Kellie Mills

Bracken Ridge State School

Kellie Mills has asserted herself as a champion of the special education students in her school.
 
In her role as the Head of Special Education Services at Bracken Ridge State School, Kellie has designed and implemented evidence-based strategies appropriate to each individual at-risk student in the school’s care.
 
Kellie has thrived in this role, and her special education students have been able to engage with the curriculum, expand their opportunities, and reach their potential as a result. 

​Under Kellie’s care, one student went from attending one-an- a-half hours of class a day and recording 75 absences in a year to achieving full time attendance and becoming one of the top-achieving students in the class in reading and Mathematics. 

Another student went from recording 65 extreme behaviour incidents, 24 send homes, and 11 short suspensions in Year 3 to just four incidents and one send home in Year 6.
 
Kellie achieved these outstanding improvements by building real relationships with every special education student, allowing her to better understand their strengths and weaknesses so that she could tailor learning strategies to their unique needs.
 
The key goal was to facilitate a cultural change at Bracken Ridge that allowed special education students to engage with the curriculum as much as possible in their mainstream classroom.
 
This goal was successfully achieved under Kellie’s skillful leadership, and the school has now seen a shift where mainstream class inclusion is no longer the exception but is now the rule.  

Kellie strives to create collaborative relationships with all of the specialist parties required to achieve the best possible outcomes for special needs kids. She collaborates with behavioural support services, family support services, churches, families, and carers to create a holistic support system for the children in her care.
 
Congratulations Kellie on your nomination.
 
By Claudia Farhart.