Australia's 10 Most Influential Education Leaders-2019

the fore of any decisions undertaken and be open,
transparent and strongly committed to all elements of Child
Safety.” To this end, Mark’s Leadership at Oakleigh
Grammar is strong yet compassionate, leaving no one in
doubt that the school’s commitment to every student in
providing a safe learning environment is of paramount
importance.
Leadership Philosophy
Mark emphasizes upon the fact that educational leadership
must be authentic. He believes that objective assessments
via the identification, collection and analysis of data, is
essential to ensure students’ learning journey is providing
the stimulus for maximum development. Mark is a big fan
of Carol Dweck’s mind-set framework, as it relates to the
application of everyday life. At his current School Mark and
his team initiate new projects as trials and have had great
success in particular with neuroscience based programs; to
that end the team has nourished many young people to
achieve at their highest possible level.
According to Mark, a holistic development of each student
is one that is the very essence of an enduring and
worthwhile education. The growth of international and
national movements such as ‘R u okay?’ and ‘Me too’
suggest that there is scope to more explicitly cultivate the
importance of further open and respectful relationships
involving males in the community. Increased awareness
about students’ emotional and mental health has grown
significantly and community figures such as sporting
identities in part have contributed to increasing this
community awareness through their admissions that they
too are struggling to navigate an emotional terrain that has
any pitfalls along the way.
Mark holds a personal passion to assist students in
understanding their place and what it really means to be a
responsible community citizen. One area of achievement
that he is very proud of at his current school is the
implementation of a highly recognised, yet unique
(to Australia) character development program which has
obtained the highest level of quality assurance.
Mark expresses that at Oakleigh Grammar the VCE median
study score has increased by 5 to 6 increments in the time
he has been Principal and takes pride in this achievement
too. However, he states that the welfare of each and every
child at Oakleigh Grammar must always be at the forefront;
every student requires nurturing and needs to feel valued
within their school community and to this end both
academia and welfare must be developed ‘hand in hand’.
“A key factor in realising success in any area of School
Improvement is the dynamic of the executive leadership
team,” says Mark. “Action plans developed within a strong
consultative culture modelled by the leadership team
empowers staff to innovate and achieve outcomes that must
be shared within the Oakleigh Grammar community,” he
adds. T R 33
JULY 2019 |