Women educators honoured for Australia Day

Three NSW Education leaders have been acknowledged for their commitment to the teaching profession. Dani Redmond reports.

An older woman in red glasses smiling at the camera An older woman in red glasses smiling at the camera
Image: 'Blessed': Lauretta Claus has been recognised for services to education and basketball.

NSW Department of Education staff have been recognised today for their service to the community as part of the Australia Day honours. 

Janelle (Nell) Lynes and Michelle Tregoning were acknowledged for their outstanding contributions in the education sector with the Public Service Medal. Director of Educational Leadership Lauretta Claus was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

NSW Department of Education Secretary Murat Dizdar extended his congratulations.

"Each of these staff members are outstanding advocates for public education,” Mr Dizdar said.

“Nell has demonstrated unwavering commitment to, and advocacy for, equity for children and families who come from language backgrounds other than English, including newly arrived students and refugees.

“Michelle has been pivotal in improving learning outcomes in mathematics and driving innovations in maths teaching.

“Lauretta is not only an accomplished educator but a leading statistician for national and international basketball.

“These awards are a testament to their efforts in enriching the lives of students and advancing public education.”

Responding to social change

Nell Lynes began her teaching career in 1984 at Woodenbong Central School before moving into the Multicultural Programs Unit in 1998.

Under Ms Lyne's leadership, the Multicultural Education team has overseen many achievements including the introduction of the English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) Education Leadership Strategy in 2021 and the New Arrivals Program that provides intensive English support to newly arrived students, which was delivered to 6,275 students across 670 schools in 2022.

With 12,000 students from refugee backgrounds and 38.6% of all NSW public students coming from a home speaking another language other than English, the work of Ms Lynes and her team is fundamental in ensuring an inclusive NSW public education system.

In addition, Ms Lynes is a valued member of the NSW Community Resilience and Response Plan (COMPLAN), a cross-agency committee that meets to identify, assess, monitor and share information and resources about community well-being, impacts from overseas conflicts and other global crises.

Throughout her long and successful career in NSW public education, Ms Lynes has always kept the needs of NSW public school students and their families at the centre of her decision-making.

She has been unwavering in her goal to deliver equity and positive educational experiences for students from all backgrounds and circumstances, as well as in providing the highest quality of service and advice to the families, schools and educational leaders who support them.

An infectious enthusiasm for maths

Under Michelle Tregoning’s leadership, the landscape of mathematics education in NSW has changed and shifted for the better.

Ms Tregoning is an inspiration to many teachers and students, as her passion for mathematics as a powerful, empowering and wonderous tool is infectious.

She has led the Building Numeracy Leadership program, which supports the teaching and learning of maths in some of the most socio-economically disadvantaged schools across NSW.

Ms Tregoning also oversaw the development of the Thinking Mathematically K-6 suite of resources with more than 250 mathematically rich, educational videos, which have had more than 4 million views worldwide in four years.

Around 95% of K-6 public school teachers have participated in mathematics professional development designed and led by Ms Tregoning.

Leadership, expertise and basketball

Lauretta Claus began her teaching career in 1988 and has held senior roles including Deputy Principal, Principal, and Director of Educational Leadership.

She is a valued source of expertise and guidance across the metropolitan South region.

In addition to her education responsibilities, she has more than four decades involvement in basketball, which has seen her inducted into the Basketball NSW Hall of Fame and become the lead statistics reviewer for international men and women’s basketball World Cups.

Her award is for services both to basketball and to education.

Ms Claus said she was "very humbled by the honour, but also very proud of the many wonderful opportunities that public education and my sport have given me".

"What makes this recognition extra special is that I can also celebrate with the amazing colleagues, I have been blessed to work with," she said.

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