St Margaret’s secondary teacher Jessica Braham has been named a winner in The Educator Rising Stars 2026, recognised among the nation’s most outstanding young educators demonstrating leadership, innovation and achievement.
In addition to recognising individual Rising Stars, St Margaret’s has been recognised with a School Leadership Award celebrating the school’s fostering of exemplary young educators. This award acknowledges schools that provide an environment where young educators thrive, support teachers to excel, and demonstrate outstanding leadership, innovation, and achievement in nurturing early-career educators.
A dedicated English and History teacher and the Acting Assistant Head of Faculty – Sociocultural Studies, Jessica finds shaping the next generation of young minds one of the most rewarding aspects of her role.
“I am most passionate about the moments in which I see students’ minds and perceptions of the world shift: when they form connections between concepts; realise just how ‘human’ historical figures were; use a term like ‘disenfranchisement’ correctly; and uncover the implicit meaning of a passage; recognise exactly what an author was trying to convey and relate this back to their own existence; discover that the past is parallelled in today’s world; understand that there is joy, sorrow and rigour to be found in equal measure when reading about, interrogating, and understanding this past and our present.”
To achieve this, Jessica is committed to continually enhancing her teaching practice. She has developed creative approaches to engage students with the English curriculum, including innovative Book Week initiatives that promote a love of reading across the school.
She is equally committed to professional learning, actively seeking opportunities to strengthen her pedagogy and leadership.
“I believe it is important to observe. This takes different forms: observe educational research and developments, observe my peers/colleagues/mentors, observe my students, observe myself and observe the world. Each of these has something to teach me, in turn enabling me to keep innovating and developing as an educator.”
Jessica was inspired to become an educator by her parents, who were both teachers.
“They were everything I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be someone who cared for, nurtured, supported, guided and educated others. I wanted to share with students my love of History and English and the joy and satisfaction that can be found in stories, both factual and fictional.
“It is this duality that I find the most rewarding: being able to share my love of learning and knowledge with my classes and being able to ensure that each student feels supported and understood every day,” Jessica said.
It would be fair to say that Jessica has been successful in her pursuit. Parents, students and colleagues describe her as a dedicated, caring and inclusive educator who places student wellbeing at the centre of her work. Beyond the classroom, she contributes to the broader life of the school as a soccer coordinator and member of the Reconciliation Action Plan committee, helping to build a vibrant, values‑driven community at St Margaret’s.
Jessica said she felt incredibly humbled to be recognised as a Rising Star in education.
“Teaching is one of the great joys of my life, and I work hard not for recognition, but to provide the best outcomes for our students and our school; I am honoured that this work has been acknowledged.”
In addition to recognising individual Rising Stars, the School Leadership Award was introduced to celebrate the schools fostering these exemplary young talents. This award acknowledges schools that provide an environment where young educators thrive, support teachers to excel, and demonstrate outstanding leadership, innovation, and achievement in nurturing early-career educators.