John Goh
Merrylands East Public School, NSW
Teaching Fellow
Starting the school day earlier so kids are not so tired and getting rid of the bell are some of the measures John Goh has introduced at Merrylands East Public. A focus on literacy, numeracy and digital learning combined with a collaborative approach has helped it to exceed the average NSW growth for literacy and numeracy.
Starting the school day earlier so kids are not so tired, knocking down classroom walls and getting rid of the bell are some of the radical measures John Goh has introduced since becoming Principal of a south western Sydney primary school 13 years ago.
Merrylands East Public was once unremarkable, but a focus on literacy, numeracy and digital learning combined with opening up the school to collaborate with everyone – from families to global tech companies – has made it a model for successful transformation.
Its literacy and numeracy results have improved dramatically and now regularly exceed the average growth in NSW, while strong community partnerships have been forged.
As an inventive and resourceful leader, John has a large social media following and has given a TEDxSydneySalon talk about the use of technology in education.