Chris Sarra is an Australian educationalist, and the founder & Chairman of the Stronger Smarter Institute. Sarra grew up in Bundaberg, Queensland as the youngest of ten children to parents of Italian and Aboriginal heritage, and he experienced many of the issues faced by Indigenous students throughout their schooling.
In 1998, Sarra became the first Aboriginal Principal of Cherbourg State School in South East Queensland where his leadership improved the educational outcomes of its students.
In 2005, Sarra left as principal of Cherbourg School, and in 2006, with the support of the Queensland government, he established the Indigenous Education Leadership Institute, the forerunner to the Stronger Smarter Institute.
From 2008 to 2013, the Stronger Smarter Institute was part of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) before Sarra's termination from his position in March 2013. His termination came after "statements made by Sarra last year that he was planning to leave QUT and education" and after being on leave from the Institute since July the previous year.
Later in the year 2013, Sarra established the Institute as an independent non-profit organisation.
Sarra has a Diploma of Teaching, a Bachelor of Education, and a Master of Education. In 2005, he completed his PhD in Psychology at Murdoch University. His PhD thesis Strong and Smart – Towards a Pedagogy for Emancipation : Education for First Peoples was developed into a book and published in 2011.
His autobiography was published in 2012 by University of Queensland Press. In 2004, Sarra was Queenslander of the Year, and in 2010 he was Queensland's Australian of the Year. Sarra sits on the Australian Rugby League Commission.
Cherbourg State School
In the late 1990s, Sarra became the first Aboriginal principal of Cherbourg State School in South-East Queensland. Under Sarra's leadership the school became nationally acclaimed for its pursuit of the ‘Strong and Smart' philosophy, which led to dramatic improvements in educational outcomes. Through strong leadership and clear vision he facilitated many changes at the school which saw increasing enthusiasm for student learning, dramatically improved school attendance and increased community involvement in education.
An Education Queensland Review of Cherbourg in 2002 showed considerable improvements in attendance (50% in 1997 to 95% in 2002), as well as improvements in literacy in numeracy. Sarra reversed high absenteeism and low academic achievement in a short period using a range of leadership approaches. He introduced a school uniform, school motto ('strong and smart') and school song. Students were assigned to keep different areas of the school tidy and litter-free, and students monitored their own absences in class and had to explain those absences to the school assembly each week. The school made an Indigenous studies program integral to the curriculum in all years. Steps also included engaging with the community to help build a vision for the school, and engaging local indigenous people to work at the school. Classes and students with the lowest number of absences were rewarded, with encouragements such as free ice blocks from the tuck shop, or trips to McDonald's, or occasionally trips to Melbourne.
Sarra's own report on his time at Cherbourg showed improvements were found in staff, student and community feelings of satisfaction with the school as well as a considerable decrease in the number of students identified as requiring additional support in reading and writing. Performance in Literacy and Numeracy overall showed slight improvement. Enrolments in the school increased from 144 in 1998 to 265 in 2002 as parents became more satisfied with the educational standards at the school. In reflecting on the positive changes in the school, Sarra said, "the most important things I did was believe in the people already at Cherbourg, as well as the new teaching team that was established, and be prepared to value and act upon what they had to say.".
In 2008, Tom Calma, the then Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and National Race Discrimination Commissioner, said in a speech delivered to the Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals in Melbourne,