QIS Parents Network appoints new Executive Officer

Amanda Watt has been appointed Executive Officer of the Queensland Independent Schools Parents Network.

Shari Armistead, Chair of the QIS Parents Network and Independent Schools Queensland Director (Strategic Relations) thanked outgoing Executive Officer Justine Cirocco for her service over the past two years and welcomed Amanda to the role.

QIS Parents Network Executive Officer Amanda Watt

“With the tremendous amount of work Amanda has already put into the QIS Parents Network, I am confident parents of children attending independent schools in Queensland will be well represented under her tenure,” Ms Armistead said.

The QIS Parents Network is the representative body for the needs and interests of parents who choose an independent education for their children.

Independent Schools Queensland Chief Executive Officer Chris Mountford said the organisation enjoyed a collaborative partnership with the QIS Parents Network.

“We share a mutual passion for fostering positive and respectful partnerships between schools, parents and children which I look forward to continuing for many years to come,” Mr Mountford said.

Strengthening partnerships

A former award-winning journalist and Queensland independent school graduate, Ms Watt said she looked forward to strengthening partnerships and working productively with all stakeholders in the education space.

“We are lucky in Queensland to have strong partnerships across all schooling sectors, united in a joint mission to ensure all children have access to a quality education,” Ms Watt said.

A parent of two young children, Amanda joined the QIS Parents Network in 2019 initially as the Communications Officer before taking an expanded role in 2021, project managing the ground-breaking EPIC research project. This valuable research project is a collaboration between QIS Parents Network, Griffith University and Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) investigating evidence-based parent engagement practices.

Spreading the word about parent engagement

Amanda said she was eager to continue spreading the word about the great work independent schools are doing in the burgeoning area of parent engagement.

“We know from 60 years of research that when parents are engaged, or brought closer to what their children are learning, students’ academic, social and wellbeing outcomes soar,” Ms Watt said.