New school academy proposed for Qld kids ‘being left behind’
The push is on to build a new Queensland academy to cater for children living in a rural community who face having to send their kids to boarding school or risk them ‘being left behind’.
Education
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Hundreds of students from a remote Queensland region 500km away from the nearest state high school are being sent away to boarding school or dropping out at Year 10.
The Lower Gulf of Carpentaria region has one private Christian high school at Normanton but community leaders say it has never had a state secondary high school for years 11 and 12.
Students in the region are forced to attend state schools in Mt Isa, Charters Towers, Ingham or Abergowrie or be sent to board in Cairns Townsville or Brisbane for the final years.
Gulf Regional Economic Aboriginal Trust chair Fred Pascoe said the Gulf was home to about 450 students aged 15-19 and was an area with historically poor retention rates.
Mr Pascoe and fellow community leaders have proposed a Gulf Academy be established in the region.
“We have a big problem with the kids who go away to boarding school. They get homesick and leave, the others drop out and don’t finish their education,” Mr Pascoe said.
“There are so many troubled kids in our communities, carrying a sense of hopelessness.”
Mr Pascoe said many of the children possessed high intelligence and if channelled in the right way could become university graduates in the near future.
Doomadgee Shire Council chief executive Troy Fraser said it was unacceptable that generations of children were being put at risk.
“The way it’s happening at the moment is not working and our kids are being left behind,” Mr Fraser said.
“Kids have no choice but to go away for boarding school, which is unfair and not suitable for many young people, just as it wouldn’t be in Brisbane.”
The Gulf community leaders have proposed a self-governed Gulf Academy be established which would provide young people with education linked to jobs in their home region.
Key members of the Gulf community met with state and federal government officials in Brisbane on Thursday to put forward their proposal.
The Gulf Academy would include a foundation program for grades five to nine referred from local schools and linked to curriculum, working with young people at risk and emerging leaders.
It would also provide senior secondary education for grades 10 to 12 linked to vocational education, training and employment intended to drive long-term social and economic development in the region.
“We want to work in partnership with our services, local schools, industries and businesses to streamline the services offered and build an integrated pathway from school into training and employment,” Mr Pascoe said.
“We want it to link in what happens after school and tie in vet programs and employment opportunities.”
A Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships spokeswoman and Department of Education spokeswoman said state and federal government agencies were working with the Lower Gulf community leaders on the Academy concept.
Mr Pascoe said he was encouraged by the “proactive” meeting.
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