Almost 200 of Australia's expert teachers will gather in Darwin from May 24 to 25 to share expertise and knowledge for the benefit of Australia's students.
The Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) Summit is a two-day conference organised by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) which showcases the expertise and experiences of some of the nation's most esteemed educators. This year's theme is 'expanding our impact'.
Most delegates at the invitation-only conference will be expert teachers who have voluntarily achieved certification against the Highly Accomplished or Lead career stages of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers – a rigorous national process requiring applicants to demonstrate the impact of their practice on students and their colleagues.
As at December 2018, 573 teachers had been nationally certified as HALTs. A new Spotlight report to be released by AITSL at the summit has found that having a HALT in a school isn't just beneficial to the individual teacher. It also contributes to an increased culture of learning among staff and enables quality teaching to have an impact across the school, and all learners.
AITSL CEO Mark Grant said: "Out of everything we do in schools to improve learning outcomes for students, we know it's quality teaching that has the biggest impact. With some of Australia's most accomplished teachers assembling for the HALT Summit, we'll see some great examples of excellence being shared to benefit students across the country."
"At AITSL we want to see every Australian child with access to great teachers and teaching, and the fact almost 600 teachers have achieved HALT certification nationally means we are heading in the right direction," said Mr Grant.
"Having more teachers certified as HALTs isn't just good for Australian students, but for the teaching profession as well. The more expert teachers we have, the more their colleagues have opportunities to learn, and the more teaching can grow in status as a profession."
AITSL Chair Laureate Professor John Hattie said initiatives like the HALT Network and Summit were important to ensure teachers were recognised for their expertise, and had opportunities to continue developing as professionals.
"The HALT Summit is an excellent opportunity
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