Karen Spiller, John Paul College
principal
Karen Spiller is a seasoned principal focussed on ensuring that every student enjoys a challenging, enriching, and enjoyable school experience, and on supporting teachers and support staff in their daily work and career aspirations.
Now in her third year at John Paul College, Spiller continues to drive positive changes to the community through a number of initiatives. Ones such initiative is a program of instructional rounds that saw teachers across the college participate in two rounds of visiting each other’s classrooms, followed by discussions of their observations. The practice promoted collegial conversations, increased school-wide reflection on high-impact teaching strategies, and supported teachers in identifying strategies they would now implement into their own practice. Spiller also introduced HALT (Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher), a nationally recognised certification program, to the college. The move saw eight teachers achieving this recognition in 2019 – the highest of an independent school in Queensland. Last year also saw Spiller introducing a boys’ academic and pastoral care progress working party to research and take the lead in boys’ attitudes, progress and outcomes in schools; as well as an innovation reference group to consider the way innovation and design thinking principles can be embraced across the college curriculum.