Indigenous school in Australia changes educational outcomes
Updated
In Australia, an estimated 20-thousand children, many of them Indigenous, miss out on school, but one school in North Queensland might be showing a way to change that.
During the last eight years, Djarragun College has had notable success encouraging Indigenous children to complete their primary and secondary education.
Presenter: Peter McCutcheon
Speakers: Aboriginal activist Noel Pearson; Jean Illingworth, Principal of Djarragun College
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PETER MCCUTCHEON: These students are part of a rare success story in an area littered with failures. Their North Queensland school has attracted the attention of a giant IT company that has donated more than a million dollars worth of communications hardware. And today, the students today are holding a ceremony to thank their donor.
Supporters say the rise of Djarragun College provides important lessons about tackling one of the nation's most challenging problems.
NOEL PEARSON: It tells me that you can create a school community that works for even the most - kids from very dysfunctional and disadvantaged backgrounds.
PETER MCCUTCHEON: Djarragun College's early days were controversial. Not everyone was happy when the Anglican Church took over the former Emanuel College for Indigenous Students in 2001. And the new principal, Jean Illingworth, says she inherited a mess.
JEAN ILLINGWORTH: There was no education happening. The kids were totally disenfranchised. They were not engaged in learning at all. They - I don't even know why they bothered to come to school.
PETER MCCUTCHEON: Such complaints about the state of Indigenous education were nothing new to the Cape York Institute's Noel Pearson, who was approached to become a patron of Djarragun in its early days.
NOEL PEARSON: When I first heard about Djarragun six, seven years ago, or something, I thought, "Yeah, here we go again, you know; another black ghetto school". And with all the problems of behaviour and low standards and low expectations and so on, you know, I had a very prejudiced view of Djarragun before I went down there. And I was completely blown off my feet, you know.
PETER MCCUTCHEON: Today, the school at Gordonvale, south of Cairns, has nearly 600 primary and secondary school students, including almost 100 boarders funded through the Commonwealth's Abstudy program. With a strict dress and behaviour code, parents of day students pay fees of $20 a week to cover bus fees, uniforms and stationary.
JEAN ILLINGWORTH: It's also about charging fees that parents can a.) afford, and b.) helping them to value the education that's being provided to their children.
PETER MCCUTCHEON: Principal Jean Illingworth said the school had to deal with students who had missed critical years of primary school education.
JEAN ILLINGWORTH: And so their literacy and numeracy levels were incredibly low, and you can't upgrade them in a few short years to university level. So we introduced vocational education as a way of providing a pathway for students to get into the workforce.
PETER MCCUTCHEON: Djarragun boasts its own hairdressing salon, which not only trains students but also operates as a small business for external clients. And a motor mechanic shop operates on a similar basis.
NOEL PEARSON: So, what Djarragun have done is they've gone all out to make provision for those kids who are academically been left far behind, you know.
PETER MCCUTCHEON: Such is the success of these programs, that the school has introduced years 13, 14 and even 15 for graduates who can't find jobs but want more training. Djarragun plans to set up school-based apprenticeships but so far its main success has been in finding traineeships. The school presently has only one graduate at university but it's hoping that the children who are now coming through primary school will be much better placed to take on some of the academic challenges of years 11 and 12.
JOHN GABEY, STUDENT: I want to go to uni to be a doctor - yeah, study medicine.
PETER MCCUTCHEON: Djarragun has inspired Year 11 students John Gabey and Ida Sam to aim high.
What do you want to do when you leave school?
IDA SAM, STUDENT: I wanted to become a midwife and I also wanted to be a flight attendant, but I chose midwife because of health - I wanted to be there for the little kids.
PETER MCCUTCHEON: Djarragun is now heading into territory usually occupied by only the most elite schools, with Cisco Systems, in partnership with Telstra, donating an IT network and wireless points throughout the campus.
