Rutherford Technology High School

Staff from high schools across Maitland will attend a very special Staff Development Workshop led by Dr Chris Sarra who has achieved awesome results in the area of Aboriginal education in Cherbourg, Central Qld.

Chris Sarra’s visit to Maitland and his participation at the workshop has been co-ordinated by Paul Tracey, Principal of Rutherford Technology High School.  It will be held at Maitland Grossmann High School from 1.00 pm – 3.00 pm on Friday 20 July 2007.  The workshop is open to staff from all schools in the Maitland area.

With an extensive career in education Chris has held a wide range of positions.  In 2003 he won the Australian of the Year, Regional Local Hero Award for Queensland, and was named in the Bulletin’s Smartest 100 people in Australia, which saw him recognised as one of the top 10 educators in the country.

In 2004 he was named the Suncorp Metway ‘Queenslander of the Year’, and was also presented with a ‘Deadly’ Award for his contribution to Indigenous Education. Also in 2004 he received the QUT Faculty of Education Alumnus Award, and the Vice Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus Award.
In his time as Principal of Cherbourg State School he facilitated many changes that saw increasing enthusiasm for student learning through dramatically improved school attendance and increased community involvement in education. Under Chris’ leadership the school became nationally acclaimed for its pursuit of the ‘Strong and Smart’ philosophy.
Today Chris is the Director of the Institute for Indigenous Leadership in Education and Development based at Cherbourg which is designed to pursue improved student outcomes for Indigenous children beyond Cherbourg.
Chris’ visit to the Maitland is will provide a unique opportunity for teachers in the Maitland area to learn from his experiences and has the potential to provide long term benefits for Aboriginal education.