Sharon Cheers
Director of Professional Development and School Partnerships
Sharon’s ambition is to defy disadvantage through the creation of shared value, integrating education system expertise with strategy and social sector knowledge. With 15 years’ education consulting and executive experience within a not-for-profit context, Sharon enables practice at a micro school level through to the macro level as a contributor to global future of education projects with the OCED and Global Education Leaders’ Partnership.
Learn more about her role with MultiLit.
How long have you worked for MultiLit?
I joined MultiLit just over four months ago. The expertise and professionalism across the team is very impressive. We work in a fast-paced environment and meeting the demand for our professional learning programs across the country is an exciting proposition.
What inspired you to get into education?
Like many young people I had lots of answers to the question about my future career. Teacher, veterinarian, scientist, and artist were my most frequent answers. Over time, the desire to work with children strengthened and I was committed to becoming a teacher.
It’s been a fantastic choice for me, both when I was in the classroom and more recently working to support educators to improve their professional practice. I love seeing the talent of teachers and experiencing the energy of young people in schools.
Tell us a bit about your background and experience.
My teaching journey commenced as a primary teacher. I quickly became interested in how to best design learning to meet the diverse needs of children. A professional pathway of further study and close engagement with research was established. Teaching is a challenging, demanding profession; the immense reward that results is enhanced by professional collaboration and ongoing learning.
My transition to work as an education consultant 15 years ago accelerated my appreciation of diversity and complexity within education. I was able to support change in professional practice at a school level and work on national and international projects. There is always more to learn and further improvement that is possible, yet time is a precious commodity for students and teachers alike. Asking what is essential, most effective and relevant for learners has guided my work with school leaders and peers.
Recently I completed further study in business administration and social impact to complement my leadership capability to design services for educators. I’m excited to bring my experience and skills to MultiLit and accelerate their impact.
What are some of the key responsibilities of your role?
Our community of practice is growing exponentially as more schools embrace our programs. To realise our potential impact over time gives our team a shared purpose. Every new school and new educator we support increases the number of children learning to read and engaging positively with their learning.
My role is to support our growth strategy. I’m working with a team of experts that conduct professional learning along with learning designers and our administration team. Across the business it is certainly a case of harmonising diverse expertise in the interest of offering premium professional learning.
Completing a MultiLit professional learning workshop is only the start of our relationship with a teacher and their school. We value working in partnership with schools as they learn about our program features and resources and how to use these with fidelity overtime. Our School Partnership team advises schools throughout the implementation journey, as teachers embrace the science of reading and learning. More recently MultiLit has been working with education systems and networks of schools and it is a privilege to witness the collective impact that is being realised.
I’m particularly excited that we are expanding our professional development offer in relation to Positive Teaching and Learning. We want to ensure students are ready to receive instruction in all areas of the curriculum. We know that without planning for effective classroom management, student engagement, participation and learning will be negatively impacted. We are providing teachers with the essential knowledge of the evidence-base and exemplary resources to amplify the learning trajectory for young people.
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about literacy?
The science of reading is clear. It will be an incredible disservice to young people if the education community does not scale the application of this evidence base. Equipping children with the ability to read is fundamental to equitable education outcomes; it gives children agency to embrace opportunities before them. MultiLit is facilitating the ease with which schools and systems can support all young people to read, and therefore thrive in life.