Mark Kent Email and Phone Number

I have been Principal of Ivanhoe Primary School since 2016. Prior to this appointment I was an Assistant Principal of the Distance Education Centre Victoria (DECV), as well as an executive member and President of the Australasian Association of Distance Education Schools (AADES) and a Director on the Board of Gowrie Victoria (Early Childhood).My post graduate qualification in Special Education provides yet another lens through which to assess and develop best practice.During my tenure at DECV I led school-wide initiatives which involved innovative teaching and learning in virtual environments. One such environment was “Skoolaborate” which attracted system-wide plaudits for innovative collaborative on-line practices that resulted in increased student engagement across Australia.From 2009 - 2015 I was a Victorian Representative of (AADES) and elected as President in 2015, representing Victorian Distance Education advocating for the views and needs of school-sector online learning at state and national levels.From 2011 - 2014 I was a director on the Board of Gowrie Victoria with shared governance responsibilities in financial audit and risk, brand and marketing. Gowrie Victoria continues to be an acknowledged leader in early childhood education with children’s programs that set the benchmark for the sector.Due in part to my previous experience in Distance Education, the 2020 move by Victoria to remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic posed very few problems for Ivanhoe Primary School. I would stress that I was blessed with a wonderful assistant principal, a truly remarkable leadership team, and very dedicated teachers and education support staff. This, coupled with my significant experience in leading and teaching in synchronous and asynchronous environments enabled a relatively smooth transition from face-to-face learning to, and through, remote schooling.. Throughout my career I have demonstrated a capacity to develop and implement clear, evidence-based improvement plans that have resulted in innovation and change.Two achievements of which I am most proud are (1) creating a virtual classroom without walls connecting secondary students from Tagai College on Thursday Island to Northern Peninsula Area College (NPAC) on Cape York mainland Australia to develop literacy skills and (2) working with community groups to raise money to install water tanks in Swaziland communities resulting in increasing the opportunities for girls to go to school; as fetching water for villages is primarily seen as women’s work. http://www.mosswaterproject.com/