EDUCATION MATTERS: Catholic Education Tasmania features in prestigious book
By Dr Gerard Gaskin, Executive Director of Catholic Education Tasmania
Catholic Education Tasmania is on a mission to become the ‘most improved’ Catholic school system in the country, with broadened provisions for education and a focus on putting the needs of vulnerable children first.
Our Catholic education mission is about to be celebrated and documented in the British History of Parliament Trust’s commemorative book, which will mark the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Commonwealth.
It links the history of the UK Parliament to that of the Commonwealth, and also celebrates examples of leadership, innovation and development across the 56 nations of the Commonwealth.
The book will be published by St James’s House, who are renowned for their high-quality publications relating to major international events and the British Royal Family.
The official Commonwealth launch will be held in Westminster Abbey in London, UK in mid-October. I have been invited by the organisers to attend this prestigious launch along with St Thomas Aquinas Teaching Schools Director Mrs Kathy Gaskin, representing Catholic Education Tasmania.
The St James’s House publication recognises and celebrates the array of new initiatives that CET has put in place in recent years.
Chief among them is the launch of the Insight Project and other literacy projects in 2022, with their focus on the Science of Learning – a pedagogy of explicit and direct instruction, with the teacher and students actively engaging in dynamic lessons focused on deep learning and long-term accurate recall.
The Insight Project is complemented by CET’s system of expert-trained Instructional Leaders who will soon commence peer-to-peer coaching for interested educators in all our schools. National testing results have already shown significant academic growth for our students using this approach.
The entire teacher development journey from university to the classroom is now supported by CET. Formation and guidance starts early through the St Thomas Aquinas Teaching Schools Institute, through which we operate our own independent undergraduate cadet teacher support program. We saw our first cohort of graduates in 2022.
New cadets join the scheme as undergraduate or postgraduate university students, completing online education studies and teaching one day a week in schools, receiving mentorship from an experienced teacher – all while completing their degree or masters.
The beginning of a young child’s educational journey is also fostered and supported by CET through our Set Up For Success: Birth to Five Program. Through weekly parent-child interactive activities held within CET schools, the program aims to reach some of the most disadvantaged children from an early age; encouraging and supporting parents in the early education of their child through play, talk, reading and other activities.
While great strides are being made in our educational approaches, it has been important for CET to cherish the longstanding history of the 2000 Indigenous Australian students who attend its schools, allowing them to maintain their connection with their history and identity and for other students to receive this important knowledge.
With CET now educating 17,000 students across its 38 schools, with the support of 3500 staff, these many examples of leadership, innovation and development have set the organisation in good stead.
All Catholics in Tasmania have reason to be proud that these many Catholic Education Tasmania initiatives will be recognised at this forthcoming prestigious International Commonwealth event.