New teachers’ academy opens in Geelong

GEELONG is now home to the first of seven new centres across Victoria that will offer advanced training for teachers.

On Thursday last week, Minister for Education Natalie Hutchins visited Geelong to officially open the city’s branch of the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership, located in Little Ryrie Street.

Drawing on the expertise of the former Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership, leading thinkers and globally recognised authorities, the academy creates and offers evidence-based professional learning programs, events and initiatives designed to take Victoria’s best teachers and school leaders from great to exceptional.

The academy aims to drive the national benchmark in professional learning for teachers and school leaders in government, independent and Catholic schools and create an internationally recognised model for developing, implementing, evaluating and sharing new standards of teaching and leadership practice.

Its flagship Teaching Excellence Program is a year-long professional learning program providing 500 highly skilled educators per year with a unique opportunity to refine their skills in the art and science of teaching.

The Geelong centre, in conjunction with the one in Ballarat now under construction, will support the needs of teachers across Victoria’s south-west including those in and around Geelong, Warrnambool, Portland, Hamilton and Horsham.

The establishment of the seven regional centres will offer teachers in rural and regional local teachers the opportunity to collaborate, learn and develop new skills and educational approaches that translate to better learning outcomes for their students.

Each academy will be supported by local teams and provide regional teachers the same high-quality professional learning as at the academy’s two metropolitan counterparts.

“Every Victorian kid deserves the very best education, that’s why we’re backing school leaders and teachers with the support they need to deliver better learning outcomes for kids across the state,” Ms Hutchins said.

“Victoria is home to some of the most exceptional Principals, school leaders and teachers in the nation. With the regional Academy rollout, we’re ensuring they have access to world-class resources – no matter where they live.”

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership chief executive officer Dr Marcia Devlin said the academy was working to promote a greater understanding of the high level of expertise and commitment of our teachers and school leaders.

“Regional Victorian school teachers and principals are extremely committed to continuously improving the quality of teaching and their students’ learning and these new centres will help them do just that.”