COFFS Harbour Senior College has been acknowledged for its outstanding achievements and contributions to public education at the 2026 Public Education Awards, held at Sydney Town Hall on Monday, 3 August, the opening day of Public Education Week, 2026.
Public schools across the State are celebrating the week with this year’s theme, ‘Inspiring Excellence’, and the awards celebrate the inspiring achievements, innovative ideas, and dedicated service that are shaping the future of public education across NSW.
Coffs Harbour Senior College received the Secretary’s Award for Outstanding School Achievement in recognition of its exceptional dedication and impact in developing a Generative AI in Assessment Framework that gives every teacher and student at the school clear, shared language in how they engage with AI as a tool for learning.
Kristin Vlasto, English Teacher, Coffs Harbour Senior College, said, “I ran the survey with our outgoing Year 12 students last year, and their advice was clear.
“They wanted the learning process valued alongside the final product, and honest guidelines about what AI use was actually permitted.
“I took that advice into my own classroom this year, trialling the framework with an Extension English task where a student reflected on her own creative process.
“The guidelines let her use NSWEduChat to test her writing against the performance band descriptors, not to write the task for her.
“Watching her lift the depth of her own thinking because of that feedback, rather than replace it, told me this approach works.”
The student agreed, saying, “Before this task, I was not sure where the line was with AI, and that made me nervous about using it at all.
“Having a clear level set out for us changed that. I knew I could use NSWEduChat to check my reflection against the performance bands, but I could not ask it to write for me.
“When it flagged a section that needed more depth, I had to go back and think harder about my own process, not just accept a suggestion.
“I ended up with writing that was more sophisticated, and it was still mine.
“Knowing exactly what was allowed made the whole task feel fair.”
Deputy Principal, Coffs Harbour Senior College, Scott Breen, said, “We made a deliberate choice to lead in this space because we recognised early that artificial intelligence would fundamentally change education.
“Rather than wait for change to happen to us, we chose to equip our teachers and students with the knowledge, skills and ethical framework to use AI responsibly.
“This framework provides a clear, shared approach to engaging with artificial intelligence while ensuring the critical thinking, judgement and integrity at the heart of Stage 6 assessment remain genuinely the student’s own. We’re proud to be recognised for work that supports our students to thrive in a future where AI will be part of every profession and every workplace.”
Secretary of the NSW Department of Education Murat Dizdar said the awards recognised the extraordinary stories of achievement unfolding in public schools every day.
He said, “Inspiring excellence starts with the people who show up for our students every day.
“Teaching is one of the few professions where success is measured by the success of others.
“I’m proud these Awards recognise that.”
By Andrew VIVIAN
You can help your local paper.
Make a small once-off, or (if you can) a regular donation.
We are an independent family owned business and our newspapers are free to collect and our news stories are free online.
Help support us into the future.
