Canberra principal Danielle Porter will swap the colourful campus of Charnwood-Dunlop School for the leafy grounds and bricked buildings of Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Never fear, though. She will return to the ACT after doing the short course in July next year, ready to bring fresh ideas about school leadership back with her.
Ms Porter is the recipient of the 2022 Harvard Club of Australia Principals Scholarship, worth about $16,000, which will allow her to learn alongside mid-career school leaders from around the world.
"This is a public evidence that I am a lifelong learner, that I'm still seeking out further knowledge and skills," she said.
"I'm really passionate about how education can remove barriers for kids and change their life trajectory. And I guess being a leader means I can do that on a bigger scale."
Coming from a long line of principals, it was almost inevitable that she would also make the transition from classroom teacher to school leader.
Ms Porter has been teaching in ACT schools since 1996 and is in her fifth year as a primary principal.
She stepped in to the leadership position at Charnwood-Dunlop School at the beginning of this year after a tumultuous time at the school.
The former principal, Rob Lans, stepped aside in October after he appeared in a video speaking against the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for teachers.
When speaking to The Canberra Times, Ms Porter was barred from responding to questions about her predecessor.
An Education Directorate spokesman did not directly answer questions about whether Mr Lans was still on leave and whether he would be returning to his role.
"The Education Directorate continues to respond to this matter in accordance with our internal administrative procedures and it would be inappropriate to comment on these processes," the spokesman said in a statement.
Ms Porter said it was difficult starting at a new school when the COVID restrictions prevented community gatherings.
"That's probably been the hardest thing, coming to a new school in the middle of a pandemic, when we haven't had kind of the same openness to families," she said.
"Every time you walk in with a new group of kids, you need to be really honest about who you are and make connections and kids know when you're not being genuine."
After the disruptions and restrictions of the past two years, she said students were craving the face-to-face contact and community events.
Schools are trying to make the celebrations and fun extra activities happen in a COVID-safe way - while also being prepared to move to remote learning at a moments' notice.
Despite the upheaval, the core business of primary schools, developing good literacy, numeracy and critical thinking skills, has never changed.
"To be curious and have an inquiring mindset so that you're open to being able to investigate and learn new things as you need them is a critical skill for the future," Ms Porter said.
"All the information in the world's sitting there on your phone. Those are the skills that will hold you in good stead whatever the future may be."
Spending a week learning in one of the world's top education institutions will bring a global perspective to how education has evolved in recent years.
Ms Porter hopes to bring those lessons back to her community in Canberra.
"It's kind of blowing my mind that I've worked in ACT education pretty much my whole career and now I'm going to go and talk to people from all over the world."
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