ANTSEL President, Denise Wilkowski, begins this newsletter by writing: "As I sat down to write this editorial I couldn’t help but think of the Chinese saying about living in 'interesting times'."

To find out what she means by this, click here to go to the Newsletter page of the website to download the latest issue of the ANTSEL Newsletter.

A significant alliance of organisations have joined together to launch a new on-going 3 year campaign called Fix the Education Bridge.

Click here to downoad the complete release document (PDF file).

The alliance highlights the education revolution is critical for Australia’s future and simply hasn’t gone far enough, pointing out under current spending by the Federal Government, students are not getting a world class education.

The alliance says there should be a multi billion dollar infrastructure and building program for all government secondary schools across the nation.

The alliance highlights that most people are unaware that 43% of students in Grade 12 now attend a private school. Government schools at this level in our largest capital cities are now in a minority.

One of the spokespeople – Sheree Vertigan (from the Australian Secondary Principals Association) – said billions and billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money will be wasted in the long run with mental health, prison and health costs because we do not offer – at the current time – every student in a government secondary school a world class education.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures (released in 2010) reveal in the past 10 years the number of students in non-government schools increased 8 times more than the number of students in government schools. ABS figures show that since 1999, the number of students in non-government schools have risen by 208,500 students versus a rise in government school students of 26,200.

From Dr Thelma Perso, Executive Director, Litertacy & Numeracy Taskforce:

"As you are aware we have embarked on a significant journey of system reform to improve the literacy and numeracy achievement of all students in the territory. The strategy that has been developed is evidence-based. During the last decade there has been developing internationally increased evidence about successful schools and a deeper understanding about the factors that are critical in schools and districts for improvement in student learning, and in literacy and numeracy in particular.

"What has become increasingly clear is that Principals and school leaders play a significant role in creating the conditions in which teachers can teach effectively and students can learn.

"In particular, the research has revealed a deeper understanding about the factors that are essential for improvement in schools with high levels of poverty. These schools that are ‘beating the odds’ and have been effective in making improvements to student learning, particularly in complex environments, work as Professional Learning Communities (PLC) led by the principal. These schools share the following characteristics: ..."

Click here to download the complete paper in PDF format.