How can an underperforming school be turned around? Karen Wade, principal of Bentleigh Secondary College, has shown how effective it can be to set and expect high standards.
Wade was recognised as the 2014 Secondary Principal of the Year at the Victorian Education Excellence Awards. Her leadership and success in turning her school around from a campus of dissatisfaction to one of pride has been singled out as an exemplary case study and model.
When Wade joined the school as principal in 2009, morale was low, she says.
"I remember feeling dismayed at the time hearing discussions in the corridors about the schools down the road and what they were doing."
Wade introduced a new school motto: "Being the best you can be". A smart new school uniform and clearly communicated code of conduct were embraced by the school community. Whole school assemblies became the norm and new awards for students and staff recognised achievement.
A grant in 2012 of $100,000 was channelled towards the construction of the school's Meditation and Indigenous Cultural Centre. Parents, motivated by the positive changes at the school, provided support, donations and services to reduce the building cost estimate of $330,000 to $135,000. A sustainability program, led by teacher Bill Thomas, has won many awards, including one from the United Nations.
Within the award-winning learning environment, staff and students began to thrive. With the adoption of "explicit instruction" learning practices, teachers spell out their learning and success criteria at the beginning of the lesson so that students know what to focus on. Data is continuously gleaned to ensure students are working at the right level. "We've long relied on intuition and feelings as teachers, but without data, it's hard to know what's really going on," Wade says.
Students were enthusiastic about new and aspirational activities, including overseas study trips and a debutante ball.
The school's Mindfulness Meditation program was introduced to help students cope with busy schedules and the effects of constant stimulation by digital technology. "Many students weren't getting enough sleep or weren't able to concentrate for long periods . . . Now they can switch off from outside stimulus and focus their minds," Wade says.
Today, the secondary college is seeing the results of an improved sense of institutional esteem, with overall increases in test scores, growing enrolments and celebrated sustainability and wellbeing programs.
"One of the best rewards for all the changes is that students are proud to be members of the Bentleigh Secondary College learning community," she says. "Students and staff are clearly happy to be here."
To find out more about the Victorian Education Excellence Awards, see education.vic.gov.au/veea
