Heavy is the English Head

Skye Staude is a dedicated educator and leader, with over a decade of experience driving instructional improvement across independent, government, and Catholic school sectors. As Principal at MacKillop Education in Geelong - a specialist setting supporting young people impacted by complex trauma and disrupted schooling - Skye champions literacy as a foundation for equity, engagement, and lifelong...

Dr Briony Schroor is the Domain Leader for English at Nossal High School, Victoria’s first fully academically selective coeducational government high school, and one of only four academically selective high schools in the state. Briony has a PhD in Classical Greek Literature and she is an avid reader who enjoys engaging with all sorts of texts. Briony joined Nossal High School as a teacher of Engl...

Xanthi Rice has been a teacher for more than 20 years, with extensive experience in classroom practice, leadership, and system-level support. She worked with the Wimmera South West School Improvement Team as a DSSI (Differentiated Support for School Improvement) Teaching Partner for three years, partnering closely with schools across the region to strengthen and transform their approaches to liter...

Stephanie Le Lievre is Principal of Serpentine Primary School in Western Australia. She’s also a Commonwealth Bank Schools Plus Fellow and the co-director of Science of Teaching and Learning Australia (SOTLA). Steph has been a Deputy Principal, and Literacy Leader, and she’s worked in rural and remote communities. Steph has left her mark wherever she’s been. She’s done an enormous amount to close...

Michelle Winch completed degrees in biomedical science and biotechnology before moving into education through the Teach for Australia program. While at Colac Secondary College, she earned a Master of Teaching and later a Master of Instructional Leadership at the University of Melbourne. She has held various teaching and leadership roles in mathematics, literacy, and science, and now leads teaching...

Emma Castelow is an Assistant Principal at Lara Lake Primary School, in the northern suburbs of Geelong. As an experienced teacher and leader, Emma has worked across various primary school contexts as well as for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, and in a regional role for the Department of Education as an Education Improvement Leader. In her role as Assistant Principal, Emma lead...

Jen Ashton and Jodee Wilson are central to the implementation of Tasmania's Lifting Literacy policy implementation. I’ve had the privilege of working with these two women over the last 3 years now. I’m constantly impressed with their dedication, motivation, passion, and optimism, and how seriously they take the responsibility of implementing these key literacy reforms. Jen Ashton is Assistant Dire...

Rachael Buck is an experienced school principal and classroom teacher, with a passion for leading system and practice improvement. In addition to her teacher training, Rachael has a Master of Educational Leadership. She has worked extensively within the literacy domain, with a particular focus on structured literacy. Rachael has worked with over 60 schools to align their teaching practice to evide...

Alice Jury is a Learning Specialist at Canadian Lead Primary school in Ballarat. Alice has been teaching for 12 years, all of this time spent at Canadian Lead. Alice began her leadership journey in 2016 through the Primary Maths and Science Specialist initiative. Alice moved into the Learning Specialist role in 2019. Alice has taught across many year levels and has spent time out of the classroom...

Chloe Painter is an experienced educator, school leader, and literacy specialist passionate about transforming teaching and learning through evidence-informed practice. She is currently Acting Deputy Principal at St Robert’s in Newtown and leads Chloe Painter Edu Services.   Chloe Painter: https://au.linkedin.com/in/chloe-painter-46950b23a   Alison Clarke: https://www.spelfabet.com.au/   Bron Ryri...