Deborah Patterson is the current Principal at Mill Park Heights Primary School
Being a modern day Principal one has to have, two heads, ten arms, latest ICT gadgets, rollerblades, suit of armour, ten wardrobes and a fast car. I wrote an article for Prime Focus in my second year as a Principal 2000 and I wrote the same thing. So nothing seems to have changed except for the gadgets which are more fashionable, costly and technologically advanced.
The role of a Principal in a small to medium sized school as compared to my current school with over 1,100 students and 96 staff is quite daunting and very different. Mill Park Heights Primary School is the largest Government school on one site. When I first got the position I was told that by 2011 enrolments were to drop to around 750. Well it is 2011 now and we’re still over a thousand. We took 174 Preps this year and I suspect 2012 will be around the same number. Apparently 2011 is the first year of the Baby Bonus and so numbers were expected to increase.
My alarm goes off at 6 am and I listen to the news. At 6.10 I shower, dress and drive to McDonalds in Mill Park where I have a coffee, raison toast, read the paper and watch the 7 am news. I arrive at school by 7.10am. I live only 5 kilometres away and get home around 6pm.
The main difference with my role today is that the majority of the time, I am a ‘Resource Manager ’i.e. Building and Grounds, Facilities, Personnel, Teaching and Learning/ Curriculum etc. I actually alternate with my roles, leader, manager, coach, mentor and quite a ‘Jill of all Trades”. This is quite a different role as when I was in a small to medium sized school. There I had my fingers in all the pies, Budgets, CASES, Curriculum, Facilities, Buildings and Grounds etc. I led all areas. Here at MPHPS I have to rely on processes and procedures and above all I have to ‘trust’ those that in charge of areas. This was the biggest change and it took some time for me to come to grips with the distributive leadership model. I was used to being in total control.
I love what I do however with the lack of resources for Principals in terms of School Resource Package it makes it more difficult to stretch the dollars. My contract is up in October and because I am in the Revised Superannuation Scheme it is my best interest to resign and reapply for my current job. However, in doing that I will drop $15,000! Why cannot a Principal who has been in the school for five years, resign and reapply for their position and if successful, return to their current classification? So to get my job back I have to accept a $15,000 drop and I am still doing the same job! These technicalities make Principals feel devalued, treated disrespectfully and many do not return to their job. I will be 55 and have many, many more years to give to Education. I would like to stay and be numerically compensated.
I have to finish this brief report as I have a phone message from DHS Department Human Service, three boys are outside my office because one has used a magnifying glass to make fires, another was hit in the head and apparently one of our new Preps has just exposed himself. Has anything changed?