By Casey Neill
Noble Park Secondary College is the country’s 19th most improved high school, latest NAPLAN results show.
Principal Pam Dyson couldn’t be prouder.
“That’s including all secondary schools – government and independent and Catholic schools,” she said.
“There was only one other Victorian school ahead of us.
“I’m very proud of our staff, who I believe to be very passionate and committed.
“I don’t believe it’s coincidence.
“I believe it’s recognition of the hard work that’s been put into the individualisation.”
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in reading, writing, spelling and numeracy.
Latest figures showed Noble Park’s Year 7 results had improved from 1469 in 2013 to 1560 last year.
The Year 9 results improved from 1598 in 2013 to 1658 last year.
Ms Dyson said the school’s mission was to help students to grow.
“We have a consistent teaching and learning framework that the staff have and also that the students have,” she said.
“Our emphasis has been getting to know the students, understanding where they’re at, then developing a program that is individualised to their needs and making sure they grow.
“For us to get recognition of being one of the most improved schools is really great because it’s our mantra, to get them to grow.
“Our staff have done a lot of work in relation to their curriculum planning and also in the way they understand the individual needs of students.
“We’re personalising the learning of our students, yet we’re doing that under the umbrella of a consistent framework.”
Ms Dyson said having a smaller school, of about 455 students did help teachers to get to know their students.
She said she was confident the school would continue to improve, by reviewing and reflecting on what it had done so far.
“I feel you can never be complacent when you’re talking about the lives of young people,” she said.
“Our role as educators is to continue to strive to further include the students, for them to have the best education that they can.
“We certainly can’t be complacent about this.
“We need to continue to do the work we’re doing.
“You just need to provide the best you can for them.
“I believe the model that we’re using has been successful, but we want to continue to refine it to further improve.
“As educators, that’s our responsibility – to provide the best opportunity for students we can.”
