THE new executive director of Brisbane Catholic Education Dr Sally Towns considers Brisbane’s patron St Mary MacKillop a perfect example of a courageous leader.
“Leadership is stewardship,” Dr Towns, a highly-experienced educator said, stepping into the senior Catholic school role held for nine years by Pam Betts who retired at the end of last year.
With the responsibility of leading 146 Catholic schools – 75,000 students from prep to Year 12 across the Brisbane Archdiocese – she draws strength from St Mary MacKillop, cofounder of the Josephites and who established schools and places of refuge across 19th century Australia, a time when poverty was a crushing reality.
In a contemporary setting, Dr Towns said Catholic schools were different because “we are anchored in the sacred through our faith tradition and Jesus as our role model”.
She said Catholic educators must be “prepared to meet students” where they found them, evangelise, and not to assume what students may or may not know about the Gospel.
In the climate of public debate about religious freedom, Dr Towns said Catholic schools must maintain the ability to hire teachers who expressed Gospel values.
“We accept all students; however we must be mindful that Catholic schools need to be Catholic,” she said.
“Growing up I experienced a Catholic community that was very tight. Today we are seeing a move to secularism that has been very rapid.
“We have to be sure the Catholic faith tradition is maintained.”
Watching her own children grow up and attend Catholic school, Dr Towns said the concept of “making Jesus real” could have a lasting impact on students..
Dr Towns grew up in the Hunter Valley, attended Catholic schools, and later completed a teaching degree at Sydney University.
At first, she taught in Tumut in the Canberra-Goulburn diocese then moved to the New South Wales mid north coast.
She remembers her first big challenge outside the classroom when she was appointed to set up a special project to help guide indigenous students from primary school into high school.
Working at John Paul College, Coffs Harbour, Dr Towns established and led an annex of John Paul College for indigenous students in Bowraville, NSW.
“It was a small project – seven boys – but it was a real ‘yes moment’, to serve those in greatest need,” she said.
Each student received meals while they were at school as part of their overall care.
Dr Towns worked as a high school teacher in Kempsey before taking up an offer as a deputy principal at MacKillop Catholic College, Hobart.
Less than a year after her new appointment, she was elevated to principal and spent seven years in the job.
Dr Towns then moved into system leadership with a role as director of School Effectiveness in the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Cairns.
In 2019, she was appointed director of Catholic Schools in Lismore. Still fresh in her mind is the recent flood disaster that reaped havoc across the northern rivers’ region.
Makeshift classrooms had to be quickly found for schools completely swamped. Many flood-hit schools are expected to face years of disruption
“It directly affected 100 staff and 250 families,” Dr Towns said.
“For so many it was a traumatic time.”
Dr Towns stepped into her new BCE executive role in May and has spent her first days visiting schools across the Brisbane archdiocese, getting to know the diverse range of education needs.
“It is a time of deep learning for me,” she said.
Dr Towns said two years of pandemic disruption, coupled with technology advances, have changed education practices forever.
“COVID-19 has given us a capability to be agile,” she said.
“[Education] systems across Australia were prepared and had infrastructure in place. What we did was accelerate it.
“What it showed was we can teach and learn in an online environment, while still providing care for students.”
Dr Towns said “checking in” with students was always a priority, and she was not advocating a shift to online learning as a substitute for classroom education.
“What we have is the best of that experience – a blend of virtual learning at the student’s own pace, as well as online learning which will mean that students at some (smaller) schools will benefit with a greater choice of subjects,” she said.
Dr Towns said research conducted in Lismore Diocese “absolutely shows” that students responded well during COVID-19 lockdowns when only limited face-to-face teaching was possible.
The new BCE head acknowledged the challenges confronting school staff today.
The latest annual report on school leaders – the Australian Principal Occupational Health and Wellbeing Survey 2021 – reveals Australian principals are suffering the highest burnout rates in a decade, and are subjected to physical threats at a rate five times greater than the general population.
Teachers, Dr Towns said, needed “backing to be able to teach” and consolidate education as their chosen career choice.
“We need to identify and reward accomplished teachers,” she said.
“We need to make teaching more attractive – we need high quality teachers.”
Dr Towns said she was impressed with “Living Laudato Si”, one the innovative Church projects gaining momentum across the Brisbane archdiocese.
Taking Pope Francis’ care for creation call to heart, Brisbane Catholic schools are leading the way in assessing and improving energy use, switching to renewable energy for electricity and producing their own renewable energy.
Dr Towns said “Living Laudato Si” offered learning opportunities for both school staff and students.
