From Old MacDonald to Charlotte’s Web, every farm and the people living on it have a story worth telling – including us.
Founded in 2020 by Primary Teacher-turned-Governess, Kylie Jones, RAISEducation is a registered Australian charity that aims to close the education gap by improving the educational outcomes for children living in remote and isolated farming communities across Outback Australia.
With a focus on supporting the parents and home tutors working with the children, we provide individualised learning plans to enhance essential Literacy and Numeracy skills in the early years and primary school-aged students, as well as in-home visits to deliver specific face-to-face learning support.
Our Mission
We deliver practical, actionable, plain-speaking learning support strategies and early intervention for children with specific learning needs living in geographically isolated locations across Outback Australia.
Our Vision
To remove barriers to equitable, supportive, meaningful educational experiences for Australian families living in geographically remote locations so that all children can thrive at school and in the future.
Our Value Pillars
RAISE is founded on six unshakeable core values.
It takes a community
They say, ‘It takes a village.’ Well, out here, it takes a whole community – and a lot of hard yakka. By showing up, having a red-hot go, and connecting with the people we serve, we reinforce our commitment to making a difference in our remote and isolated communities.
Think outside the box
Creativity is the mother of invention – and out here, we think that ‘flexibility’ is its close cousin. We recognise that no two students are the same; we’re proof that what works for one doesn’t work for all. That’s why we challenge ourselves to think outside the box, make adjustments as we go, and always find ways to make things work better.
Teamwork makes the dream work
We don’t profess to know everything; we know that two heads are better than one and that life smarts beat book smarts more often than not. Partnering with parents, governesses, tutors, teachers (and the occasional station hand), we work together to develop learning experiences that enrich our children’s lives.
Knowledge is power
You don’t know what you don’t know, so we go out of our way to find things out – even the tricky hard-to-figure-out stuff. We don’t believe in holding back knowledge to bolster our egos; we know that when everyone learns, everyone wins. No gatekeeping, unanswered questions, secrets, or hidden agendas – just refreshing transparency, a commitment to raising awareness, and an open line of communication between our families, partners, and donors.
For the love of learning
We’re going the distance to help close the education gap. We know developing a love of learning is important, which is why it’s vital that every child’s learning experience is meaningful, enjoyable, and individualised for their needs. This understanding drives us to deliver practical, actionable, plainspeaking learning support strategies to help our little tackers form deeper connections to their learning and the land they’re on.
Compassion is a teacher
We call it ‘education’, but it’s really just about going back to basics, focussing on the needs of the students, and teaching from the heart. We deeply care about the families we work with and the isolated communities we live in. Our reason for existing doesn’t just hit close to home – it is our home. Leading with compassion, acting with kindness, and showing that we care about our families’ futures is what drives us when we’re driving thousands of kilometres across the outback to our next lesson – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Our People
KYLIE JONES – Founding Director
SARAH CROOK – Director
REBECCA CADZOW – Director
SALLY TOWNE – Director
Kylie Jones
Founding Director
Kylie is deeply passionate about supporting the educational journeys of students living in remote and isolated areas across Australia.
She is a qualified teacher, with experience in the mainstream classroom as well as time as a governess on isolated cattle stations in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Kylie was named the 2022 NT Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award Winner and is currently completing a director and governance course with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is determined to improve student achievement in Literacy and Numeracy throughout Australia and ensure every child has access to the educational support they need.
Sarah Crook
Director
Talented, dedicated, hard-working and passionate are just a few words you could use to describe Sarah Crook. A highly respected leading teacher, she has a wealth of experience and knowledge in education.
Sarah graduated with a Bachelor of Teaching and Bachelor of Educational Studies at La Trobe University and began teaching at small schools in the Victorian Mallee. She left her family farm to continue her education journey in the NT. During this time, she worked as a governess, taught in a remote indigenous community and was a member of the leadership team while teaching at a school in Alice Springs. These experiences gave her a clear understanding of the educational difficulties’ families living in remote settings face. Sarah is currently in the role of Leading Teacher at Lake Boga Primary School and is one of the Teaching & Learning Leaders in the Swan Hill School District.
Sarah has extensive skills and training in assessment & data collection and is passionate about providing individualised learning programs for all students. She strongly believes every child deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential and she brings a repertoire of teaching skills and strategies to the RAISEducation team.
Rebecca Cadzow
Director
If you’ve ever met Bec, you’ll know there is nothing this inspiring woman can’t achieve! She has a Bachelor of Education (Primary), is a member of the New England Girls School (NEGS) Board of Directors, runs a cattle station, drives road trains, flies planes, is an expert cheese maker and that’s not even close to everything! On top of this, she has three beautiful daughters, all of whom have faced the challenges of undertaking education remotely.
Being a teacher herself, Bec shows a real commitment to improving education in Australia. She has worked tirelessly to make changes to the education system and has recently developed a distance education program for students at NEGS. Bec strongly believes in educational equality and dreams of a future where every child receives the support they deserve.
Bec brings a wealth of teaching knowledge and has experienced the hurdles distance education can present families.
Sally Towne
Director
‘An absolute inspiration’ is probably the best way to describe Sally Towne. A mother of four beautiful children, a successful businesswoman, and a cancer survivor are only a few items on the long list of achievements you can attribute to Sally.
After leaving the safety of Sydney to experience a ‘gap-year’ in the Northern Territory, Sally never looked back. That ‘gap-year’ turned into a life living and working on remote cattle stations in the NT, QLD and WA while also running her own businesses and raising a family.
During this time, she has experienced first-hand the difficulties children face while undertaking education remotely. She has worked tirelessly to ensure her children have received the best education possible and she is passionate about helping other remote & isolated families find the educational support they require.
Sally brings a wealth of business knowledge and a strong understanding of the educational difficulties faced by remote and isolated families.
Help us go further to reach more families
Become a sponsor partner of RAISEducation today.