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Impact Case Study: Mill Park Secondary College, North-east Melbourne

Sunday, April 17th, 2016

Mill Park has 1,600 students. It has a large immigrant population, with 40 per cent of students speaking English as an additional language.

The school faces a number of socioeconomic challenges.

Teach For Australia has partnered with the College for seven years. Currently, 21 of 116 teachers are Associates or Alumni. Seven of the 16 members of the College’s leadership team are Teach For Australia Alumni.

Greater opportunities in science

Since 2012, the College has doubled the uptake of Year 11 and 12 science classes due to a range of factors, including the influence of Teach For Australia Associates and Alumni. Alumni collaborated with other teachers to develop a rigorous and engaging Year 10 science program and Associates and Alumni help implement the program, making exams increasingly challenging in order to push students and better prepare them for Year 11 and 12.

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Increased university entrance rates

In 2014, 49 per cent of the College’s Year 12 students accepted a university place, up from 36 per cent in 2010. Many of these students are the first in their family to attend university. The increase is in part attributed to the diverse experience of Associates and Alumni, who are passionate about promoting an aspirational culture.

Record-breaking Year 12 results

The small team (including a Teach For Australia Alumnus) that teaches the Year 12 business management program has regularly helped multiple students achieve study scores of over 40 out of 50 each year since 2011 – up to eight points above their expected score predicted by the Victoria-wide standardised test undertaken near the start of Year 12, illustrating the teachers’ influence on their final results.

Enhancing use of evidence-backed teaching

As the Year 11 and previously Year 10 Program and Learning Outcomes Manager, a Teach For Australia Alumnus drives the collection and analysis of data across the school and facilitates the creation of action plans grounded in evidence. He and other Associates and Alumni developed a number of data trackers, which allow them to swiftly measure student progress and target teaching.

“The data driven, standards-aligned approach has caused a shift in teaching that is likely to last.”

– Colin Burke, Assistant Principal

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“Mill Park Secondary College’s involvement with Teach For Australia has been so successful because it is grounded in an improvement focus. Through supporting the Associates, my very talented staff has taken collaboration to the next level. Feedback and reflective practice is the norm and the students are the real winners.”

– Trish Horner, Principal

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