new aisv chair: 'schooling is a partnership'

The new Chairman of the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV) Board of Management, Mrs Elizabeth Jedynak believes that independent schools foster a spirit of partnership between the family, school, the child and the community.

Mrs Jedynak, who was elected AISV chairman in May 2008, knows all three education sectors – Catholic, government and independent. She attended a Catholic school, has been president of a government primary school council and is currently chairman of an independent school.

As a board member and chair of two schools, Mrs Jedynak has been involved in the significant changes in education over the last 20 years.

Mrs Jedynak is a rural General Practitioner practising as Dr. Elizabeth Fitzgerald in partnership with her husband in Neerim South, West Gippsland, since 1979. Together they have five children who were educated in regional schools.

She joined the Neerim South Primary School Council in 1985 and served as president from 1994 to 1997. During this time, the then government’s ‘Schools of the Future’ policy first introduced the concept of self-management. Mrs Jedynak ensured that Neerim South took advantage of the policy. At the same time, her school was one of the first primary schools, particularly in a country town, to introduce a Language Other Than English (LOTE) program, utilising the services of Japanese interns.

Mrs Jedynak has been a member of the board of management of St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School in Warragul since 1992 and chairman since 1996, a position that she continues to hold. When she joined the board, St Paul’s was a young rural school that was not affluent. It was established in 1982 by parents who had aspirations for their children and who wanted good, affordable education in their own rural community.

St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School was an early leader in seeing the advantage of computers in the classroom. Today, it is recognising the importance of environmental issues in its new building program. Mrs Jedynak says one of the advantages held by the independent sector is that schools can respond quickly to the issues of the day, as they apply to local communities.

During her period at St Paul’s, Mrs Jedynak has seen major government funding changes and she says that a proposed restructure of education funding by the federal government indicates that education is facing ‘interesting and important times’. This means that as the peak body in Victoria for independent schools, AISV should not only continue to be an active contributor to the funding debate but also be part of formulating the solution.

‘I would like to see more resources going into the whole education sector. Government, independent and Catholic schools are all under-resourced and teachers are under-paid. This is particularly true of regional and outer metropolitan areas.’

Mrs Jedynak said that teaching should be focused on individual student’s needs as much as resources would allow. Lack of resources was hampering improving educational outcomes for the entire spectrum of school children from those with disabilities to gifted students.

She believes that the growth of independent schools reflects the fact that parents want choice and that they want to influence more directly the education of their children, and that they are prepared to fund it to the extent to which they are able.

‘We value our partnership with the government which produces sound educational returns, social capital and strong communities,’ Mrs Jedynak added.

 

 

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