GROWING up as an Aboriginal Italian, Chris Sarra believed he had been sold short during school in Bundaberg.

His teachers held few expectations of him, so with a lofty ambition he set off to achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

And he did just that. And continues to do just that, to the extent that the now University of Canberra professor of education was recently recognised for his “courage”.

The 49-year-old received the Anthony Mundine Award for Courage at the National Indigenous Human Rights Awards event at Parliament House.

It all started when Chris received a special entry into teachers’ college.

But without the marks and with little confidence following his schooling experience Chris almost didn’t go.

It was only after reflecting on the toxic dynamics of his student years that he decided to apply and overcome them.

During college Chris worked hard, got great marks and finished feeling… not happy.

“I was really angry,” he says.

“I started teaching at 20 and from the outset I was pretty determined to change how indigenous people are taught.

“It shouldn’t be that teachers don’t believe in them because they’re Aboriginal or come from a different postcode.”

But it was still happening and Chris was constantly searching for the right fit to change that.

So when a call came out of the blue offering him a position as principal of Cherbourg State School, 250 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, he took it.

Chris believed it was time for him to practice what he taught.

“The first day I said to the kids: ‘The most important thing you’ll learn from me is that you can be an Aboriginal and you can be successful’,” he says.

For Chris it was about delivering them a sense of hope.

“It was at a time when nobody believed that Aboriginal children could perform as well,” he says.

During his time as the school’s first Aboriginal principal attendance went from around 62 per cent to 94 per cent and the students’ numeracy and literacy improved quite dramatically.

“We didn’t touch people’s welfare payments, we just made a school that kids and parents wanted to be involved in,” he says.

“The fundamental success was employing a lot of local indigenous people to work in the school.”

The key challenge for Chris was to get teachers and to some extent Aboriginal people to believe in the learning capacity of Aboriginal children.

“Teachers have a remarkable amount of influences and that can be in a positive or negative way,” he says.

In 2005, Chris founded the Stronger Smarter Institute to share with other schools and indigenous leaders the keys to success that were formed in Cherbourg.

But he emphasises that the Stronger Smarter approach is not only good for Aboriginal students, it’s also good for poor white students.

He says that all students, no matter their background, bank account or postcode have access to the same education if expectations are raised.

“The data says we’ve come a long way but it also says we have a long way to go,” he says.