Practitioners
Chris Sarra
“If we want to see ‘Strong and Smart’, we have to be ‘Strong and Smart’ ourselves...”
Background
Chris Sarra has had an extensive career in education. He has completed a Diploma of Teaching, a Bachelor of Education, a Master of Education and a PhD in Psychology. He is due to complete an Executive Masters of Public Administration with the Australia, New Zealand School of Government. In his time as Principal of Cherbourg State School he facilitated many changes that saw increasing enthusiasm for student learning. Under Chris’ leadership the school became nationally acclaimed for its pursuit of the ‘Strong and Smart’ philosophy. Today Chris is the Director of the Institute for Indigenous Leadership in Education and Development that is designed to pursue improved student outcomes for Indigenous children.
Chris, can you tell us about your approach to bullying and harassment at Cherbourg State School?
There were four key strategies:
- We had to discourage children from engaging in that kind of behaviour - to understand that there would be consequences;
- We had to do a lot of rewarding of positive behaviour to shift the focus;
- Our main strategy was the development of the “Strong and Smart” philosophy at our school; and
- Acknowledging and embracing Indigenous Leadership in the school.
What is the “Strong and Smart” philosophy?
It basically meant that everybody in the school - from myself and how I operated as Principal, to the children, to the groundspeople - had to demonstrate “Strong and Smart” behaviour. And that meant not putting anyone down, standing up for yourself, being proud of where you come from, finding strong ways to deal with problems. Part of it also was about getting kids to have a better understanding of who they are as Aboriginal people.
How did you do that?
Every day in our school was a day when we celebrated being Aboriginal. We had very explicit conversations about what it meant to be Aboriginal and what it meant to be “Strong and Smart” - and how those two things fitted together. We developed a whole school Aboriginal Studies program as well - that every child from preschool to year 7 did every week. We would lay it fair and square in front of them that being Aboriginal is something to be proud of.
How did you involve the community?
We set about employing a lot of people in the school and getting them to buy into the “Strong and Smart” vision - about the importance of school and how that played a part in reinforcing Aboriginal identity. A lot of the elders in particular came into the school - they had a part in informing development of the Aboriginal Studies program and they had a lot to do with the delivery of the program. We set about honouring their presence in the school and their role in the community by having special functions for them. The parents became involved because I would get out and talk to them - for most of the first 6 months I spent more time out of the school than inside the school.
How did the parents respond?
Very positively. I think they liked the fact that, finally, the school was being led by Indigenous people - not only myself as an Aboriginal Principal but there were also a lot of Aboriginal people who had a say in which way it was headed. We also had a good partnership with the Cherbourg Community Council.
Do you think that’s the key?
Yes, I think it is one of the keys and I’m not saying - and I want to make this very clear - I’m not saying that that a school needs an Aboriginal Principal to see some positive change. What I’m saying is that you can have Aboriginal leadership in a school without having an Aboriginal Principal. All it takes is someone in that position to recognise and embrace it.
What you are working on now?
We are establishing the Institute for Indigenous Leadership in Education and Development in conjunction with the Queensland University of Technology to develop and deliver leadership programs to principals and school leaders. The purpose is to expand the work done at Cherbourg and to extend it to other schools with significant Indigenous student populations.
The Institute for Indigenous Leadership in Education and Development is now operating.
For more information:
Articles about Chris on other websites:
'Strong and Smart': The rise of Cherbourg State School - a half hour documentatary film (transcript. ABC Radio Message Stick TV, 17 Oct, 2003.
'Strong & Smart'. New Internationalist, Issue 364, February 2004.
'Good Morning Mr Sarra'. ABC TV Australian Story, 4 Oct, 2004 (transcript).'
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