MEDIA RELEASE
29 April 2009
MAJOR INDIGENOUS EDUCATION AWARDS SHARED BY FIVE SCHOOLS
Five exemplary schools and programs – three from Western Australia, one from Brisbane and
one from Sydney – are the major winners of the prestigious Dare to Lead Excellence in Leadership in
Indigenous Education Awards. The awards were announced by the Hon. Julia Gillard, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister for Education, at a ceremony in Parliament House, Canberra on 29 April 2009.
The Awards, now in their fifth year, acknowledge schools and school leaders working in a
focused and strategic way to achieve excellence in improving Indigenous student outcomes, with
outstanding leadership, engagement with the local Indigenous community, and demonstrated
improvements in targeted performance areas.
“These schools are outstanding examples of the positive change that can be engineered
through strong leadership, innovation, astute use of data, and genuine connection with local
Indigenous communities,” Dare to Lead manager Susan Boucher said. “These five High Achievement
Award-winners deserve the highest praise, but they also stand as examples of the outstanding work
many school leaders are doing in addressing the most pressing issue in Australian education – closing
the gap in outcomes between non-Indigenous and Indigenous students.”
The High Achievement Award winners (in alphabetical order):
* EAST KALGOORLIE PRIMARY SCHOOL is a Kindergarten-Year 7 school on the
outskirts of Kalgoorlie, WA. Almost all of its students are Indigenous. Despite a very transient student
population it is working to increase attendance, engagement and academic outcomes. (Contact: Donna
Bridge, Principal 08 9021 2542)
*KARRATHA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL is a secondary school in the Pilbara region of
WA which works with community and other partners to offer the Gumala Mirnuwarni Education
Project. This has increased attendance, reduced suspensions and helped graduates into tertiary
education, traineeships and employment. (Contact: Ray McMillan, Principal 08 9185 2155)
*ONE ARM POINT REMOTE COMMUNITY SCHOOL is located 200km north of
Broome, and 95 of its 100 students are Indigenous. It instituted a Bardi Cultural Program after
consultation with Elders, and the resulting community connectedness is having an impact on
numeracy and literacy. (Contact: Stephen Price, Principal 08 9192 4932)
*SOUTHSIDE EDUCATION is an Independent facility in Brisbane’s southern suburbs for
secondary-aged young women who have suffered physical, emotional and/or social abuse. It has
dramatically increased the number of Indigenous students completing Year 12 and gaining
traineeships. (Contact: Lorraine Ward, Assistant Principal 07 3423 7499)
*WILLMOT PUBLIC SCHOOL is located in a low socio-economic area of Western
Sydney. Through introducing a range of programs concentrating on school readiness and connection
with parents, the school has achieved a sharp increase in attendance, a marked drop in suspensions
and improved academic outcomes. (Contact: Peter Corney, Principal 02 9628 0222)
Dare to Lead is a collegial project driven by the profession, designed to achieve data-
evidenced improvements in the key indicators of Year 5 literacy and Year 12 completion for
Indigenous students, and foster Reconciliation in all schools. This initiative is funded by the
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, and managed by Principals
Australia.
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