Mai Anh Lu
Lansvale Public School, NSW
Dharug
Teaching Fellow
Every school aspires to do well in NAPLAN and Mai Anh Lu, Assistant Principal, Curriculum and Instruction at Lansvale Public School in southwest Sydney, has had a substantial impact in this area.
Mai addressed declining numeracy results through leading an explicit teaching initiative in mathematics, which particularly benefited the 94% of students at her school, whose first language was not English. Mai’s leadership also assisted other teachers with 93% of her colleagues feeling more confident teaching maths. This led to some great results, with 67% of students showing at least one year’s growth in numeracy in 2023.
Mai also created a growth and achievement Scatterplot tool, which has now been recommended for use statewide, as an effective way of gathering data. Her role as an ambassador for Seesaw has led to the app’s adoption across all classrooms, enhancing formative assessment, teaching practices, student technology skills, and school-parent partnerships.
In addition to her classroom initiatives, Mai has championed family and community involvement, significantly boosting more effective home learning during school closures. Mai coordinated extensive support for vulnerable families to ensure children were not left behind and continues to organise valuable numeracy and literacy workshops.
For more than 15 years, Mai has been dedicated to teaching in schools facing disadvantage in southwest Sydney. Her implementation of SOLO taxonomy enabling teachers to more effectively assess students’ work, and her introduction of cultural exchange initiatives have enhanced student thinking skills and respect for diverse cultures. Her incredible work was recently showcased by the NSW Department of Education to recognise her contribution to educational excellence.