A professional learning and leadership program with teacher retention at its heart has won a prestigious state education award for Happy Valley State School in Mount Isa.
The school's 'Leading from the classroom: a model of distributive leadership' submission is the winner of the 2022 Showcase Award for Excellence in Rural and Remote Education.
Education Minister Grace Grace congratulated winners at the Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools ceremony, hosted at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
"The Showcase Awards allow us to recognise and celebrate the great work our educators are doing every day to ensure that students in Queensland state schools are getting a world-class education," Ms Grace said.
"That there were so many high-quality entries to this year's awards shows the hard work, dedication and expertise of Queensland school staff."
"Happy Valley State School's Leading from the classroom agenda is being led by a group of highly motivated teachers with the ultimate goal of encouraging teachers to stay in the area longer.
"We know teacher retention can be an issue for rural and remote schools.
"The group's priority has been to develop a sustainable model that enhances the quality of professional learning for teachers and creates leadership opportunities.
"Teachers at Happy Valley State School are supported to gain the confidence and skills to go into leadership roles in the future.
"The benefits are clear for teachers, the school and the whole community as teachers tend to stay longer as a result."
There were 86 submissions from right across Queensland for the 2022 awards, representing 220 state schools.
Minister Grace said each of the state award group category winners would receive a $10,000 development grant, with two individuals to each receive a $5,000 development grant.
"Educators have benefitted from a total of $166,000 in grant support from this year's Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools, including regional winners who received $1,000 each and regional commendations receiving $500 each," Ms Grace said.
"The Palaszczuk Government is continuing to support school communities with our record $16.5 billion education budget, supporting the good jobs, better services and great lifestyle of education with strong investment."
The 2022 program was sponsored by Education Queensland International, Griffith University, Network 10, RemServ, QSuper, QUT, Queensland Teachers' Union, and TUH Health Fund.
