Statement from ATSIMA’s new CEO

A New Era

As one of the founding members of ATSIMA, it has been a great privilege to have been part of the growth of ATSIMA and working with a small but truly an amazing team. A big thank you to Melinda Pearson, Dr Caty Morris and Louise McGeorge. I know that many of our members, partners and collaborators have experienced the professionalism and dynamism of this team. Without them ATSIMA would not exist.

I have now stepped down from being the Chair of ATSIMA’s Board and will be taking on the role of CEO of ATSIMA. This is an exciting step for me and gives me the capacity to work full-time for ATSIMA and continue to grow the organisation to make a real change in maths education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners. In stepping down from Chair, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Board: Prof. Mark Rose, Jessica Jeeves, Will Morony, Gail Barrows, Jesse King and Renee Songoro for their commitment to ATSIMA and providing ATSIMA with a strategic direction, operational guidance, and partnership/funding opportunities. It has been a pleasure to work with you as the Chair of ATSIMA and I look forward to working with you in my new role as CEO.

A big congratulations to Jesse King as the new Chair of ATSIMA who was unanimously elected by the ATSIMA Board. I am very excited about this appointment and look forward to working with Jesse on shaping our strategic direction and taking the next step on the ATSIMA journey.

Activities for the Year

Over the coming year, ATSIMA will be engaged in the following activities:

• Developing more resources for our members
• Revitalising our website which will include an improved resource hub
• Professional Learning with clusters of schools in the ACT and NSW as well as individual schools
• Starting work with Universities to improve pre-service teacher education in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in mathematics
• Running STEM Camps for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in partnership with the ACT education directorate. The STEM Camps aim to support the identity of the students by allowing them to explore connections between STEM and their culture
• Continuing our advocacy for systemic change in the education system at State, Territory and Federal levels
• Delivering a webinar to hear more stories from individuals who are making a difference in pre-service education, education in schools, and hopefully some international presentations
• Planning for the 2025 ATSIMA Conference so watch this space.

These activities would not be possible without support from the GHD Foundation, Schnieder Electrical Foundation, Toyota Foundation, BHP Foundation, University of Melbourne and University of Adelaide. Thank you very much for believing in us and recognising the importance of our work.

National Summit

I am also very excited to announce that ATSIMA, in partnership with the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT), is holding a National Summit where all State and Territory mathematics education associations will work together to create a commitment statement and action plan to make a real difference in Indigenous education. This Summit is timely given the lack of progress on the Close the Gap initiatives and is the first phase in mobilising the mathematics education system to engage with Indigenous education and make a positive impact on a larger scale. At the Summit, we will also be planning the second phase of this project which will potentially include State and Territory Education Departments.

Paid Membership

I would like to thank all our members for their commitment and support. The growth in our membership clearly shows that individuals and organisations support our work, which improves our advocacy, relationship building and financial stability. We currently have 1,462 members in total with 1,332 Affiliate members, 2 Student and 67 Individual members and 14 organisational members. I would like to thank our Student, Individual and Organisational members for their financial support as paid members.

Please spread the word through your networks about ATSIMA and the great work we are doing. Encourage people and organisations to become a member of ATSIMA. As our paid membership grows, ATSIMA will become more financially sustainable.