2023 Australian Teacher Aide of the Year
Rachel Hawkins
Nominated by: Nathan Schubert, Head Teacher - Supported Education (Special Education)
Congratulations to Rachel Hawkins, a Student Learning Support Officer (SLSO) at Monaro High School, in New South Wales, who is the 2023 Australian Teacher Aide of the Year.
Rachel is making an outstanding contribution to teaching and learning at Monaro High School, where she demonstrates an ongoing commitment to the growth and development of the Student Learning Support Officer team and a clear focus on improving student outcomes. Rachel has helped improve student learning and wellbeing outcomes by leading the development of a consistent approach to supporting student independence. The school identified that many students who accessed mainstream as a part of their learning program had significant reliance on SLSO support and set the goal to reduce dependence on staff. Head Teacher of Supported Education, Nathan Schubert, who nominated Rachel, said “The challenge was to change the perspective of students, however, simply telling them be independent wasn’t going to work! Changing student mindset had to come from education and support. Rachel was tasked with developing a consistent approach to supporting student independence (especially in mainstream) via coaching and mentoring SLSOs.” |
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Rachel is making an outstanding contribution to teaching and learning at Monaro High School, where she demonstrates an ongoing commitment to the growth and development of the Student Learning Support Officer team and a clear focus on improving student outcomes.
Rachel has helped improve student learning and wellbeing outcomes by leading the development of a consistent approach to supporting student independence.
The school identified that many students who accessed mainstream as a part of their learning program had significant reliance on SLSO support and set the goal to reduce dependence on staff.
Head Teacher of Supported Education, Nathan Schubert, who nominated Rachel, said “The challenge was to change the perspective of students, however, simply telling them be independent wasn’t going to work! Changing student mindset had to come from education and support. Rachel was tasked with developing a consistent approach to supporting student independence (especially in mainstream) via coaching and mentoring SLSOs.”
In collaboration with other staff, Rachel researched and developed a plan based on evidence-based strategies, targeting student agency, and high expectations, and provided professional development opportunities to SLSOs to build an understanding of what independence looked like.
The plan provided the faculty with a clear framework, and within one school term, student independence and behaviour at Monaro High School improved, and attendance increased, leading to an overall improvement in student learning and wellbeing.
Rachel fosters a culture of continued collaboration and professional growth amongst SLSOs and teachers to further support the individual needs of students at the school.
Rachel conducts weekly mentoring sessions for the first 10 weeks of work for new SLSOs and supports new staff to understand their role by working collaboratively with them in the classroom. Additionally, Rachel has advocated for SLSOs to have a once-a-week meeting with the executive teacher to discuss general and targeted student needs.
Rachel has also contributed significantly to improved collaboration with teachers and colleagues, by creating a handbook that outlines the roles and responsibilities of SLSOs at Monaro High School.
Nathan Schubert explained, “Previously there was very little support for SLSOs at Monaro High School. Rachel identified issues with induction, training, and support for SLSOs.”
The handbook now underpins Monaro High School’s philosophy for SLSOs and is used by Rachel to conduct induction programs, provide training opportunities, and importantly provide a framework for ongoing mentoring to staff.
Rachel is committed to improving her professional practice and has taken on a leadership role at Monaro High School to support SLSOs professional learning.
“Rachel’s passion for learning and development of SLSOs individually, collectively and as a profession has assisted to change the culture at Monaro High School where SLSO professional development is now encouraged, valued, and celebrated,” said Mr Schubert.
She leads SLSO professional learning at Monaro High School and is participating in the development of the Australian Standards for Paraprofessional Educators in Schools.
Rachel was tasked with developing a professional development plan that was beyond the mandatory compliance training for all SLSOs and responsive to the dynamic needs of students, staff, and school.
In collaboration with executive staff, Rachel successfully advocated for professional learning to be scheduled for all SLSOs. Due to Rachel’s advocacy for staff development, SLSO’s have also been extended the opportunity to participate in professional development that has historically been for teaching staff.
In conclusion, Mr Schubert said, “Rachel’s own personal professional development and her willingness to assist others develop their knowledge and skills is second to none and is a driving factor in why SLSOs are so valued at Monaro High School. Her commitment to both students and staff is continuous, her enthusiasm for improvement is relentless and she drives everyone to be better each day.”
