Capricorn School of Distance Education: Department gives Emerald’s The Station and The Shed a passing grade for use in December 2022

After years of frustration and delays, Capricornia School of Distance Education Emerald and Longreach students, teachers and families finally have hope of returning to their facilities.

"Isolated but united," the CSDE students embody the name name of their school song.

After years of disruption for Central Queensland distance education students, teachers and parents over the closure of numerous facilities by the Education Department due to noncompliance, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Between 60-80 students and families of Capricornia School of Distance Education Emerald campus were using two purpose-built short-term camping facilities at Emerald, known as The Outstation, The Tuckerbox and The Shed, until February, 2020, when the Department of Education kicked them out.

These buildings were used in the final week of every school term for the students and parents to camp in and spend time socialising and having lessons.

Since then, members of the CSDE community, such as former secretary and current vice president of Capricornia P & C, Elizabeth Burnett, have been fighting to have their facilities restored.

Ms Burnett said after an exhausting battle with the Department of Education over the ‘disruptive’ closures, families had been given an end date to the saga, with the Emerald facility set to reopen in December.

“There’s been a huge movement,” Ms Burnett said of the decision.

“Families were pretty exhausted with trying to convince the Department (of Education) that this was really worthwhile.

“The closures had really disrupted the social dynamics with the families at Emerald Capricornia distance education.

“People who were really close friends before, including their children, their friendships were affected because they had limited time together.

“Home tutors who work for those families became very disconnected from their support and networking.”

Ms Burnett said the ordeal had been ‘catastrophic’ for those involved and the decision to reopen the facilities was an emotional time for everyone.

“Everyone was just exhausted and really deflated,” she said.

“It’s really affected a lot of people in a negative way.

“It was a massively emotional experience when the Department (of Education) decided to reinstate the accommodation to families.”

Disco fever hits the Capricornia School of Distance Education (CSDE) students at The Outstation, Emerald.

Education Queensland closed the facilities after there were aspects of the buildings that were deemed unsafe and unable to be used until the recommended changes were made, such as two fire doors, upgrades to fire illumination lights, and upgrades to toilet facilities.

Various people threw their support behind the CSDE community, including Kerry Hayes, Mayor of the Central Highlands Regional Council, who wrote to Education Minister Grace Grace, to convey council’s frustration.

“We, as a region, understand the unique challenges that remote schooling presents, and our parents and carers have become great innovators and adaptor of whatever it takes to provide quality education,” Cr Hayes said.

“But also, to acknowledge the real benefits of mini schools that create social contact and interaction with ‘classmates’ that can’t exist in their property classrooms.”

With the support of Central Highlands Regional Council, Mini School weeks have been held at Emerald’s McIndoe Park, with classes being held during usual school hours onsite and parents and children staying in accommodation paid for by themselves – with some spending upwards of $1200 for the week at local hotels or mining camps.

Shontae Moran, chairman of The Outstation committee at Emerald, appreciated council providing a space and explained why the school get-togethers were so important, describing them as ‘almost like group therapy’.

“You just feel better about yourself. You go away feeling heard,” she said.

“You know you’re not rowing the boat by yourself.

“It’s a really positive feeling that gets taken back into our communities and you feel supported and like you are doing a good job.”

The CSDE Emerald community wasn’t alone in its battle, with facilities also impacted at Longreach after noncompliance issue were found by the Department.

Paula McKerrow, president of the Longreach school of distance P & C, said the Longreach buildings would be open to the school for the mini school weeks at the start of the 2023 school year after being closed roughly six years.

“We’re just really excited that it is going to go ahead and be reopening for accommodation next year,” Ms McKerrow said.

: The Department of Education is going to refurbish the building and bring it back up to code. I’m pretty sure everyone’s feeling really great about that at the moment.”

CSDE students at McIndoe Park completing their school working at a replacement mini school week

In a meeting held between the P & C and the Department of Education it was decided a memorandum of understanding would be drawn up that stated should repairs to the buildings at either site need to be made in the future, they would occur outside of when the school mini weeks took place and it would not get to such a point where this happened again.

Despite the years of work and struggling, Ms Burnett, Ms McKerrow, and Ms Moran were all grateful for the Department’s willingness to discuss the issues and learn why the mini school weeks are so important to the parents, teachers, tutors, and wider community that also uses those buildings for functions.

“We’re all going to have a big celebration in December when that’s actually done,” Ms Burnett said.

Gregory MP Lachlan Millar, who has been advocating on behalf of the CSDE students and parents at Emerald and Longreach, said every child who got an education should get a fair education, whether they lived in southeast Queensland or at Alpha, or between Tambo and Blackall.

“You’ve got to have that opportunity to have an education,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the safety and wellbeing of students and staff in Queensland schools was of the highest

priority for the department and no apologies were made for doing everything possible to protect staff, students and school communities.

“The department is currently working closely with the Schools of Distance Education (SDE), to ensure the buildings on site are compliant with the National Construction Code and the needs of the school and community are met,” the spokesperson said.

“Throughout March 2022, the department has visited all SDE sites and reconfirmed its commitment to providing overnight accommodation for the start of 2023.”