Indigenous Educator Speaks on Broome Campus

“An inspirational talk which challenged all the educators in the room to take risks and to have high expectations of every student in their class room,” this comment from The University of Notre Dame Australia, Broome Campus Executive Director, Gavin Greaves, following a presentation by well known Indigenous educator, Dr Chris Sarra. Director of the Institute for Indigenous Leadership in Education and Development, Dr Sarra spoke to more than 90 Kimberley educators and Notre Dame Students on Broome Campus during a visit to the town organised by the Catholic Education Office. Dr Sarra began his career as a PE teacher for the Queensland Department of Education and to date has completed a Diploma of Teaching, Bachelor of Education, Master of Education, and PhD in Psychology and is due to complete an Executive Masters of Public Administration. He has an extensive career in education with a particular focus on pursuing more positive and productive educational outcomes for Indigenous children. In his time as Principal of Cherbourg State School he facilitated many changes that saw increasing enthusiasm for student learning through dramatically improved school attendance and increased community involvement in education. Under his leadership the school became nationally acclaimed for its pursuit of the ‘Strong and Smart’ philosophy. Among his many awards Dr Sarra won the 2003 Australian of the Year, Regional Hero Award for Queensland and was named in the Bulletin’s Smartest 100 people in Australia, which saw him recognised as one of the top 10 educators in the country. Mr Greaves also added that one of the main points raised by Dr Sarra was that educators should not fear controversy at times where it should be embraced. Media Contacts:Gavin Greaves 9192 0602 Mike Doyle 9192 066