Stories out of School

ONE STUDENT AT A TIME IN A COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS… SMALL SCHOOLS BY DESIGN Stories out of school 2014 The advocates for school change place great store in the idea that schools can replicate the apparent success of others. When the My School website was established, school principals were encouraged to learn from those schools that were registering high student test scores. It was assumed that successful ideas and breakthrough strategies could be transplanted from one school to another; that a successful design could be replicated in a variety of schools. Some of this does happen. Principals and teachers interested in establishing the Big Picture learning design have visited other schools and talked to students, teachers and parents about the ingredients for success. Our research has also done this in a formal way. We know that the more successful Big Picture schools are those that adopt all the distinguishers of the design. But our evaluation also shows that each school is unique and even a proven design for learning may not look the same in all schools. Big Picture Education Australia (BPEA) has needed to deal with this complexity - while rightly insisting that schools implement the whole design. Despite the diversity across schools there is a common thread of optimism and achievement in the stories that come out of Big Picture schools. Amidst all the data and information from surveys these stories have an important place in the evaluation of Big Picture. They reveal the human faces behind the design; the people you meet if you visit a Big Picture school. Their stories are our stories, part of our success. To illustrate our diversity this document shows how some of our Big Picture schools began and evolved. To demonstrate our success we include narratives from students and teachers. Some of these are in written form; others as filmed accounts accessible through the URLs listed in this document. Stories out of school CONTENTS How it began – snapshots of schools 2 Student and teacher voices 5 Audio-visual presentations 10 2014 HOW IT BEGAN… The following snapshots include schools that: • operate Big Picture academies within a mainstream school. • have entirely converted to the Big Picture design. • have been established from the start as Big Picture schools. 1 St Johns Park High School, and community engagement skills implementation of City Campus and New South Wales and work skills to prepare students continue the leadership of the FSD for life after school. There was also network. St Johns Park High School was inadequate engagement of parents in founded in 1978. It is a large the development of student individual A formal partnership was established comprehensive co-educational high education plans. with Big Picture Education Australia school in south western Sydney. in 2010. Tasmanian Department Since its foundation, the school has Big Picture Education provided an of Education funding enabled key developed an admirable reputation explicit framework and principles leadership roles to be established in the region as a provider of quality to change the way school is done through 2010 to lead the planning educational services that reflect the for our Big Picture students. Parent and implementation. City Campus needs of a multicultural community. involvement has increased, individual Inveresk commenced with 90 grade 9 learning plans are more responsive to to grade 12 students and their families Since 2011, the school received student needs, students are acquiring in February 2011. Stephen Walley, the funding through the Low SES School skills at a much higher level than Secondary Renewal Project Leader Communities National Partnership. This ever before and their confidence and noted: has ceased from the beginning of 2014. aspirations are well developed. “There is no doubt that a real strength The student population is 88.2% of the early implementation of City language background other than Campus is the ongoing support of English and students come from about 2 the FSD principals (many within the 60 different cultural backgrounds. Forty- City Campus, Inveresk, Department of Education), the Big one different language backgrounds Picture Education national network, the are identified for the current student Tasmania University of Tasmania and the local population. The school offers special In 2009 several Launceston high school community.” programs for students from language and college principals and leaders in backgrounds other than English and Learning Service North commenced In 2012, the 120 grade 9 to grade 12 students with learning difficulties as what became the Future Schools students enrolled at City Campus were well as an innovative program for gifted Design (FSD) network. A common organised into 8 separate advisories of and talented students. An after-school desire for the principals was to explore approximately 16 students, each with homework centre, staffed by qualified ‘how to be more successful with more one teacher/advisor. teachers, is provided free of charge and students.’ The first strategy planned is available to all students. by the FSD network was to establish a small-scale demonstration of a new The Big Picture Program at St Johns 3 learning environment; one that all could Park High was established in 2012 learn from, with the goal of transforming Montrose Bay High Big for Special Education students. The secondary education. The idea of City school has four Special Education Picture School, Hobart, Campus Inveresk was developed. classes for students with intellectual Tasmania The Big Picture Education design disabilities designated as IM (mild) and was adopted because it encapsulates Montrose Bay High Big Picture School IO (moderate), from year 7 to year 12. many of the elements common to 21st grew from the merger of two local high schools, Rosetta High and Claremont The school was concerned that very century learning environments. High. Having identified Big Picture few students from Special Education A combined funding agreement Education as a means to connect achieved any work placement after including local schools, a state and engage a group of students school, but more concerning was government Innovative and Flexible more effectively in their learning, both a general attitude that they did not Learning grant and Big Picture schools had conducted Big Picture aspire to working in the community in Education Australia, enabled a inspired programs. In 2010 just over any capacity. In addition, there was leadership role to be in place from 100 students from both schools inadequate development of social 2011 to 2013 inclusive, to support the moved to the new Montrose Bay High 2 School Big Picture site. Staff members for the new school were drawn from both merger schools. A Learning Through Internship (LTI) coordinator worked with local businesses to build partnerships and engage mentors to work with students. Over 290 partnerships with local businesses were established. Currently at the school there are 80 students, five advisory teachers, a Head of Campus (AP), an administration staff member, 4 an LTI coordinator (2 days per week) and a cleaner. Ogilvie High School, Hobart, The greatest need was with students Tasmania who: All staff members undertake the • had become disengaged and were Big Picture Education foundation Ogilvie High School is a government often disruptive in mainstream training prior to commencing in their funded all-girl school in New Town, school, Hobart. It is a large high school, role. Acquiring and retaining advisory • were not satisfied with a traditional although over recent years it has teachers who are able to work high school structure and/or holistically with a group of students been downsized from over 1000 to continues to be a challenge. The 800 students. It is well known in • felt disconnected and “lost” in such advisory teacher’s role is varied and the community for high academic a large school, very demanding, necessitating a diverse standards, music and sport. As the • were, and wanted to be, more skill set. world moved into the 21st century, individual. a school this size and with such a A significant strength of the Montrose strong reputation faced a number It was acknowledged that these design is the staff learning that occurs of challenges: administrative, students did not feel connected to, or between the two campuses. When technological, social and pedagogical. were not particularly valued members returning to the main school campus Introducing Big Picture at Ogilvie was in of, the school. from the Big Picture School, staff response to some of those challenges. Ogilvie’s initial introduction to Big members have taken with them a Primarily, the school was looking for Picture Education was in the summer variety of skills that have improved their ways to personalise learning and of 2007 when a small group of teachers practice. Many practices influenced engage students. The personalised attended the foundation course. Within by the Big Picture design have since approach to learning and the emphasis one Grade 8 Home Group, a ‘one become standard procedure in the main on quality relationships were the key timetabled line’ program with the Big campus. philosophies that drew the school Picture features of a Learning Journal towards the Big Picture Education and a form of Exhibition was trialled It is our desire to extend the Big Picture design. There was also the hope that program to include years 11 and 12. and the teachers introduced some some of the pedagogy would transfer of the pedagogy into their teaching. Big Picture learning has been designed through the school. for years 9 through 12 and we believe However, it wasn’t until 2009 that a Big that our students would gain much Picture inspired program began. Called more if the program covered all those ‘Take the Lead’ at first, the program’s four years of their schooling. name was changed to ‘Big Picture’ after two years.

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