Education academic pushes for new private school for Port Melbourne

UPDATE: PARENTS slam the government for refusing to give an opening date for promised new school while a private consortium hopes to open Fishermans Bend’s first private school by 2016.

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PARENTS  have slammed the State Government for refusing to give an opening date for its promised new South Melbourne primary school after a private consortium said it hoped to open Fishermans Bend’s first private school by 2016.

Leader revealed on September 4 education academic Dr Jeanne Shaw wanted to build a private P-12 school on a 5000sq m block on Williamstown Rd. Port Melbourne (see below).

READ MORE ON THE PORT PHILLIP LEADER’S CAMPAIGN FOR A NEW SCHOOL.

Dr Shaw, a former deputy principal of Toorak College, was confident she could open the school in less than two years if she secured $100,000 in seed funding.

TwoSchoolsNow president Marie Walters said if this school could open by 2016, “it raises the question of why government schools are taking so long to come to fruition. We don’t want a situation where families’ only option is to have to pay private fees for a viable schooling option.”

Dr Shaw told the Leader the school would offer scholarships to families who could not afford to pay her school’s fees. She said fees would likely be at a similar level to Catholic schools, or about one-third of the typical private school, which charge families up to $22,000 a year per student.

Education Department spokesman Simon Craig said the department was yet to receive any plans for the proposed school.

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Port Melbourne Primary School Council president Michele Williams said the situation was “disappointing” for local parents whose options were so limited.

She said her school was struggling to cope with skyrocketing enrolments, with the playground so packed parents complained their children were being treated like battery hens.

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TwoSchoolsNow will host an education Q & A public forum with three local state candidates — Shannon Eeles, Liberal, Martin Foley, ALP, and David Collis, Greens — 7pm tomorrow night, Wednesday, September 10, upstairs at The Exchange Hotel, on the corner of Bay and Rouse streets, Port Melbourne.

Previously

September 4 —

A NEW private school could open in Port Melbourne long before the State Government builds its promised Ferrars St facility.

Education academic Dr Jeanne Shaw is lobbying the government and Port Phillip Council for $100,000 in seed funding to transform a 5000sq m commercial property on Williamstown Rd into a pioneering independent school.

Dr Shaw, a former deputy principal of Toorak College, told the Leader she had her curriculum plan and the best teachers in the state on standby “so we can just roll straight through” if the school was approved. If successful, the school could be open by 2016.

“We can move much faster than the (Education) Department,” she said.

Dr Shaw said she had heard the concerns of parents at Port Melbourne Primary School’s education forum about “where on earth their children will go to school”, and the speed at which the State Government was moving on its promised South Melbourne primary school.

“It could take five years — I don’t think the community can wait that long,” she said.

But Dr Shaw’s group is ready to get moving as soon as it has secured a 10-year lease.

Their proposal’s moniker, The TOPP School, is an acronym for “Travels of Positive People”.

“We’d like to keep standards very high,” Dr Shaw said.

She said fees would be lower than the standard private school, where parents typically pay $8000 a year for preps and $15,000 to $20,000 for senior students.

“It will most likely be a rate similar to Catholic schools,” Dr Shaw said.

“We ideally would like it to be absolutely inclusive for all in the local community.”

But this would depend on the generosity of private benefactors, and the capacity of the local community to chip in and help run the school, as the lion’s share of government funding would be needed to cover staffing costs.

“We’re hoping local businesses will partner with us, and that families will be prepared to help us with the daily running of the school, so we can keep fees low,” she said.

“And there are several philanthropic groups that we hope to approach.”

Dr Shaw said the new school would take an initial 100 students each in Year 7 and Year 8, plus 50 each in Years 4, 5 and 6.

The proposal has the support of former Methodist Ladies College principal Rosa Storelli, who is acting as a consultant on the project.

Education Department spokesman Simon Craig said no application had yet been received for the school.

The Leader has sought comment from Education Minister Martin Dixon’s office.