Executive Director Cheryl Salter has a very strong Education background. Cheryl grew up in Adelaide where she trained in Primary and Secondary education and completed a major in Special Ed with her final year being at OLSH in Adelaide.

One of the Nuns suggested that there were teaching opportunities in the NT at their school on Tiwi. Equipped with her Special Ed she set out to teach at the remote Catholic School with the intention of staying for a year. Cheryl had the valuable experience of working with the legendary Sister Anne Gardiner. Cheryl found the experience exciting and enriching and she gained much from the school, it being the first bilingual school in the NT. Her time at Tiwi was very instructive resulting in knowledge and understanding of that particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait community and of the effective delivery of education to Aboriginal and Torres Strait people.

After four years she headed to Darwin where she taught at St Paul’s Nightcliff providing her with an understanding of Primary School Education in the NT Catholic system. As ED of AISNT there is an imperative to work with and understand the Catholic system.

Her next chapter was at Essington. In spite of the rumours that “they did weird things there” she decided to accept a position on the pioneering staff. Cheryl spent 16 years all up at Essington. It was an exciting innovative time in the development of the school and eventually she held the position of deputy .This time at Essington gave her a good understanding of Montessori Education. It also gave her experience of an innovative, developing school like many of our member schools of AISNT.

 When Gail Barker became Executive Director of AISNT she recruited Cheryl to be her 2IC, a position she held until Gail retired and Cheryl became Executive Director. Cheryl’s vast experience in the NT has produced a significant understanding of NT schools and the challenges they face. She understands how they operate and can also inject expert knowledge of Special Ed and Industrial Relations into the mix. The role of an AISNT leader is far from being remote and relies heavily on developing positive relations with all schools, with the other State Organisations, the National Body in Canberra, the relevant people in the NT Education Department, the Minister and other relevant politicians. As leader she has an excellent understanding of government regulation, both NT and Federal. Key in this is her clear understanding of funding for Independent Schools. This is a real challenge because it changes often. Many schools struggle with this and rely on AISNT to provide an understanding and to enter into whatever debate is necessary with the government. In addition the relationship that exists between the schools and the Governments requires a helpful and tolerant approach , which is promoted by AISNT.

Cheryl is a friendly, good humoured, astute natural team builder and sets out to create a happy and productive organisation. Hers is indeed a busy, vital and high-pressured job!