How did Mary Mackillop help setting up schools?

In 1866 at the invitation of Fr Woods, Parish Priest, Mary began teaching as a Sister of St Joseph with help of her two sisters at Penola, SA. Later, Fr Woods was made Director General of Education & Inspector of Schools and set about to reorganise Catholic schools. The following year, he asked Mary to come to Adelaide. A young lady who ran a school in Adelaide not only prepared their accommodation but offered to join them. Classes began and it wasn't long before other women joined. Their rented house became too small so they moved to three other cottages. Then in 1869, a two-storey 'poor school' was built, lower floor for the classrooms and the upper one for the sisters. By October 1867 the first country school was opened at Yankalilla. At the end of 1869, there were 72 sisters teaching in 21 schools.

Mary had experience as governess and school mistress - both great assets along with her standard of teaching and the way she conducted the school impressed the locals. When Mary was satisfied with how the school was running she would draw up a curriculum and lesson programs for the various classes.

Mary was a good teacher who prepared well for her lessons in order to address the children's needs as many had little or no schooling. Many of their parents were almost totally illiterate. Mary's aim was to teach them to read, write and do simple maths to enable them to understand an ordinary newspaper, write simple letters and manage their finances. Mary's real uniqueness lay in the way she combined the religious instruction and the secular subjects in her teaching.