Four school leaders in northern NSW describe how they have used strategies from the Stronger Smarter Specialists Program to deepen their understandings and skills to work with staff to build a culture of high expectations across their schools. Stronger Smarter facilitator Damian Bisogni has been talking to some of his colleagues in Ballina about how they are using the Stronger … Read More

Sam Saunders Teacher School of Special Educational Needs ‘Most of the schools up here are Stronger Smarter schools so we all come from a common place and we all endorse those practices and high expectation leadership.’ Sam Saunders, Teacher Engagement Sam Saunders is a consultant teacher for the School of Special Educational Needs: Behaviour and Engagement based in Broome and works with schools across the Kimberley region.  Sam … Read More

Renee Matheson Principal St Augustine’s Parish Primary School ‘Stronger Smarter – it’s really about common language. It affirmed a lot of my feelings about teaching and education and it’s really about our students. If you’ve always got the students in your forefront, then nothing can go wrong for those kids’ Renee Matheson Renee Matheson has been the Principal of St Augustine’s … Read More

Evelyn Allard Teacher Lockhart State School ‘When I did Stronger Smarter and read Chris Sarra’s book, I felt like it really changed my life. I suddenly said “no, I’m not going to dumb down the curriculum. These kids are so smart I need to change my approach.’ Evelyn Allard Evelyn Allard was a teacher at Lockhart State School in Queensland when … Read More

An interview with Matt Thompson If a kid’s sitting at home watching daytime TV or kicking a can down the road rather than coming to school, then we have to ask ‘What’s happening at this school?”  Matt Thompson, Principal, Whitfield State School Matt Thompson, the Principal of Whitfield State School in Cairns, undertook one of the very first Stronger Smarter … Read More

Sacred Heart School school, on the country of the Nyul Nyul people in the remote community of Beagle Bay, on the Kimberley coastline of Western Australia, caters for 90% Aboriginal students from Kindergarten to Year 10. Lyla Forte, the school’s Principal says the Stronger Smarter Leadership Program emphasied the need to aspire to quality relationships on a daily basis. “Unless … Read More

Principal Claudine Dank, says the ideas that Stronger Smarter teaches are important to St Kieran’s Catholic School  with a 17% Indigenous student population and situated on the traditional lands of the Kalkadoon people at Mt Isa. Claudine says the Stronger Smarter Approach fits well with the school’s focus on embedding Indigenous culture. “We have already embedded lots of aspects of … Read More

“For me, it has made sure that I’m conscious, not only in my classroom, but within my stage that I’m setting high expectations for myself and staff and this filters down to the students, using the tools that Stronger Smarter provided.” (Kate Payne)  Kate Payne and Louise Groves, Assistant Principals  Yarning Circles in the classroom After undertaking the Stronger Smarter … Read More

When Warrnambool Primary School Principal, Peter Auchettl, and teacher Jacqui Gore undertook the Stronger Smarter Leadership Program in 2013, they sat down to think about how to integrate the Stronger Smarter culture and ethos across the school. “First we needed to gather information,” Peter says.  “We found out about the local mob and the history and then we made a … Read More

The kids today don’t know our culture.  So this is bringing their identity back and their tribes and where they fit in with people. Auntie Joan Marshall and Tina Butcher, Mount Isa Central State School Tina Butcher and Auntie Joan Marshall believe that making a difference for Aboriginal students in the Mount Isa area has to start from the ground … Read More