Principals help shape national agenda
26 November 2009
By Rebecca Perry
150 Australian principals, including 20 from Queensland, gathered in Canberra last month to speak with federal Education Minister Julia Gillard.
Queensland principals have had their say on a range of national issues at a forum with federal Education Minister Julia Gillard.
Delegates from as far north as Thursday Island were among 150 principals at the two-day 'National Conversation' in Canberra earlier this month.
Bedourie State School principal Leanne Hohnke-Jansen, whose one-teacher school 500 kilometres south of Mount Isa has only 11 students including two of her own children, was the second-most remote representative.
'Canberra seems like a world away from where I live but I enjoyed sharing my perspective as a principal working in an isolated area,' Ms Hohnke-Jansen said.
'Half my students are Indigenous and we need to advocate for their needs.'
With a range of speakers, debates and discussions, the forum covered topics including the Education Revolution, the new national curriculum, assessment, reporting, literacy and numeracy, school infrastructure, Indigenous education and student wellbeing.
Principals discussed the new national My School website which will be fully operational next year and gives localised information on results and data, as well as the new Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).
Fellow Queensland representative Ross Smith, principal of Robina State High School on the Gold Coast, said the next step was completing the 'homework' Ms Gillard assigned.
'She was very interested in working with principals and wants our advice on how to best spend teacher leadership funding, create more opportunities for sharing information and encourage better communication between government and schools,' Mr Ross said.
Principals were chosen with the help of Australia's six national principal associations including the Catholic and Independent schools sectors.
More information is available from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website 
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