There was a celebration in Deloraine yesterday to mark the 30th Anniversary of the establishment of Giant Steps School for Autism. For the first five years it muddled along under the direction of a group of parents but when it was a bit more established they decided to appoint a Principal. I started at the beginning of 2000 and I think it was the most interesting period of my working life.
There was more to the job than managing the program. I found myself being advocate for the school, negotiating with and educating government, fund-raising and extending the school's footprint by buying adjoining properties and building extra classroom space.
It's been over fifteen years since I retired and there have been three other principals since then. The current boss was appointed by me in about 2005 as a Teacher Aide and has now taken on the job as Principal. The school is unrecogniseable with new buildings and reorganisation of facilities. When I became Principal there was always the danger that we would have to close our doors but those days are long gone.
It was great to see that Giant Steps has gone from strength to strength and is now very well-established. It's nice to think that I played a role in that.
No comments:
Post a Comment