Inaugural alumni awards celebrate teachers and educations leaders’ impact

Fifteen outstanding teachers and education leaders have been recognised at the inaugural Jane Hansen Teach For Australia Alumni Awards ceremony held last night.

The Alumni were honoured for their work to advance educational equity, spanning classroom and school leadership, system reform, community engagement, and stakeholder collaboration.

With the generous support of the Hansen Little Foundation, who has been a significant partner of Teach for Australia, a $1000 award has been granted to the outstanding teachers and leaders in recognition of their impactful work.

Teach For Australia Founder and CEO, Melodie Potts Rosevear OAM congratulated the award winners and thanked the Hansen Little Foundation for their support.

“Over the past 15 years, our mission to grow a community of leaders committed to educational equity has remained steadfast,” Ms Potts Rosevear said.

“These awards celebrate the transformative influence of these education leaders – shaping classrooms, driving education reform, and expanding opportunities for kids.

“Tonight, we celebrate not just their individual achievements but their collective impact, ensuring every child has the opportunity to thrive.”

“We are immensely grateful to the Hansen Little Foundation for their benevolence in making these important awards possible.”

Jane Hansen AO said she was honoured to support the inaugural Jane Hansen Teach For Australia Alumni Awards.

“At the Hansen Little Foundation, we are committed to creating a legacy of significant, positive and enduring change for all Australians,” Jane Hansen AO said.

“Teachers and education leaders do one of the most important jobs in the world. They help shape the futures of the young people they teach and play a critical role in building their aspirations. That’s why we are proud to partner with Teach For Australia to empower more high calibre educators and leaders to join the profession.

“The Jane Hansen TFA Alumni Awards honour these 15 remarkable Alumni, celebrating their profound impact on communities facing disadvantage, inspiring children to believe in themselves, dream big and embrace curiosity.”

Jen Ames, from Cohort 2011, has been honoured as one of the 15 outstanding Teach For Alumni to receive the prestigious Jane Hansen TFA Alumni Award for fostering positive student behaviour and staff satisfaction.

Jen has risen the ranks to become Assistant Principal at Glenroy Secondary College where she led a transformative whole-school instructional model and curriculum project that saw positive behaviour rewards jump from 400 to 4,202 within a year, while major disruptions were four times lower.

In a time of chronic teacher shortages, Jen’s leadership bolstered staff retention, with departures only due to promotions, an indicator of the strong and supportive school environment she cultivated.

Driven by her passion to unlock “light bulb moments” for her students, Jen’s teaching philosophy revolves around building genuine connections that nurture their self-belief and ambition.

“I try to lead by showing that warmth to students and trying to show a genuine curiosity in who they are and what they’re trying to achieve in their lives,” Ms Ames said.

“One aspect about Teach For Australia that I really benefited from is the network of other teachers. From day one, you’re connected to a really strong network of like-minded teachers who are in similar schools to you. And that network has stuck with me my whole career.”

Media contact: Saraya Musovic, Media and External Affairs Manager, 0407 091 383, saraya.musovic@teachforaustralia.org