Congratulations to Sarah Byrne and Heather Docherty who have been awarded by the Department of Education for achieving Lead Teacher status by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).
Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) accreditation recognises and rewards highly innovative and exemplary expert teachers who routinely work independently and collaboratively to improve their practice and the practice of colleagues.
An award ceremony at the Adelaide Convention Centre on June 3 celebrated over 50 teachers from Catholic Education, Department of Education and the Independent sector who have successfully achieved certification during the last 12 months or renewed their certification after 5 years.
The Registrar of the Teachers Registration Board of SA, Leonie Paulson, hosted the ceremony and the Honourable Blair Boyer, Minister for Education presented the certificates while acknowledging the commitment of certified teachers to supporting their students, their colleagues and their own development.
Certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead teachers has three purposes:
recognising and promoting quality teaching
providing an opportunity for teachers to reflect on their practice
providing a reliable indication of quality teaching that can be used to identify, recognise and/or reward Highly Accomplished and Lead teachers.
Achieving this level of certification is a rigorous process, requiring the teachers involved to reflect on their practice and show evidence collected over the previous five years of their impact on colleagues and students across the 7 standards and 37 descriptors of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. These descriptors include knowing their students and how they learn, the content and how to teach it, and creating and maintaining supportive and safe learning environments, amongst others.
“Nationally certified teachers are highly regarded by their colleagues and are seen as teachers who achieve great outcomes for their student's learning and wellbeing,” says John Mula OAM, Deputy Director, Catholic Education South Australia.
“They demonstrate the values of the Catholic ethos and contribute positively and respectively to their school communities and more broadly to Catholic Education South Australia.”
Congratulations to the 2022 cohort of Lead & Highly Accomplished Teachers!