01 - Department of Education and Communities - NSW Government

APPENDICESCreated a team approach to school level evaluation and annualschool reporting by meeting and working directly with communitygroups of secondary principals, their superintendents and chiefeducation officers to explain, explore and consult of matters ofimplementation and to resolve conflict and distrust. This resultedin the rapid and successful introduction of school self-evaluationprocesses and annual school reports in secondary across the tendistricts without any industrial conflict.Provided statewide oversight for all matters relating to technologyand learning within the context of the Teaching and Learningportfolio. This included the HSC Online project; further developingan alternative for educational presence at the Australian TechnologyPark; negotiating the refinement and development of software tomeet the needs of outcomes based education initiatives in syllabusand curriculum provision, assessment and school self-evaluation.Acted as chair of the department’s Computers in SchoolsManagement committee which coordinated all directorates’ inputto the government initiative including the roll out of computers,training and development and additional staffing components.Provided highly effective liaison with the state AboriginalEducation Consultative Group (AECG) in order to resolve issuesof concern and conflict at the local level by working with the AECG,district superintendents, school principals and their communities.These activities strengthened the initiatives created in 1996 andresulted in fewer matters involving conflict between the Kooricommunity and schools escalating to a state level and attractingmedia attention.Played a major role as a member and alternate chair of the Director-General’s Advisory Group on Aboriginal Education. Providedstrong leadership and visible commitment by direct involvementin interdistrict training and development activities to introduce theAboriginal Education policy. Represented the Director-General asa member of the MCEETYA Anti-Racism Taskforce and the EthnicAffairs Inter-Agency Committee.Worked as a consultant to the World Bank involved in two missions,May and November, to The Gambia in West Africa to continue thedevelopment of a proposal to introduce nine years of basiceducation to all children. Provided high level advice, leadershipand guidance to the department of State for Education of theGambia.George Green, MA, DipSchAdmin, MACE, AssistantDirector-GeneralEnsure the effective implementation across districts of the programsand commitments of the Government as expressed in Departmentalpriorities and plans. Implement Government policies and prioritiesfor school operations. Provide effective leadership for the publicschool system. As a member of State Executive provide advice tothe Director-General on strategic direction, policies and operationalissues relating to the management and performance of schools anddistricts. Be a significant source of policy advice to the Director-General and Minister. Manage statewide programs, projects andreviews requiring high level internal and external consultativeskills. Manage major grievance and other appeals and undertakeinvestigations on behalf of the Director-General. Coordinateexternal relations. Oversight the daily operations of the publicschool system in school districts across western Sydney.Consolidated the district structure across Bankstown, Blacktown,Campbelltown, Fairfield, Granville, Liverpool, Penrith, Mt Druitt,Parramatta, and Maitland districts. Provided strong operationalsupport to district superintendents and school principals. Promotedpublic education to external organisations and ensured that highquality services to schools were maintained. Effectively dealt withcontentious media, community and industrial issues at a school,district and statewide level. Contributed to the resolution of issuesarising from the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service.Established links with the Western Sydney community throughthe Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG), theUniversity of Western Sydney, Western Sydney RegionalOrganisation of Councils (WESROC), and the Greater WesternSydney Quality Network.Managed the Department’s contribution to the NirimbaEducational precinct initiative at Quakers Hill, in partnership withthe University of Western Sydney, TAFE and the CatholicEducation Office, Parramatta. Developed plans for innovativestructures for secondary schooling within precinct.Led the successful implementation of the School Self Evaluationand Reporting program across Western Sydney and Maitland schooldistricts.Maintained oversight of the State Integration Program for studentswith disabilities and coordinated the Department’s planning aroundthe McRae Report into the integration/inclusion feasibility studyof students with disabilities in regular classes.Provided statewide oversight for the operation of the StatePerforming Arts Program, with major successes in several areas.Initiated two new major programs, Sing 2001 and Dance 2001.Established and chaired the Arts Education Foundation to furthersupport performing arts programs in schools. Developed stronglinks with SOCOG and led planning for the involvement of schoolstudents in Olympics Arts Festivals and Olympics ceremonies.Served as a member of the Olympics Arts Education Committee.Served as a member of the Juvenile Justice Advisory Councilof NSW.Alan Laughlin, BSc, DipEd, MEd, MEdAdmin, PhD, FACEAssistant Director-GeneralOversighted the operation of ten districts in the Department ofSchool Education. These districts covered from Sutherland throughto Newcastle. Issues managed included major industrial conflicts,community disputes, reported incidents, grievances, complaints,investigations, reviews and ministerial correspondence. A numberof these issues required significant media involvement. Thedistricts were supported in ensuring the priorities of the Departmentwere met, high standards of teaching and learning were maintainedand teacher development continued to focus on strategic priorities.Potentially contentious issues included the closure of RandwickNorth High School and the planned closure of Peter Board HighSchool, both critically affected by falling student numbers.Investigated and reported on the Mount Druitt High School resultsin the 1996 Higher School Certificate and widened this study topublish a New Way Forward. These documents were positivelyreported in the national media and have led to intensive consultationDSE Annual Report 1997 137