Late last month, Dubbo educator Natalie Polak was formally recognised with the highest form of accreditation provided by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), and is now a nationally accredited Lead Teacher.

The Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction at Dubbo South Public School travelled to Sydney on Friday, August 22, for the award ceremony at the NSW State Library, where she and others who also achieved this accreditation received special medallions.

While the terminology may not be well understood in the wider community, Lead Teacher accreditation is a big deal in the education sector. Not every school has an educator with Lead Teacher accreditation, and gaining this is a huge nod to the commitment and dedication of Mrs Polak. It also means great things for the staff and almost 600 students at the Fitzroy St school.

Dubbo Photo News sat down with Mrs Polak recently to talk about what this all means for herself professionally, and her school.

“All teachers gain what we call proficient teaching accreditation, and they have to maintain that accreditation throughout their career,” Mrs Polak explained.

“But you can also volunteer for higher levels of accreditation. Every teacher is able to volunteer, to apply and submit and go through that process, but very few do. I think the latest statistics they had was 1.2 per cent of the national teaching population has reached that level,” she added.

The 41-year-old married mum of two graduated as a teacher in 2008 and gained her teaching proficiency in 2010. She then completed the Highly Accomplished level in 2016 and last year completed the requirements to gain Lead Teacher accreditation.

“It's great to be able to test yourself against the standards of the profession,” she said.

“We're all trying to grow as teachers and be able to deliver the best possible outcomes for our students.”

In her assistant principal role, Mrs Polak teaches extension English classes for high-potential students needing additional challenges. She is also heavily involved in supporting and building capacity and expertise in her teaching colleagues, helping one colleague achieve Highly Accomplished accreditation and guiding four more who are currently on this pathway.

“I teach extension English stage one and three students, who I meet with for an hour each week, and that's the joy of my week – to get to work with them and to extend them and it’s wonderful,” she added.

Mrs Polak entered teaching following an earlier career as a journalist, retraining in education and working as a high school English and history teacher for the first decade of her teaching career.

Through teaching she met the love of her life, husband Matthew Polak (also a teacher), and the couple have two sons, Arthur and Henry. An opportunity to transition to primary teaching brought her to South Dubbo Public School in 2020.

Principal Sharon Allman, who also attended the award ceremony in Sydney with Natalie and Matthew Polak, was effusive in her congratulations, describing Mrs Polak as an amazing teacher, mentor and leader.

“This is the highest level of teaching accreditation any teacher can take on and work toward,” Ms Allman said.

“Mr Paul Martin, NESA Director stated, ‘they are the best of the best.’ Thank you for being such an exemplary teacher, Mrs Polak. Our students and staff at South benefit from your work and we are all very lucky and thankful to have you!” Ms Allman concluded.