Positively Saturday

A Different Kind of Hope

With everything that has happened this week at Clayfield College, we think that it is important for the entire community to rally and stand behind the school and its departing Principal.

Kathy Bishops’ departure is very sad for many in the Clayfield Community – more so because of the unfortunate and unfair reporting of the reasons for her departure this week. She deserves so much better. It is very appropriate to acknowledge her contribution and the high esteem in which she is held by the community and her peers.

All great schools sometimes go through challenging periods. The challenges at Clayfield began long before the current governance debate came into the public arena. But whilst Clayfield College has (for varying reasons) had its fair share of hurdles over the last few years, it still has a long and proud history as one of Brisbane’s leading independent schools.

For those of you who are wavering or wondering, fear not. Stay the course with Clayfield ! Support the school through enrollments. It WILL survive and continue to deliver high quality education. It WILL rebuild its presence in North Brisbane. It must.

Whilst many of us have differing views about how our schools should be governed – (and whether you agree or disagree with the PMSA’s view of the world and the faith that it places in its ability to transform itself under its current legal structure in a way which will be sustainable and effective), we should all acknowledge the effort and passion being put into improving our schools on all sides over the last few years.

This debate has never been personal. There are good people on both sides. Clearly the PMSA want these institutions to flourish – and we do recognise that some of the PMSA’s recent changes are welcome (particularly the beginnings of renewal at PMSA Board and School Council levels, which have taken time to achieve). But we can’t stop there, and we can’t allow ourselves to fall victim to the belief that lots of little changes amount to transformational change on the scale which is needed to deliver a truly impactful change to the “on-ground” experience within our school communities.

Beyond PMSA still has strong views about the pathway to achieve the best outcome for our schools. Our views continue to be materially divergent from the position that the current PMSA Board appears to be permitted to adopt. We will therefore continue to advocate for the type of deeper reform that will make an impactful impression not only about the trust that the community can place in the PMSA – but also on the level of trust that the PMSA is prepared to gift to all of you.

Change is never comfortable. Beyond PMSA MUST be the voice that cares more about the importance of delivering positive and sustainable change, than standing silent in order to feel comfortable in the present moment (“hopeful” that everything will just be “ok” if we all stop talking about our shared problems). We have to have A DIFFERENT KIND OF HOPE. A hope built upon a SOBER recognition of the problems at hand and a REALISTIC, PRAGMATIC and genuinely COLLABORATIVE approach to solving them.

That is why we must continue to be an uncompromising voice. That is why we must hold our line in the sand. That is also why -

We are not going away.

Thank you for your continued support.

Beyond PMSA