Chris Sarra

Australian educator

Chris Sarra is an Australian educationalist, the founder and Chairman of the Stronger Smarter Institute. Sarra grew up in Bundaberg, Queensland as the youngest of ten children to parents of Italian and Aboriginal heritage, and he experienced many of the issues faced by Indigenous students throughout their schooling. In 1998, Sarra became the first Aboriginal Principal of Cherbourg State School in South East Queensland where his leadership improved the educational outcomes of its students. In 2005, Sarra left as principal of Cherbourg School and in 2006, with the support of the Queensland government, he established the Indigenous Education Leadership Institute, the forerunner to the Stronger Smarter Institute. From 2008 to 2013, the Stronger Smarter Institute was part of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) before Sarra's termination from his position in March 2013. His termination came after "statements made by Sarra last year that he was planning to leave QUT and education" In 2005, he completed his PhD in Psychology at Murdoch University. His PhD thesis Strong and Smart – Towards a Pedagogy for Emancipation: Education for First Peoples was developed into a book and published in 2011. His autobiography was published in 2012 by University of Queensland Press. An Education Queensland Review of Cherbourg in 2002 showed considerable improvements in attendance (50% in 1997 to 95% in 2002), as well as improvements in literacy in numeracy. Sarra reversed high absenteeism and low academic achievement in a short period using a range of leadership approaches. He introduced a school uniform, school motto ('strong and smart') and school song. Students were assigned to keep different areas of the school tidy and litter free, and students monitored their own absences in class and had to explain those absences to the school assembly each week. The school made an Indigenous studies program integral to the curriculum in all years. Steps also included engaging with the community to help build a vision for the school, and engaging local indigenous people to work at the school. Sarra's own report on his time at Cherbourg showed improvements were found in staff, student and community feelings of satisfaction with the school as well as a considerable decrease in the number of students identified as requiring additional support in reading and writing. Performance in Literacy and Numeracy overall showed slight improvement. Enrolments in the school increased from 144 in 1998 to 265 in 2002 as parents became more satisfied with the educational standards at the school. In reflecting on the positive changes in the school, Sarra said, "the most important things I did was believe in the people already at Cherbourg, as well as the new teaching team that was established, and be prepared to value and act upon what they had to say.". In 2008, Tom Calma, the then Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and National Race Discrimination Commissioner, said in a speech delivered to the Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals in Melbourne,

In 2004 Education Queensland investigated several complaints against Sarra and upheld four complaints made by students where he was "found to have grabbed, held and shouted" at boys under his care. When Sarra left as principal in 2005, the principal who replaced him did not share his vision, and Sarra spent a frustrating seven years on the sidelines, watching the school gradually slide with falling attendance and student results.

In 2008, Sarra blamed poor outcomes for Aboriginal students on "white trash" school teachers. He said:

Sarra is chairman and founder of the Stronger Smarter Institute, which works with schools to build a positive cultural identity for and among Aboriginal children and to set high expectations of behaviour and academic achievement. The Institute is an independent, not for profit organisation which operates nationwide to ensure Indigenous student aim for and achieve a brighter future

Sarra assumed the role as chairman and appointed former Deloitte's Consulting Partner Lisa Siganto as Chief Executive Officer in 2014. On 6 November 2014, Indigenous senior executive, Darren Godwell was appointed as the Institute's new CEO, taking over from Lisa Siganto who moved to the Board. Independent directors have been appointed to the board including Herb Elliott AC MBE (former Deputy chairman, Fortescue Metals Group and Olympic gold medal winner), Paul Bridge (educator based in the Kimberley region of Western Australia), Gary Lennon (Executive General Manager Finance at National Australia Bank) and Tanya Orman (NITV Channel Manager).

Chris Sarra's PhD, published in 2011 as 'Strong and Smart Towards a Pedagogy for Emancipation' draws on Roy Bhaskar's theory of Critical Realism to demonstrate how Indigenous people have agency and can take control of their own liberation. The book contrasts white perceptions of what it is to be Indigenous and Indigenous views of what it is to be an Aboriginal Australian. In the book, Sarra called for Indigenous Australians to radically transform and not only reproduce the identity that Mainstream white Australia has fostered for them. Sarra showed that it is important for Indigenous students to have confidence in their own strength as any other group within society. Later, Sarra expressed regret about using the term, and explained his comments were born out of frustration and he did not intend to undermine the hard work and dedication of many white teachers working hard in remote communities. In his autobiography (page 310), Sarra explains that things have changed since then, and it is now understood that for remote schools a teacher must be 'top gun'. Sarra has questioned the government's roll out of Direct Instruction (DI) in remote Aboriginal schools. In 2012 he said, "It is time for Aboriginal people and poor white Queenslanders to say we want high expectations and we want excellence from our schools because that is what is transformative, that is what enables us to transcend the challenges we confront day to day." In 2015, Sarra expressed concerns about the Cape York trial of DI, saying that other remote schools were getting better results in NAPLAN. He suggested the plans to roll out DI across remote communities in Northern Australia could be a long lasting and expensive mistake.