Mr Atkinson comes to Jindabyne Central School at a crucial time in the school’s history with the first Higher School Certificate students starting this week and a huge growth in the numbers at the school. The school was without a permanent head for three out of the four terms last year and a great deal of community debate surrounded the process in appointing the new principal.

Mr Atkinson is a keen golfer, skier and guitar player and is pleased to again be an active member of the Jindabyne Lions Club.

“I’m very keen to become involved in the Jindabyne community and meet as many people as possible. Jindabyne has a very strong sense of community,” he said.

The experienced educator has worked in eight schools across four regions of NSW. He was principal in three of these schools and combines his class room experience with his other achievements in education.

Over the years Mr Atkinson has written a book for the Australian Curriculum Studies Association, run a desktop publishing business and worked with the Education Department’s South East Region to improve the leadership skills of principals. He is currently a state representative on the Human Resources Reference Group that advises the Department of Education on policy implementation.

Mr Atkinson considers the time he spent as a CAP consultant in the western region of NSW as his most rewarding years in education. While there he worked with over 34 central schools and TAFE colleges to expand their senior curriculum using technology and innovative delivery methods and then linking those schools to larger high schools around the state.

He has also been a computer co-ordinator in the Riverina Region, and more recently has run numerous mentoring courses across the Illawarra and South East Region for primary and secondary principals.