Annual Report 2017– 18 Whatwe do Our student scholarships address factors contributing to Support students who disadvantage: face social and economic disadvantage to achieve Students from low their full potential socio-economic through life-changing backgrounds scholarships. Indigenous students Provide professional Students from refugee development opportunities backgrounds to educators and school leaders to enable them to Students in rural and extend their leadership remote areas and teaching skills. Students living with a disability Enhance the value and reputation of Australia’s The Public Education Foundation is committed public schools, ensuring to helping break the every Australian has cycle of educational disadvantage and reducing access to a high-quality, inequality by supporting students and educators inclusive education. in Australia’s public education system. 2 PUBLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION Contents Our Impact 2 Chair Report 3 Executive Director Report 4 Proudly Public Awards Night 5 2018 Public Education Foundation Scholarship Recipients 6 2017 Minister’s and Secretary’s Awards for Excellence 10 Scholar profiles 12 The Public Education Foundation Advocacy and Research 14 is a charity dedicated to providing life-changing scholarships to young people in Our People 15 public education, their teachers and principals. 2017-18 Financial Report 16 The Foundation is supported Board of Directors 20 by the NSW Department of Education and works in Donors & Supporters 21 collaboration with schools, communities, the private sector and the government to support students achieve their full potential at a public school, while enhancing the value and reputation of public school education. To find out more about our work please visit our website: www.publiceducationfoundation.org.au ANNUAL REPORT 2017–18 1 Our Impact E AE EN from early 200 to the end of June 2018 963 Scholarships TUENT EUATOR OLARP UNN 90 0 $288,144 OLARP ENER REAON AE UP O Girls 62% Boys 8 Total new scholars in 2015/2016 10 TUENT TEAER PRNPAL EEUTE PROR EAR Total new scholars 2015/16 121 2 7 7 in 2016/17 210 2016/17 201 1 7 1 45 Total new scholars in 2017/18 21 2017/18 20 5 4 1 8 OOL ALUE $ Total schools Scholarship value in 2015/2016 65 in 2015/2016 212 Total schools Scholarship value in 2016/17 0 in 2016/17 $507328 Total schools Scholarship value in 2017/18 99 in 2017/18 76,14 TOTAL OOL ENAE NE 2011 248 Chair Report This is our 10th year as a Foundation. It is gratifying to acknowledge that over this period we have been able to support almost 1000 scholars. Our monitoring shows that a small amount of additional support can make a huge difference, particularly for students confronted by hardship. In association with our sponsoring partners we have also been able to recognise excellence in school achievement, celebrate innovation and honour outstanding contributions from teachers and parents. It is pleasing to report that in our 10th year we have broken new ground and expanded our advocacy for public schools by publishing our first Issues Paper ‘What Price the Gap?' which placed a dollar value on our education performance as a nation and argued the economic benefits of lifting educational outcomes through funding that targets areas of need. Our advocacy for public education also included a social media campaign based on the lives of high profile former public school students each of whom spoke of the value of their education and the importance of particular teachers. The work of the Foundation is dependent on the generosity of our scholarship donors and the support we receive from our major sponsoring organisations - the NSW Department of Education, NSW Teachers Federation, Teachers Health Fund, Teachers Mutual Bank and First State Super. This year we farewelled Michelle Stanhope who made an outstanding contribution as General Manager. The re-structure that followed has seen David Hetherington expand his role as Executive Director and other staff members take on additional responsibilities, ensuring the highest quality of management and administration continues. Finally, 2018 concludes my term as Chair of the Foundation, a position I feel privileged to have held. I have appreciated the support of Board members and I wish the incoming Chair David Friedlander every success in the role. Chris Ryan Chair ANNUAL REPORT 2017–18 3 Executive Director Report It is a privilege to present the Annual Report of the Great Australian Lives featured Professor Larissa Public Education Foundation once again. The 2017-18 Behrendt, Justice Michael Kirby and Craig Reucassel year has been marked by an outstanding cohort of explaining how public schooling shaped their scholarship recipients and exciting new developments success in later life. in our advocacy for public education. Larissa was kind enough to contribute further as I’m happy to report it’s been another record year for the keynote speaker of Proudly Public, our annual the Foundation. In 2017-18, we distributed $756,154 awards extravaganza, ably compered by the in scholarships, representing growth of 49% over the inimitable Robbie Buck. prior year. We supported 312 new and continuing scholars, a 22% increase, and we reached 99 schools I wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those across Australia, up from 90 in 2016-17. donors, supporters and organisational partners who make possible our support for kids and teachers in It has been especially gratifying over the past year public education – your generosity astounds us on to introduce a number of new scholarships. In a weekly basis. The staff at the Foundation work partnership with the GO Foundation, we offered eight tirelessly to channel this generosity towards changing new scholarships to indigenous students in public high students’ lives, and my gratitude goes to all of them. schools, while an anonymous benefactor enabled us to support five girls of refugee background in selective Finally, I know our staff and supporters will join schools through the Agnes Borsody scholarship. me in extending special thanks to our departing General Manager, Michelle Stanhope, who has been In keeping with our new strategic initiative, we produced two major contributions to the education the engine room of the Foundation for a number of debate in 2017-18. Our first research paper What Price years and who leaves with our very best wishes. the Gap? focused on educational inequality in Australia, David Hetherington and our first major social media campaign Building Executive Director 4 PUBLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION Proudly Public – A Celebration of Public Education At the Public Education Foundation’s annual awards night on 21 May 2018 we recognised the tremendous contribution made by leaders, school communities and students in our public schools. In the grand Sydney Town Hall, more than 240 scholarships were awarded to students and educators in our great public education system. The talents NSW Department of Education Arts Unit music and dance ensembles entertained the audience with their energetic performances and, as MC, ABC’s Robbie Buck skilfully tied the evenings proceedings together. Keynote speaker Professor Larissa Behrendt spoke passionately about her public education which provided her with the confidence and skills to go on to be the first Aboriginal Australian to study at Harvard Law School. NSW Education Minister, Rob Stokes, highlighted the importance of a well-resourced public education system to a strong and inclusive society. PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY: We would like to extend our thanks to the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, for generously providing a Lord Mayoral Reception for scholarship recipients and our supporters. The Public Education Foundation extends a very special thanks to all our event sponsors. Without their ongoing support the annual celebration of public education would not be possible. “Our public school system is one of the greatest agents of change that we have in our society and it produces young adults who have in themselves the ability to be agents of enormous positive change themselves. For this reason it remains absolutely essential that we invest heavily in our public education system.” Professor Larissa Behrendt Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at UTS, NAIDOC Person of the Year, Award Winning Documentary Maker and Writer ANNUAL REPORT 2017–18 5 2018 Scholarship Recipients ABORIGINAL AGNES BORSODY CAPITAL CHEMIST EDUCATION COUNCIL SCHOLARSHIP COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP (NEW IN 2018) SCHOLARSHIP Supports Aboriginal and/or Supports female students with Provides support to ACT Torres Strait Islander students a refugee background through college students in their to successfully complete their critical high school years in final year of school. senior years of schooling. selective public high schools. Charlotte Bailey Jasmine Knight Elisha Chan Corrie Cooper Cessnock High School Hurlstone Agricultural High Mitchell McDermott Oscar McMahon School Black Mountain School Byron Bay High School Linh Chau Annalise Richmond Prairiewood High School Kai Scott Laura Ho Jason Woods ABORIGINAL Canberra College EDUCATION COUNCIL Prairiewood High School Shams Al-Kubaisi HIGH ACHIEVER Basma Mosaid Samia Ejaz Auburn Girls High School SCHOLARSHIP Po Thein Ler Thomas Harrington Tessa Mun Phong Dickson College Prairiewood High School Parramatta High School Nathan Foley Balthazar Lai AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE Madison Walker OLYMPIAD SUMMER Erindale College SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP Caitlin Johnstone Shaylah McClymont Supports an outstanding Gungahlin College student to