Just three weeks after completing her teaching degree, Kayla Stubbs relocated from Perth to Woorabinda State School, 170 km southwest of Rockhampton on the traditional lands of the Wadja and Ghungalu Aboriginal Peoples and started teaching at the only primary school in the community where she focused on connecting with local community and developing literacy programs.

Passionate about developing their literacy potential, she took on the role of the school’s ‘Reading Champion’, where she supported the implementation of a Structured Synthetic Phonics Program, trialled in Prep to Year 2 classes, before being extended to the whole school.

“My job is to make sure I’m giving students the greatest and most equitable access to an evidence- based approach and supporting teachers in that process,” she said.

“We go out into classrooms for an hour at a time and look at translating reading into writing, decoding to encoding, and further intervention if needed.”

A ‘Reading Squad’ – a group of teacher aides she has specifically trained in the program – support her efforts, and many have now expressed interest in studying to become teachers.

Before the program, the school felt that the gap in literacy development was not being closed, but rather, it was widening. Data now indicates significant growth and progress.

In addition, the school is now looking forward to a reading fair that Ms Stubbs is instrumental in organising.

“Reading provides choice and I hope that it empowers our students to push further and go further,” she said.

“We want to get as many books into homes as possible. If students are reading at home with their families, that’s empowering,” she said.

As part of the fair, Ms Stubbs built strong connections with the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation, the State Library-connected local Indigenous Knowledge Centre, as well as secondary boarding schools.

She also encourages families to become involved in the school. Aside from the students, the community is the biggest stakeholder, she says.

“Getting out in the community and establishing connections is crucial, so they can see us and how hard we work at our school. Moreover, we learn from them about what they want for their children.”

She has connected with local community organisations and stakeholders to share the culture, language and traditions of the 52 plus Nations who call Woorabinda home.

As a specialist HASS teacher, she regularly interacts and seeks guidance from the community stakeholders and staff to modify programs to incorporate Indigenous perspectives.

During a unit of work, Ms Stubbs displayed the AIATSIS map, which serves as a visual reminder of the rich diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. She included a polaroid of each student attached to the different languages using twine and pins.

“A grandfather saw the board when he came to see his grandson,” she said.

“He called the students over and was talking to them and educating them on their traditional lands and groups. Some of the students were hearing this for the first time.”

According to her nomination form, the impact of her work “cannot be measured” and the school is excited for their students’ futures.

Ms Stubbs is a finalist at the Queensland College of Teachers TEACHX Awards, in the Excellence in Beginning to Teach category.

Winners will be announced October 27th, on the eve of World Teachers' Day in Queensland.