In 2016 Melbourne Girls Grammar has upturned the notion of Professional Development and Learning when it introduced a range of opportunities for its staff that includes targeted projects, partnerships beyond the education sector and teacher externships. This initiative complements the School’s new Senior Years curriculum being launched in 2017.
Teachers have the opportunity to take up to two weeks out of the classroom to work in industry with the aim of discovering first hand what industry expects of its youngest employees, the skills required and in building ongoing partnerships.
In September, Ms Becky Glenton, a Year 4 teacher, was the first person to raise her hand to work for Avanade, a global digital technology firm. Over two weeks she was embedded in their Sydney and Melbourne offices.
Becky discovered there were similarities between the education and corporate environments, particularly around the digital environment. Both organisations have a focus on utilising an array of digital technology to enhance collaboration both internally and externally, to ensure best outcomes and to reduce costs..
“This has been one of the most beneficial experiences I have had,” says Becky. “I have sat in on challenging meetings observing difficult conversations and have watched in awe. I visited Microsoft and Google for meetings and discovered that employees are not interested in the ATAR score at all, but in the skills and range of experiences our students will have whilst at School. I now feel well equipped to talk to students about the opportunities that exist beyond our walls.”
“In connecting with external organisations I have found that most respond with great enthusiasm about the possibilities of partnering with our School,” says Francesca Conte, Community Enterprise Manager at Melbourne Girls Grammar. “They are wholly supportive of the teacher externship model as it provides a dual advantage: it gives them access to what is happening first hand in the education sector, as well as a voice in the way education is being reformed seeing as our students are their future employees.”
MGGS continues to be recognised for its innovation and is the first school to offer teachers this innovative opportunity.
Through Melbourne Girls Grammar’s Centre for Educational Enterprise, every girl has access to further extension and real world opportunities through MGGS’s industry and university partners. Our students know that when their teachers have the experience and a real understanding of what a girl requires it allows them to further support students with a wide range of technical proficiencies as well as the confidence and proficiency to navigate the world she inhabits now and will inhabit in the future.
MGGS welcomes organisations willing to host staff, or students, on externships. Please contact the School if you know anyone
The Centre for Educational Enterprise (CEE) is a global educational community hub, dedicated to innovation and leadership in education practices launched by Melbourne Girls Grammar in 2014.
In the past, opportunities to seek and share new educational strategies and innovations have been rare at best. CEE aims to change that. A platform for connecting educational entrepreneurs and leaders, CEE encourages participation in curriculum innovation, international outreach, and learning about and from educational excellence programs everywhere.