While mainstream media coverage of Australia’s school system tends to lean negative, a heartening truth stands out amongst the narratives of declining student outcomes, teacher shortages and systemic failures: despite these overwhelming pressures, there is a teacher in every community who goes above and beyond to make a meaningful, transformative difference to young people.
One initiative that recognises these quiet changemakers is Teach For Australia’s (TFA) Jane Hansen Alumni Awards.
Now in its second year, the award recognises outstanding TFA alumni who are making a significant impact in schools and communities across the country. Supported by The Hansen Little Foundation, the accolade celebrates educators whose leadership, innovation and commitment are improving student outcomes and strengthening the wider education system.
Amongst this year’s winners, announced in November, was Will Lutwyche, Deputy Principal at MacKillop Education Waranara School in Annandale, New South Wales.
In his role at the specialist assistance school, Lutwyche is helping reshape how education supports young people who’ve slipped through the cracks of mainstream schooling. Guided by the values he’s carried throughout his teaching career, he’s led the creation of practical frameworks around wellbeing, learning and attendance that meet students where they are — especially those living with mental health challenges or neurodivergence. His work is redefining what success looks like, reminding every student that their potential is real and worth backing.
Strength-based leadership that empowers everyone
Lutwyche said the philosophy that underpins his approach to education and leadership is grounded in equity, inclusion and the belief that every student has the right to an excellent education, regardless of background, abilities, circumstances or histories.
“I hold high expectations for students while meeting them where they are, endeavouring to create an environment of kindness and authentic connection,” Lutwyche told The Educator. “True success in education I believe is when students feel valued and empowered to become the people they aspire to be.”
Lutwyche said he sees leadership as deeply contextual.
“Success, I think, depends on understanding and responding to the unique needs of your community. Equally important is collaboration, co-creating solutions, listening deeply, and building trust,” he said.
“By valuing others’ strengths and fostering collective responsibility, through my leadership I hope to create an environment where students, families and colleagues feel safe, supported and empowered to flourish.”
Breaking the ‘school isn’t for me’ mindset
Lutwyche said the first barrier to restoring trust for disengaged students is often the belief that school isn’t for them – a belief that incites personal isolation and mistrust.
“It is important to acknowledge and understand that these feelings often stem from past negative experiences,” he said. “Many of our students have been out of school for months or even years, often due to trauma, anxiety or feeling misunderstood.”
Lutwyche said he and his staff start by creating a safe and predictable environment where they feel seen and heard based on the principles from the school’s trauma-informed ReLATE model.
“That means building authentic relationships, showing unconditional positive regard, care and honesty to demonstrate that school can be a place of belonging,” he explained. “Once trust is established, students begin to re-engage, and from there we can work on individualised learning, wellbeing and attendance supports.”
Lutwyche said the school’s Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) ensures that students get the right level of support at the right time.
“For a student with anxiety or neurodivergence, this might start with a closely monitored attendance plan, daily wellbeing check-ins or sensory breaks,” he said. “If their learning needs are also diverse, we implement evidence-based literacy programs, psychometric assessments and classroom adjustments.”
To monitor progress and respond quickly, staff use “dynamic tiers” where every student is tracked through the school’s support systems and procedures, enabling staff to collaborate and stay accountable.
“For example, in Term 1 of 2025 alone, we delivered over 1,800 instances of wellbeing support and 1,100 examples of learning support,” he said.
“Our MTSS framework removes barriers and creates pathways where students feel safe, supported, and capable of success—academically and personally.”
Tracking progress beyond attendance
For Lutwyche and his team, re-engagement isn’t just about getting students through the school gate — it’s about rebuilding the confidence and curiosity that many lost long before they arrived.
That shift often starts small: a student joining a group activity for the first time, asking a question in class, or simply trusting a teacher enough to try again after a setback. These moments, he says, are the early markers that a young person is beginning to reconnect.
“Engagement is one of our core school values. For us engagement means students reconnecting with their education,” Lutwyche said. “It looks like a student who once refused to go to school, feeling safe enough to share their voice, take learning risks, confidently express their needs and build connections with others.”
Lutwyche said student engagement is tracked closely not only through the school’s attendance data, but also monitored via contextually-relevant measurements of wellbeing and learning.
“We know that engagement is happening when students start setting their own goals and take pride in their progress with a renewed sense of hope about their future.”
Finding joy and confidence in literacy
Lutwyche said that, over time, he has come to appreciate and learn that academic achievement cannot solely be a measure of ‘success’ at his school.
“Success at our school is about growth,” he said. “We believe it is vital to tell the stories of students like *Billy who, through greater monitoring and individualised support, increased his attendance from 35% to over 70% in a year, achieved his HSC, and left being employed and engaged at TAFE.”
Another heartening example that Lutwyche shared was of Year 11 student *Alice who, despite having learning difficulties, through Tier 3 literacy intervention, has found a love and interest in literature and reading, building authentic connection and cherishing one-on-one time with staff at the school.
“It is also about our student Siobhan, who with the right wellbeing and academic support was able to come 4th in English Studies in the HSC in NSW in 2023,” he said.
“And it is about our student Peter who in 2021, came to our school wanting to leave in Year 10, but through wrap-around attendance, wellbeing and learning support maintained 95% attendance, achieved his HSC, and attained a full-time diesel mechanic apprenticeship in 2025.”
Lutwyche said the school’s approach is grounded in creating the right conditions for both students and staff to thrive.
“Through our MTSS framework, we have developed practices that have allowed us to celebrate the various accomplishments of our students but also enabled our staff to flourish and be true leaders in their roles.”
*The students’ names in this article have been de-identified for privacy.