Meet the Staff: Chief Evaluator
David Millar
Chief Evaluator
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021 483 6441
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David.Millar@seawc.gov.za
Meet the new Chief Evaluator David Millar
David was born in Manchester – the red side. He did his formative schooling years in England before coming to South Africa. He completed his high school years in the Vaal Triangle, an industrial area south of Johannesburg. He developed a great love for Geography because of his teacher Mrs Koekemoer. Mrs Koekemoer inspired him to read for a degree in Geography.
David matriculated in 1983 and left for Johannesburg to attend the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). He graduated with his under-graduate and post-graduate degrees in Geography. He also did his post-graduate teacher’s diploma at Wits.
David started teaching Geography at Suncrest High School in Vanderbijlpark (Gauteng) in 1990 and was promoted to deputy Principal in 1999. It was at Suncrest High School where his passion for teaching was cemented.
He left for Cape Town in 2002 where he started as a contract teacher at Cravenby Secondary, then as a teacher at Plumstead HS and, within a year Departmental Head at Rhodes HS. In January 2004 he became Deputy Principal of Norman Henshilwood High School in Constantia and by July that same year he was appointed Principal.
David completed his Master’s degree in Education Planning and Policy in 2014 at UCT. His dissertation studied the role that principals play in driving excellence at schools in the Western Cape as instructional leaders. It is in the classroom where the proverbial ‘rubber hits the road’ so high quality teaching and learning can never be compromised.
David spent 13 years at Norman Henshilwood High (a Top 20 Merit List School for many years) in Metro South before being appointed District Director of Metro North Education District in April 2017. He spent three great learning years at North (and many high achievement academic awards followed for the District) before taking over at the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA) as Chief Executive Officer for the Western Cape in April 2020.
David becomes the SEA’s second Chief Evaluator after Ms Karen Bydell.
David shares some of his thoughts with us …
As Chief Evaluator I intend to promote the Schools Evaluation Authority (SEA) as an authority which improves lives by raising standards in education at schools in the Western Cape. I am not only super stoked at being appointed, but excited too about starting my SEA journey and wish to thank the provincial Minister for putting his trust in me. I could not think of a more challenging role where the stakes are so incredibly high, especially post-Covid19, learning recovery and the BOT / CPD programmes. My role takes me back to my love for school improvement. It is a challenge I embrace with gusto.
I realise more than ever that relationships matter. It has always been my experience to put people first – what one gives, one gets back ten-fold. As a school principal having earned 13 stripes (one for each year as Head) my vision was to create a culture of high achievement as my Staff and learners embraced excellence in every facet of school life.
The SEA is in the unique position to see what is happening on the ground and must use the evidence gathered to identify trends and highlight issues that must be addressed. It also stands to reason that evaluations can ventilate good practice that other schools can learn from (sharing really is caring).
As Chief Evaluator, I intend promoting the SEA as a values-based, transparent and accountable authority where children and learners come first and where standards are judged (and findings reported to the public) without fear or favour. In addition, the SEA’s policies, judgements and insights will be evidence-led. SEA Staff must act with integrity and impartiality. The SEA must be accessible and engaged to our different audiences in different contexts so that we can better understand their needs and always act in the best interests of our learners.
Although the South African ‘model’ of education delivery is based on a Head-Office/District Office/School modality, where a reciprocity of accountability should prevail, the school remains the basic unit for the delivery of quality education and as a result, must be the primary place where principals and teachers are held to account.
Pressure for increased school accountability will be a distinctive hallmark of the SEA under my leadership. In my thirty-four years in education I continue to ask the question (based on a research article I read many years ago): when accountability knocks, will anyone answer? (Abelmann & Elmore: 1999)
The SEA must be a force for improvement for every child in every classroom in every school in the province. Our children deserve a world-class education. It is incumbent on all schools to be the hope, to sell hope, HOPE that delivers a world class education to our children.
David J. Millar
Chief Evaluator
November 2023