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Through his company, Mel
Phillips works to help leaders and those who aspire to leadership, become
the best that they possibly can.
His Mission:
 To be recognised by all as
having made a contribution that will leave our world just a little bit better
for having been in it.
To make the challenging task of
educational leadership satisfying and rewarding.
To improve the quality of
teaching and achievements by students.
To be recognised by leaders and
managers at all levels as an excellent provider of leadership and team
development skills.
To provide aspiring leaders with
understanding of the processes by which they are appraised and facilitating
their written and oral presentation skills to accelerate their journey to the
top.
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His Background:
He has had 35 years experience in
education as a teacher, department head, deputy principal and principal. He
worked in primary and secondary schools in Queensland and Canada. He was
principal of Band 11 schools for some 13 years (Benowa State High, 11 years and
Helensvale State High, 2 years).
As deputy principal, (he believes
at the same time as another), he suggested the work experience program. Roma
State High was among the first three schools in Queensland to trial its
introduction.
As principal of Charleville High,
he focussed strongly on literacy and that school was among the first to implement
ERICA, later LTLTR (Learning To Learn Through Reading). As part of a skills
based program for disengaged indigenous boys, the school was the first to
implement an outcomes based program (Mr Greg Jones) and among the first to employ
an indigenous teacher aide, certainly the first ever at Charleville.
Charleville High was his first experience with the ET Program, Excellence in
Teaching. He had the whole staff put through the program by Dorothy
Devine. It had a great impact on teacher confidence, classroom quality and
students' learning outcomes.
At Benowa High, he:
Founded the
French Immersion Program, driven initially by Michael Berthold and latterly, Mrs
Nicole Davies, who has been recognised by the French Government for her tireless
service to the teaching of French.
Developed the position of
Registrar (with Mr Lindsay Bovill as guinea pig) and had Lindsay present the
proposed position to Education Queensland in 1986. The position was trialled
in 2 other schools in 1987 and 1988 and later implemented state-wide. The
position has now become renamed 'Business Services Manager'.
Worked strenuously to establish
the school as a centre for the arts as an essential component of a
community-oriented, excellent school. The often articulated mantra was, "A
school can be good if it excels in academic areas. It can be good if it
excels in sport. A school will only be great if it excels in academe, sport
and the fine and performing arts, and has a heart." The school's brilliant
reputation for performance and its long association with the Gold Coast Arts
Centre date from this time.
In 1992, proposed a
"School-Community Partnership" scheme with students undertaking extended work
experience and traineeships, but this was not adopted by the Education Department
at that time. Later, VET (Vocational and Educational Training) Programs were
implemented state-wide.
Suggested the International Student Program in a proposal to the Minister for Education, supported by a cost-benefit analysis. Two years work on a Central
Office planning group led to Benowa High being the first Queensland State High
School to have international, fee-paying students. Out of this has grown a
major income earner for state education, Education Queensland International.
Was used by EQ on a number of
occasions to talk to other principals on the topic, "The Entrepreneurial
Principal" and assisted with the induction of newly appointed principals.
Worked constantly to develop all
staff as professionals, investing heavily in in-service programs. The
school's ethos was known by all staff and the school lived and breathed the
philosophy, "Ask forgiveness, not permission". As long as staff initiated
progress for the right reasons, blame was never assigned. Learning and
support ensued.
Trained as an assessor in the
Career Assessment Centres and later worked in many centres as an assessor and
centre director.
Trained as a Job Analyst (with
Noble Lowndes) and was a team member in the Cullen Egan Dell process (now JEMS)
which undertook a comprehensive benchmarking and radical redevelopment of
principals' positions state-wide.
Since leaving the service of
Education Queensland, he has acquired additional qualifications: Cert IV
(Workplace Training & Assessment), Dip. Bus. (Frontline Management) and
accreditation as a facilitator for Team Management Systems (Team Profile),
Strategic Team Development Profile, Leaders Linking Skills Profile (3 levels of
360º profile) and CPS (Communication & Problem Solving). Most recently,
he completed the Glasser Institute Basic Intensive Week training
program.
Mel is a
highly skilled facilitator in the application of
Leaders' Critical Thinking through the use of MindSights™ software.
He has developed a widely
acclaimed leadership development program, " Outcomes Focused
Leadership", which is recognised for "in principle"
credit for up to 50% credit towards a M Ed (Leadership) by the University of
Southern Queensland. He developed the Leadership Foundations elements of
this program and in conjunction with Mr Ian McKenzie, developed the Management
Foundations section of the program.
In conjunction with Bette Blance,
he is implementing an updated version of the highly successful "ET Program -
Excellence In Teaching". This provides teachers with a highly practical
framework and solid theoretical base for quality classroom performance that
enables improving student learning outcomes. Click to go to the ET Program
website.
Mel was a
member at state level of Commerce Queensland's Employment, Education &
Training Policy Committee for several years.
He is a member of the
Australian Council for Educational Leaders and is a a life member of the
Australian College of Educators. |
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