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Dear Colleagues,

Is your school a better school because you lead it?

That is not a rhetorical question! It is the very provocative question posed in a 2017 article in Education Leadership , linked in a newsletter I was reading recently. According to the article’s author, former US principal and now education consultant Baruti Kafele , the answer to this question will be related to your overall leadership effectiveness, including your leadership identity, mission, purpose and vision.

Typically the success of a Head’s leadership is measured by their performance against a set of KPIs established by the school’s Board. But Kafele reminds us that much of our performance as leaders hinges on who we are and the values we uphold, and how these inform our leadership identity.

If effective leadership is so closely linked to leaders’ personal attributes and identity, it follows that improving one’s leadership must entail personal growth, not just the refinement or acquisition of skills. This challenge is examined in an article published by McKinsey & Company, ‘Understanding the leader’s “identity mindtrap”: Personal growth for the C-suite’ .

Authors Jennifer Garvey Berger and Zafer Gedeon Achi of international consultancy firm, Cultivating Leadership , claim that most of us ‘focus our energy on projecting – and protecting – the person we have become, not on growing into the person we might become next’: and thus we fall into an ‘identity mindtrap’.

Berger and Achi argue that hidden beliefs govern our leadership identity. They identify four common ‘mindtraps’ and four 'forms of mind' that influence the way we think and use scenarios to illustrate how these affect leadership in an organisational setting. The authors also offer three questions for self-interrogation that can help liberate us from mindtraps and improve our leadership: Why do I believe what I believe? How could I be wrong? Who do I want to be next?

Self-knowledge can be hard to acquire and, even when we do have the courage or curiosity to begin the journey of self-development, there may be a niggling uncertainty that we have not been ruthless enough in our self-examination. For that reason I invite members who believe they are ready to take their leadership to a new level to consider undertaking AHISA’s School Leadership Survey 360-degree review . The SLS360 aligns with the Australian Professional Standard for Principals and is conducted by former Heads who have a deep understanding of autonomous school leadership. Importantly, it offers benchmarking against other autonomous school leaders.

As Berger and Achi’s article demonstrates, leadership development is the key to organisational development. In challenging times, it pays to know who we are and how we lead.

Kind regards,
BETH BLACKWOOD
beth.blackwood@ahisa.edu.au
T 02 6247 7300 M 0417 180 842
Our news
SLS360 case study: Dr Paul Hine, St Ignatious College Riverview
Principal Paul Hine highly recommends the AHISA School Leadership Survey and has used it extensively over the past 4 years, with all of the leadership and management staff at Riverview. Paul says:

"The benefits of the SLS are that it’s efficient and tailored specifically for schools. In a short time we get quality data that is benchmarked against data from independent schools nationwide, so our staff can see how they are tracking relative to others.

It also allows us to affirm the really great work that is done by senior leaders in schools, and help staff identify areas for growth, in a meaningful way.

One of the best features of the SLS is the debriefing and expert advice that go hand in hand with the information gathered by the survey. After the debriefing with the AHISA reviewer, I meet with the person and talk to them about the feedback. Together we work out what three goals they want to work on over the next couple of years. It’s an excellent opportunity for critical reflection and review. 

For us, the SLS360 acts as a quality improvement system that helps to develop our people, and the efficacy of our whole organisation. We find it incredibly worthwhile."

Find out more and book a review now.
Government
National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.
Please note that the current deadline for schools to be accepted into the National Redress Scheme is 30 June 2020. Given that processing applications seems to be taking up to six months any school considering joining should make a decision as soon as possible. There is advice for Heads considering the scheme provided by Russell Kennedy lawyers available on our website .

Funding for drought-affected school communities
The Australian Government has doubled its commitment to non-government schools serving drought-affected communities, with an additional $10 million to be available to schools in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia for fee relief. Information about the national response to rebuilding communities affected by bushfires can be found on the website of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency .

Suicide prevention
The Australian Government has announced a $64 million package to action initial advice from the National Suicide Prevention Adviser, Ms Christine Morgan. As part of the package, additional funding has been committed to support initiatives for young people – particularly those in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and in regional and rural areas – through organisations such as the Raise Foundation, ReachOut and headspace.

Novel Coronavirus updates
The World Health Organisation has declared that the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The Australian Government is continuing to update its advice on and response to 2019-nCoV. Some information sheets issued by the federal Department of Health are in simplified Chinese as well as English. The Conversation is posting information contributed by researchers on the nature of the virus .
Coronavirus and anti-Chinese prejudice in schools
An article in the Conversation discusses how schools can combat the social stigmatisation and xenophobia that unfortunately go hand in hand with disease outbreaks and can take a toll on a young person’s self-esteem and identity. Key points include:
  • Schools can build trust by actively providing clear information about the rationale for control measures. 
  • Teachers can provide students with reliable information and help students understand the difference between evidence and speculation or comment.
  • They can also equip students to analyse the information they are receiving from all sources and encourage critical reflection and analysis of those messages. 
Awards, events & courses
School Law Conferences
LawSense is again offering School Law Conferences throughout May and June in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

There are also Law for School Counsellors conferences in NSW, QLD and Vic in March.

Australia Day honours
We'd like to congratulate the following current and former AHISA members on their awards:
  • Jillian Lange-Mohr, Geelong Lutheran College, Head of College, since 2018
  • Mark Morrison, Macleay Vocational College, Principal, since 2012 
  • Dr Leoni Degenhardt, Principal, Loreto Normanhurst, 1994–2008
  • Diane Fleming, Principal, Kilvington Baptist Girls' Grammar, 1993–2001
  • Julie Ryan, Principal, Our Lady of Mercy College, Heidelberg, 2005–2017

BHP Foundation Science and Engineering awards  2020
Congratulations to the following students at AHISA members' schools for their awards:
Engineering Award Winners
2nd Nathan Chan, Engineering, Barker College, NSW
2nd Eleanor Clifton-Bligh, Investigations, PLC Sydney , NSW
3rd Willow Ingram, Investigations, The Friends' School, TAS

Finalists
Emma Leggett-Budden, Engineering, Barker College, NSW
Rohan Fahey, Engineering, Barker College, NSW
William Spargo, Engineering, Barker College, NSW
Angela Rofail, Investigations, PLC Sydney, NSW
Clare Racki, Investigations, PLC Sydney, NSW
Prathicksha Venkatesan, Investigations, Walford Anglican School for Girls, SA
Rian Klinger, Investigations, Marist Regional College, TAS
Leadership & management
Ten year strategic plan
In its latest newsletter, Canadian Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) included the following web-based version of St Michaels University School’s decadal strategic plan . AHISA members may be interested in the framing of the plan and presentation.

The elements of good judgment
Good judgment is critical for policy-making and reaching decisions. This Harvard Business Review article examines what contributes to good judgment: the ability to combine personal qualities with relevant knowledge and experience to form opinions and make decisions. The article identifies six components of good judgment:
  • Learning: listen attentively, read critically
  • Trust: seek diversity, not validation
  • Experience: make it relevant but not narrow
  • Detachment: identify, and then challenge, biases
  • Options: question the solution set offered
  • Delivery: factor in the feasibility of execution.
Research & reports
Research on homework
An article by the Centre for Independent Studies looks at r eviews of the research to date which consistently find that homework has small but significant positive effects on academic achievement, across subjects and year groups. However, the OECD also found there are 'diminishing returns' to homework: beyond a certain amount, extra homework doesn’t help any further. The article concludes that the right kind of homework in the correct amounts is valuable and 15 minutes of homework per day during primary school won’t steal anyone’s childhood.
Using the 5 Ws to assess digital content
The Connected Learning Alliance suggests some useful ways to adapt and change the 5Ws — Who, What, Where, When and Why — to help students assess digital information. These questions can help students assess when their emotions are being used to elicit a response, if content is created by a human or bot, when the content was last updated and whether certain devices are the best way to access information.
Australian teachers feel unappreciated and at risk of burnout
A report by Monash University identified teacher workload and well-being as concerns from both teachers and the public. If not addressed, these will lead to a teacher shortage in Australia. One of the alarming findings from this study is that 71 per cent of teachers report they don’t feel appreciated, even though 93 per cent of Australians trust teachers to do a good job in the classroom.
Kids learn best when you add a problem-solving boost to ‘back-to-basics’ instruction
In an article in the Conversation , Andrew Martin argues that to address the declining PISA results, we need to embrace 'back to basics' and optimise problem-solving at the same time. He says that b ack-to-basics and problem-solving should go hand in hand. But the order in which things are done is critical. Explicit instruction must first be used to ease the load on students as they learn the basics. Then, when some expertise has developed, students move to guided inquiry to nurture their problem-solving capacity.
Resources

Conversation starters for Safer Internet Day 11 February
The e-Safety Commissioner is offering classroom activities, including conversation starters that will make it easier to talk about online safety with kids and young people. 
Readings on encouraging parental engagement
Teacher magazine has collated 5 suggestions for further reading on parental engagement in education, exploring topics such as parent-teacher collaboration, how to best engage parents in their child’s learning to improve student outcomes, and the importance of parents building relationships with the families of their child’s friends.

Trauma-informed SEL toolkit
Transforming Education has released a research-based educator toolkit focused on an approach to social-emotional learning (SEL) that is particularly inclusive of and responsive to the needs of children and youth who have experienced or are currently experiencing trauma. The toolkit provides a brief overview of the types of adversities that research suggests can have a negative effect on children's lives and a PowerPoint offers strategies that educators can use in their classrooms and schools to support students.
Parenting
Resources for climate change anxiety
The Australian Psychological Society has two great parent guides to raising children in a climate changed world and talking about the climate crisis .

Children who talk often with their parents about climate change are more concerned about climate change but are also better at coping with it. One of the best antidotes to anxiety is action.
Provocation
It's 2020. Why Are You Still Using PowerPoint? 
An article in Inc.com claims that PowerPoint makes it harder for an audience to understand and retain the the information that you're trying to communicate. The reason? When the brain tries to simultaneously process multiple versions of the same message, it creates confusion (a.k.a. cognitive overload). Powerpoint also discourages note taking and discussion which actually does increase both understanding and retention. One university study found that students retained 15 per cent less information delivered verbally by the lecturer during PowerPoint presentations.
Do your teachers have out of pocket expenses?
Many graduate teachers spend hundreds of dollars on resources to set up their classrooms, according to an ABC News article . At the beginning of the school year, it might be worth considering your school's approach to expenses and resources.