The Hon Julie Bishop MP

The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, today announced the successful providers of Summer Schools and called for teacher applications for the 2008 Australian Government Summer Schools for Teachers initiative.

“The Schools, to be held in January 2008, will play a pivotal role in providing high quality professional development for our teachers to better support their role of delivering the very best primary and secondary education in Australia,” Minister Bishop said.

“Up to 1,000 of Australia’s best teachers will have the opportunity to attend an all expenses paid ten day residential course to enhance their training in one of five areas, literacy and numeracy, English, maths, science and Australian history.

“Applications are now open for the inaugural Summer Schools, and I encourage all eligible teachers in government and non-government schools nationally to consider applying for this outstanding professional learning opportunity. Teachers will receive a $5000 bonus upon completion of the Summer School.

“I am pleased that an impressive collection of high quality consortia have been selected to deliver the first five summer school courses next year. This was a highly competitive process and the successful providers have the knowledge and expertise to deliver professional learning of the highest quality.”

A Summer Schools reference group comprising six highly-respected education leaders will advise on implementation issues, such as course design and delivery, teacher participation, and future directions.

Applications for the Summer Schools close on 17 October 2007. For details please go to: www.summerschools.dest.gov.au.

A list of successful tenderers, course dates and locations, and biographies for reference group members are attached.

Media Contacts:
Minister Bishop’s Office: Tory Vidler 0414 228 727
Dept of Education, Science & Training: Media Unit (02) 6240 7300
Non-media queries 1300 363 079

Priority Area	Consortium	Course location and date
Literacy & Numeracy Summer School	Wollongong University, Edith Cowan University, the University of New England and the Australian Literacy Educators’ Association	7-18 January 2008 - Wollongong University, Wollongong, New South Wales 14-25 January 2008 – Edith Cowan University, Joondalup Campus, Western Australia
English Summer School	Deakin University, Murdoch University	7-18 January 2008 – Deakin University, Geelong Waterfront Campus, Victoria
Science Summer School	University of New England, Flinders University.	7-18 January 2008 – Flinders University Adelaide, South Australia
Mathematics Summer School	University of New England, Flinders University.	7-18 January 2008 – University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales
Australian History Summer School	Australian National University, the Australian War Memorial, the History Teachers Associations of Australia, Victoria and the ACT, the National Capital Educational Tourism Project, the National Archives of Australia, the National Museum of Australia, and Old Parliament House	14-25 January 2008 – Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Ewen McDonald is Chair of the Reference Group and Group Manager of the Schools Teaching and Students Group at the Department of Education, Science and Training.

Andrew Blair is President of the Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA). His career as a teacher and leader includes over 30 years in country and metropolitan Victoria. Andrew is a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators (ACE) and is immediate past President of the Victorian Branch of ACE. Andrew is on the boards of the Asia Education Foundation, The Education Foundation and the Teaching Australia. Andrew was re-elected to the International Confederation of Principals Executive for a second term beginning in 2007.

Jennifer Buckingham is a Research Fellow with the Social Foundations programme at The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS). Jennifer returned to CIS in May 2005 after a year as schools editor at The Australian newspaper. Jennifer has published policy monographs on school choice, boys’ education and school performance reporting and edited the CIS’ State of the Nation series. She is also the author of Boy Troubles (2000), Families, Freedom and Education (2001) and Schools in the Spotlight (2003).

Genia Janover is Principal of Bialik College in Victoria and won Best National Achievement Award for Excellence by a Principal at the 2007 National Awards for Quality Schooling. She has shown creative and inspiring leadership over a sustained period and led the way in educational innovation in a number of areas. In 2005, Ms Janover received the prestigious Max Fisher Award for Contribution to Jewish Education Worldwide and is a recipient of the National Council of Jewish Women's Outstanding Women Educators award. In 2003, Ms Janover was nominated by The Bulletin as one of ten educators in Australia’s ‘Smart 100 Finalists’ and by The Age in 2004 as one of the 20 most influential people in education in the State of Victoria.

Professor Richard Johnstone was appointed Executive Director of The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in 2005. Professor Johnstone was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001 for his contribution to Australian higher education. In addition to his university management roles, he has been closely involved in a range of policy and planning initiatives in relation to teaching and learning in universities, both nationally and internationally.

Emeritus Professor Kwong Lee Dow AM is Deputy Chair of Teaching Australia (nominated by the Minister for Education, Science and Training) and was Deputy Chair of the Interim Board of the National Institute for Quality Teaching and School Leadership (NIQTSL).

Prof. Lee Dow was previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Chair of the Commonwealth Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, Member of the Higher Education Council of the National Board of Employment, Education and Training, Founding Member of the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation, Adviser/Council Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Education and Fellow of the Australian College of Educators. He chaired the Board of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, and its predecessors, the Board of Studies and the Victorian Institute of Secondary Education.

Margaret Meijers won the Best National Achievement by a Teacher Award in the 2006 National Quality Teaching Awards. She was recognised for her innovative teaching practice with a nomination in the 2006 Microsoft Innovative Teacher Awards. Ms Meijers is an advanced skills teacher and head of the ICT department at New Town High School whose innovative use of technology is gaining wide recognition. Ms Meijers works on supporting students in neighbouring primary schools and provides professional support for teachers at local, national and international levels.

Media Release

Summer Schools for our best teachers