Education regional director stands up for Katanning Senior High School principal Carolyn Cook

Department of Education regional director Jen Graffin has thrown her support behind Katanning Senior High School principal Carolyn Cook, hailing a shift in culture at the school under her leadership. In a letter to the Herald, Ms Graffin said the “overwhelming majority” of students, parents and community members were happy with the atmosphere and progress at the school since Ms Cook took over in 2018. Her impassioned defence of the school and its principal comes after a stinging critique last week from Shire of Katanning president Liz Guidera, who said stagnant leadership and poor perceptions of KSHS had created a demographic gap in the region. Ms Guidera called for a robust and transparent process to appoint a “a new enthusiastic and professional leader” after Ms Cook’s secondment to the Department of Education’s Leadership Institute. However Ms Graffin, the department’s Wheatbelt director of education, said Ms Cook’s appointment was transparent. “Carolyn Cook was appointed ... through a selection process that met the public sector standards in human resource management. These processes are transparent and open to external review,” she said. “Under Ms Cook’s leadership, the school has seen a shift in its culture, with greater expectations for students, improved academic results and many more opportunities available for students to succeed. “There is now a very strong focus on ensuring that every student leaves school with a qualification that will set them up to live successful lives, whether that is to undertake further study, additional training, or to move straight into a career pathway.” Ms Graffin praised Ms Cook as an award-winning principal and “expert in her field” with more than 30 years of experience in education. During Ms Cook’s secondment to the Leadership Institute, Denise Robinson will step into the role as acting principal. “We are pleased to congratulate Ms Cook on her new position, accepting a secondment with the Department of Education’s Leadership Institute, where she will share her years of experience and expertise with staff who are striving to follow in her footsteps,” Ms Graffin said. “Ms Cook will hand over her role in the coming weeks to Denise Robinson, who is an experienced senior principal. “Ms Robinson has held senior leadership positions at Shenton College and Mindarie Senior College, and, most recently, Morley Senior High School. “She has also worked with the Department of Education in NSW as an expert in quality teaching and she has a passion for working closely with migrant families.”