Tania EVIDENCED

James PROFESSIONAL
CAPABILITIES
EDUCATOR

LEAD CHANGE AND WORK STRATEGICALLY 

I have the ability to turn strategic ideas into practice and collaborate with others to achieve success. I
work as a role model to inspire, challenge and develop others.
During my time at Our Lady of Mercy, I was granted the room to experiment and implement new initiatives.
This involved the introduction of systems and processes which aligned to the school's strategic directions
and supported the school's annual improvement goals. This included;

Leading staff in the creation of whole school policies such as; Induction of New Staff & Early Career
Teacher’s policy, Behaviour Management & Student Welfare Policy & Teacher Reflective Practice Policy
Introduction of a 'Distributed Leadership' Structure which included; the 'Lead Teacher' Initiative - a
model of peer-to-peer coaching, the introduction of 'Staff Committees' (action research groups) as
means of driving whole school improvement
Development of staff relationship and feedback tools - '10min Rounds' 
Introducing systematic approach to Parent Teacher Interviews
Introduction of Playground Duty Files - to monitor patterns of behaviour and provide accountability
Introduction of a whole school teaching and learning philosophy (supported by Lead Teachers) and
resulted in the development of a Staff Handbook
Introduction of authentic, staff led Professional Learning Community Meetings

Bill Martin, co-author of "Schools That Deliver" commented “The school’s work on distributed leadership is
as good as I have witnessed as I travel the world. It is a story worth sharing.”   These changes led to
significant improvements in staff morale and contributed to a positive school culture.  This is evidenced by
the comparisons of the 2014 and 2016 School Climate Survey data. In my final year at OLOM, I led staff
through a review process which succinctly explains the 4-year journey. You can access this presentation
here. 

I am proud to add, as part of my work as Vice-President at the Catholic Assistant Principals' Association of
Western Australia (CAPA W.A.), I also led the development and implementation of the Association's first
strategic plan. Part of this process was leading the executive in creating a new vision and mission
statement, rebranding & marketing, and starting a new practice of writing annual goals aligned to this
Strategic Plan. These goals are reported back to CAPA W.A. members twice a year at the annual Member's
Day and AGM.   
Tania EVIDENCED

James PROFESSIONAL
CAPABILITIES
EDUCATOR

IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES

I have the skillset to promote a performance development culture with the ability to use initiative,
introduce new curriculum ideas, drive change, inspire and lead staff 
The two most important factors in raising student achievement are relationships and developing teacher
capacity. Improved student outcomes don't occur within a vacuum, therefore, it is important to first
establish a positive workplace culture with a clear vision from the leadership team that is articulated
through effective systems and policies (as outlined above). This promotes consistency within the workplace
and staff feel safe in the knowledge all persons are working within the same job expectations. 

Curriculum is constantly changing, as is the research surrounding best practice. My strength is my ability to
stay up-to-date with contemporary education issues through professional reading and a vast professional
learning network. As a leader, my core business is to continually lead staff in developing their curriculum
knowledge and keep up-to-date with high impact instructional practices.  It is necessary for staff to develop
and, be proficient in, a full range of instructional strategies including Explicit Direct Instruction, Inquiry-
Based Learning and incorporating 21st Century Skills into daily teaching. I was part of a leadership team that
successfully implemented a whole school approach to teaching and learning. This saw us gain national
recognition two years in a row for substantial gains in student achievement. This, in a school situated in a
low socio-economic area with 62% of students ESL (English as a second language). Read more by clicking
here.

We began implement this new teaching philosophy in the Early Childhood years. Our students in Pre-
Primary (5yr olds) made substantial gains within 12 months by closing the gap between our students and the
state average and in one case, crossing over to above the state average (see PIPs data below). 

After introducing a whole school teaching and

learning philosophy, starting in ECE, the Pre-
Primary students moved from below the state
average to closing the gap or moving above in
12 months (school - red, state average - blue)
Tania EVIDENCED

James PROFESSIONAL
CAPABILITIES
EDUCATOR

BUILDING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS

I have a successful record of developing positive relationships with students, staff and parents.  I have a strong
sense of collaboration with the ability to communicate and manage relationships effectively.

There are a number of elements that make up a true, distributed leadership structure. You can read more
about how we created this structure here. Changes in mindsets, meant staff were allowed to take control of the
PLC meetings, agendas were set by the staff, for the staff. In addition to this, we created 'staff committees'
which were a follow on from short-term, action research groups for school improvement. Each committee had
three school improvement recommendations to action. Committee leaders (who are not people on the
leadership team) meet with the Principal regularly to share information and update him on current progress
towards the school improvement recommendations. We also set regular times at staff meetings for
Committees to report back to the whole staff on their agendas and progress. Parents were also part of the staff
committee groups. Staff have an element of control over whole school decision making processes especially in
regards to school improvement but also in regards to creating their own, improved, working environment. 

10min rounds was another initiative born to create trusting relationships between the school leaders and
classroom teachers. You can read more about this here.  10-minute rounds involves a member of leadership
meeting each of their teachers, every week for 10minutes. This is purely a “feeding back” exercise. Each week,
the school leaders ask their teachers a set of standard questions. Leaders listen and record everything in their
10minute round book. At weekly leadership meetings the leaders report back on what was said. The leadership
team decide collectively on how to respond to staff requests or queries and also identify any patterns of
concern or isolate other issues, which may need attention. In a way, the leadership team get to know the
classroom concerns and students in a more intimate way because we are hearing about each classroom every
single week. I believe the distributed leadership model contributed significantly to to our improved staff
morale and school culture as evidence in our School Climate survey which was taken every two years. 

Comparison of School Climate Survey Data 2014-2016

*Percentage indicates those who answered favourably to the question e.g. agree/strongly
agree OR disagree / strongly disagree if that response is considered favourable

Staff responses to questions about Empowerment 2014
There is an opportunity to participate in decision
making at this school 76.7%
There are forums in this school where I can
express my views and opinions 56.7%
Staff responses to questions about Empowerment 2016
There is an opportunity to participate in decision
making at this school 100.0%
There are forums in this school where I can
express my views and opinions 78.1%

Staff responses to questions about Ownership 2014
The school has a clearly stated set of objectives
and goals 76.7%
The staff are committed to the school's goals and
values 90.0%
There is an agreement about the teaching
philosophy of this school 80.0%
Staff responses to questions about Ownership 2016
The school has a clearly stated set of objectives
and goals 100.0%
The staff are committed to the school's goals and
values 100.0%
There is an agreement about the teaching
philosophy of this school 100.0%
Tania EVIDENCED

James PROFESSIONAL
CAPABILITIES
EDUCATOR

PROMOTE TEACHER REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

I have the skills to promote exemplary, innovative and reflective teacher practice 

The Lead Teacher initiative was introduced to support the school's teaching
and learning philosophy. Lead Teachers are responsible for supporting
teachers to improve their classroom practice. They are not to be considered
curriculum drivers or data experts but they do know how to measure the
impact of classroom teaching on student learning. Their role is focused entirely
on lesson implementation, strategies and optimal classroom instruction. Most
importantly, Lead Teachers inspire others through their own practice and aim
to build a sense of team across all of the teaching staff. I made it clear in the job
outline that the three core role descriptors of a Lead Teacher are;
 (i) Promote professional learning for continuous improvement
 (ii) Facilitate  improvements in instruction and student learning
 (iii) Promote collaboration and not competition - this being the most
important of all

At the end of our first year of the Lead Teacher Initiative, 81.3% of staff said
they found the support from the Lead Teachers to be beneficial to their
teaching (3 out of the 16 staff members surveyed, found it was not beneficial to
improving their teaching practice). You can read more about how I
implemented the Lead Teacher Initiative here. 

 FOSTER DATA-DRIVEN IMPROVEMENT

I have vast experience in academic tracking, assessment and reporting in a primary school setting

Whilst working at the Catholic Education Office, part of my core business was to run workshops assisting schools to
interpret their NAPLAN Data (National Testing) using the Appraise Software. I also set up a website to assist school
leadership teams in facilitating this workshop in their own schools.  I have presented workshops which led teachers
in understanding formative and summative assessment methods. While at Our Lady of Mercy, myself and my
colleague (Assistant Principal), created a Reading Data Wall which was used for regular data team meetings. You can
find out more about our data wall, here. At two schools, I have introduced quality ECE screening and assessment
tools allowing us to identify students for early intervention. I've presented at local, regional conferences on the topic
of "Data Tools for Teachers" - assisting teachers to understand their educational impact on student achievement
through the use of effect sizes and data teams analysis.