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Our schools are really community hubs, and I think that's particularly true in our remote and regional areas.
Andy Mison is the President of the Australian Secondary Principals’ Association, representing government school principals across the country.
He is a respected educator and school leader who is looking for major change as the Commonwealth and State governments continue negotiations towards the next National School Reform Agreement.
“We don't often get these opportunities to think about how we support and resource education in Australia. With that comes an opportunity to think about how we prioritize our investment,” he says.
“I think it's particularly vital given that public schools around Australia are not funded in the main to 100% of the school resource standard as at a minimum. And you know, unless we change that balance, that situation will remain for at least five years. So, I think that must be a priority.”
But he argues it is not only about funding.
“If you look at the higher performing systems that are at the top of the scale, Singapore, Japan, and Estonia. Just listening to them and ministers of education, a couple of fundamental things. They talk about valuing education in their society and the importance of bringing everybody up. The absolute importance for the productivity of the country, the overall lift for the whole society that you get when you invest in your most disadvantaged and bring everyone up.”
“It can't be just teachers. It has to be teachers, school leaders, all the people in the school community, parents, organisations like The Smith Family. We all have to work together to bring everybody up.”
Read more about the issues and The Smith Family’s submission to the review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System.
