Indigenous students blazing a trail
… the year to year retention rate in Dubbo has been 96 per cent, with school attendance rates greater than 84 per cent… the Foundation’s approach has been very successful in not only in attracting young men to school and retaining them …
RESEARCH from the ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey shows that Year 12 retention rates for Aboriginal students are 24.9 per cent lower than non-indigenous students.
Alarming statistics such as these has seen Dubbo College implement the Clontarf Academy and Girls Academy programs into their schools, in the hope of reducing indigenous dropout rates and increasing employment opportunities.
The Clontarf Foundation is a charitable not-for-profit organisation which aims to improve the education and employment opportunities for indigenous boys through their school based programs.
The first academy opened in Perth in 2000, with 25 boys enrolled. Since then the Foundation has grown to cater for over 5,700 boys in 92 schools across Australia.
The Clontarf Academies came to Dubbo College South and Delroy campuses in mid-2014 and the Senior Campus in 2015.
It now has 15 full-time locally based staff who mentor and counsel the year 7 to 12 students on a range of behavioural and lifestyle issues.
Members are required to uphold the three rules set in place by the Foundation; attend school regularly, apply themselves to the study of appropriate courses and embrace the Academy’s requirements for behaviour and self-discipline.
Clontarf Foundation regional manager Ryan Woolfe says the academies provide an important school-engaged mechanism for atrisk students who identify as having low school attendance.
“(We) use a comprehensive approach of supportive relationships, a welcoming environment, and a diverse range of activities to allow the students develop improved self-esteem and confidence,” Ryan said.
“Our activities are planned within the focus areas of education, leadership, employment, healthy lifestyles, life skills and football.”
Through these mechanisms the year to year retention rate in Dubbo has been 96 per cent, with school attendance rates greater than 84 per cent. Ryan says the Foundation’s approach has been very successful in not only attracting young men to school and retaining them but also paving a way for them to lead more disciplined, purposeful and healthy lifestyles into the future.
With the current Year 12 graduation rates for young indigenous women 27 per cent lower than the national average and an unemployment rate four times higher than non-indigenous women, the importance of programs such as the Girls Academy cannot be underestimated.
The Girls Academy was founded in 2004 by Olympian Ricky Grace with the hope of being able to support at-risk Aboriginal girls overcome the common barriers that lead to the poor retention and employment rates such as poverty, abuse and teen pregnancy.
The program aims to increase the skills, employability, mental health and wellbeing of indigenous girls through a range of community and culturally based activities.
The Girls Academy began in Dubbo at all three Dubbo College campuses at the beginning of this year and was greeted with an incredible response from eager students wanting to join the program.
In Dubbo, there are 12 staff made up of one regional manager, one post-school options officer, three program managers and six development officers who are based at local schools, mentoring and supporting their students.
The four main aims of the academy are ensuring the girls come to school regularly, engage in education and learning continuously, have healthy HSC graduation and enabled them to pursue tertiary studies or engage in life long, meaningful employment.
The students undertake a variety of programs that assist in developing their wellbeing, health, cultural connections, future pathways/careers and community engagement and leadership.
While it’s too early to calculate the success of the program in Dubbo, national five year results data has shown a 276 percent Year 12 enrolment growth with graduation rates increasing by 76 percent.
Girls Academy NSW regional manager Louise Lawler says she hopes there will be more local academies introduced throughout the country in the coming years, allowing more indigenous girls to have access to the program.
“We want better out comes for all girls, building a future cohort of female community leaders who are strong in their cultural identity as well as being fully competent and confident in social development, employment, academia and family and community leadership,” Louise said.