By Tate Papworth
A Taylors Lakes assistant principal has taken out a top education award for her efforts in shaping her school’s gifted young minds.
Taylors Lakes Secondary College assistant principal Sasha Mildenhall has been named as one of 12 winners of the 2019 Commonwealth Bank Teaching Awards.
Ms Mildenhall’s award is fitting acknowledgement of the lasting impact she’s had at the school.
She created a program to identify and extend gifted students which raised results across the board at the school.
The resources she has developed also address the needs of students whose giftedness is accompanied by disability or other learning needs.
She said it was vital that the curriculum kept all students engaged.
“At the heart of everything I do is the belief that every student should have the opportunity to learn something new every day,” she said.
“Helping colleagues understand how to modify the curriculum for highly capable students, who might otherwise disengage, is vital to ensure individual student’s needs are fully met.”
Ms Mildenhall said her interest in the education of gifted students has now developed into a specialisation that is “influencing educators across the globe”.
The awards, now in their third year, are a partnership between the Commonwealth Bank and national education charity Schools Plus and are fast becoming one of the most prestigious prizes for Australian educators.
Each of the 12 recipients receives a prize valued at $45,000 to assist with their professional development, roll out a new education project in their school, and take part in an overseas study tour to a high-performing education system.
Ms Mildenhall was chosen from more than 400 education professionals nationwide.
