A matter of principal
September 2018 | Sharon Webb
THE DANCE of the school principals has begun in the Meander Valley, with Deloraine High principal Lee Barker moving to the position of principal at Prospect High.
Ms Barker was at Deloraine three years, arriving auspiciously with a broken ankle. But she says her time at Deloraine High was marked by lots of successes to celebrate.
“We became a Beacon Foundation school, giving students more structured pathways into work and learning a lot about local businesses,” she said.
“Deloraine High began offering study at years 11 and 12 level through our trade centre, increasing our retention rate by capturing those students who may not have wanted to travel to Launceston or Devonport to do further study. From next term we will have a brand new building for that purpose.
“And following on from our tremendous Naplan numeracy improvement this year in years 7-9, Deloraine was the only high school in the northern region to be recognised by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).”
Ms Barker believes her challenges at Prospect High will include establishing a middle years literacy project like the one with Deloraine High and its surrounding primary schools, which was hugely successful. She will also work on making year 11 and 12 courses available at Prospect High.
At Prospect Ms Barker is replacing Vicki Mackrill, who won the plum position of principal at Launceston College.
Moving into the Deloraine High acting principal role is David Lietzau who has been principal at Winnaleah District High for the past four years.
Mr Lietzau chose to come to Deloraine High to gain experience in a larger school and because it’s a larger although more compact community than Winnaleah’s catchment area.
“I’m looking forward to working within the Deloraine community; I see education as a partnership between the school, staff, homes and families,” he said.
“Change is dicult for students and teachers but one of my projects will be to create stability at Deloraine High School,” he said.
Mr Lietzau will be acting principal until the end of 2018.
