19 Sep 2011
Warren Central School recently hosted a three day visit from Canadian school principal Mrs Melissa Nantais, as part of the Canadian/Australian program "Leading Educators around the Planet" (LEAP). The program facilitates professional development opportunities for principals in both countries.
Mrs Nantais is the principal of the Vincent Massey Secondary School in Windsor, Ontario, and was billeted by WCS principal, William White. In addition to spending time with the staff at Warren Central she also spent time at educational conferences in Sydney.
Vincent Massey Secondary School has 1600 students in years 9 – 12 , compared to the 264 K – 12 students at Warren Central.
"We are a large school with a diverse student population and I am really proud of the fact that our school is a real microcosm of the community. English is not the first language spoken at home for thirty percent of our students. Enrolment is open to anyone within our district however we also offer an enrichment pathway to which students outside our district can apply. We also offer pathways for students with disabilities and for those seeking to undertake subjects similar to Warren Central's Life Skills program."
Mrs Nantais spent her time visiting classrooms, speaking with students, sitting in on meetings with parents and staff and learning how the staff works together at Warren Central. She was most impressed by the level of technology supporting learning in the classrooms at Warren Central, in particular the smartboards in every classroom.
Canada has not gone down the same path as Australia with the number of standardised tests students must sit from years 3 to 12.
"Our students sit standardised tests in reading, writing and mathematics in years 3 and 6 then they are tested for math in year 9 and literacy in year 10. There is no equivalent of the Higher School Certificate and no ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) for selection into university, rather, universities look at results in subjects relevant to the course for which they are applying. Students earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma."
"Another difference in the systems is that students have to stay at school until they are 18, whereas I believe in NSW students have to either be in school, an approved educational institution, full time employment or a combination of both until they are 17."
Whilst in Australia Mrs Nantais is adding to her research in the area of how leadership can be developed in schools.
"Traditionally leadership is thought of as being attached to the principal of a school but schools need collective responsibility - department heads and teachers need to feel empowered to work together to lead the changes necessary to improve learning outcomes. This is particularly important as the formal leader of a school can change regularly. I am interested in observing models of leadership creation at work in other educational systems," said Mrs Nantais.
After her time in Warren and Sydney Mrs Nantais and her husband were off to take in the sights of Uluru and the area around Cairns before returning home to begin the new Canadian school year.
Mr White will be paying a reciprocal visit to Mrs Nantais' school in the next NSW school holidays.