Essendon and is now a successful businessman, said this week there were no issues at the school.
“As is standard in schools, 2019 has seen the usual retirements, relocations and promotions (to both internal and external positions). At the same time, a number of new roles have been created as a result of restructuring in the senior school,” he said.
He said recent whole school surveys revealed a high level of satisfaction among parents, staff and students “meeting, if not exceeding, results from other independent schools”.
“As you will understand, all matters pertaining to staffing and appointments
are subject to privacy legislation and are therefore confidential,” he said.
Fees at the school start at prep range from just under $16,000 to $23,000 in Year 12. The school has prep to Year 3 at Williamstown and early learning to Year 12 at the Truganina site.
Teachers leaving in key leadership positions include heads of house, directors of faculty, head of senior school, deputy head of school and other long serving staff members. A number of parents were particularly upset by the resignation of head of senior school Louisa Scerri who has been with the school since 2003.
It is understood simmering issues came to a head when some leaders were asked to complete a survey.
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The survey ranked them and gave them a profile based on a hierarchical leadership model. Concern centred around the way the research was conducted and no debrief was offered to staff about how the data would be used.
Although the teaching cohort has not been active in union matters, they called in a representative of the Independent Education Union to support them and offer advice.
“This is unprecedented as usually the union is only involved at the school when an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement is being negotiated,” an insider said.
Industrial action was understood to be on the table but teachers did not want to disadvantage VCE students.
A parent said some families were actively talking about pulling their children out of the school while others are said to be upset that the staff
changes have been unsettling for their children.
Among the gripes at the school:
— Claims Ms Hansen did not attend enough VCE functions this year.
— After an IT manager was let go from the school teachers asked for the person to be reinstated. The position was redundant but another person in a similar role was later appointed.
— A number of jobs, including head of senior school, deputy head of senior school and learning enhancement teachers – primary school, are being advertised.
— The staff turnover is not regarded as natural attrition for some insiders.
— A number of staff are looking at what recourse they may have.
In his statement on Ms Hansen’s reappointment, Mr Grgic continued:
“As evidenced by our full enrolments and waiting lists, her vision and leadership of the school has been, and continues to be, most impressive. Indeed, it is her dedication to securing the best outcomes for Westbourne’s students and its wider community that underpins our current strategic intent and plans for the school into the future.”
Westbourne was founded in 1867 in Williamstown and has the motto Think Like a Hero.