Alberton Primary School
CONTEXT: A South Australian government primary school with 240 students from R-7 and a Child Parent Centre. 31% of students identify as Aboriginal. The school is located in a low socio-economic area of Adelaide. It is identified as a category-2 disadvantaged school [scale 1-7, with 1 being most disadvantaged].
INFORMATION FROM: Andrew Plastow, Principal
PROGRAMS:
"We have implemented many programs to try to address the complex issues we face with many of our Aboriginal students. These include attendance rates and literacy levels below those of non-Indigenous students, and student disengagement.
Aboriginal Education Coordinator:
"A major step towards more intensive and coordinated support for our Aboriginal learners was to appoint an Aboriginal Education Coordinator, a leadership position in the school above formula and funded from general school funds. The AEC works closely with our Aboriginal Education Worker [AEW], AEW Trainee and two SSOs who implement the following programs.
Corker Reading Program:
"An SSO works 1:1 with all Aboriginal students Reception-Year 3 on this intensive reading program. We are making incredible progress with a lot of our students, through intensive reading and comprehension practice. We are seeing significant improvement on the figures that we had prior to the program being implemented.
"We have had 13 students who have accessed Corker for the full year, with an average improvement of over 10 reading levels. Of these, seven have reached or exceeded the expectation for their year level, based on state benchmarks. A year two student who has accessed the program for three years has achieved the level we would expect at the end of year 3. Another year two student accessing the program for two years is only two levels from achieving the same feat. A year one student has improved 16 levels this year achieving the level we would expect at the end of year two.
"For those students who sit the State Literacy and Numeracy tests, Alberton PS students are consistently above the state average. However, with many of our students being identified as having learning disabilities, a few are exempted from that test in each year level.
The Shed:
"We have received DEST funding, through Parent School Partnerships, in the latter half of 2005 to maintain a project we call 'The Shed'.
"We have engaged a member of the school and local community, John Butler. He works with students years 3-7. Identified students have at least one session per week; some of our most 'at-risk' students work with him for two or three sessions per week. John works with them on woodwork and construction projects beautifying the school. He is also developing a concept called 'Project Compassion' where he and the students collect old bikes and do them up to then be given away to families in the community.
"The purpose of The Shed is to give students a contextual learning environment where they can work with their hands, to create a space where they can experience success and to get them into a different space than the four walls of a classroom. Each session, two Aboriginal students go to the shed and choose two non-Aboriginal students to go with them, so there is an element of Reconciliation involved also. It is incredibly popular with the students, with many self-referring. The Shed will be moving into a larger space central to the school in 2006 and we are hoping to employ a second person to assist John.
"The Shed has got children through days where previously they would have been suspended. The suspension rate for our Aboriginal students in past years has been unacceptable and The Shed has made a real difference. For many students it helps them to feel that school is an okay place to be.
Bus:
"John Butler is also the driver of a school bus that our Governing Council has purchased and operates from school funds. It caters for 35 students, with priority seating for Aboriginal students. It is a pick-up/drop-off service for children most at risk of non-attendance. The fact is that many children who use the bus continue to have a lower attendance rate than much of the school population - but we believe that if it wasn't for John and the bus, that attendance rate would be very much worse. This is evidenced by the short periods when the bus has been off the road.
Indigenous Education Centre:
"Previously we had a Nunga Room and Homework Centre. These were housed in the worst buildings on site and in a back corner of the school.
"We have now built a new Indigenous Education Centre, the 'flashest' building now on site. The community has named it 'Wadu' - a Kaurna word meaning 'togetherness'. We made the decision to maintain this look by furnishing with new furniture, including a parent lounge. It is something the whole community is proud of. The message is, 'only the best for our Aboriginal community', and that is an important message to get across. It is a building used by all of our students R-7, when they study their LOTE, which is Pitjantjatjara.
Wadu Wellness Program:
"With our new centre, we want to create a community hub and program to help address the social and emotional needs of our Aboriginal students and their families. We are trying to establish a Wellness Program where support services for our families come into the school.
"We have formed a partnership with the University of South Australia to link with Fourth-year Social Work students. We have had two students in the school making excellent progress with our most at-risk students. We have also formed a partnership with CAMHS, who facilitate programs to support students with anger-management issues and other extreme emotional difficulties. The program intends to expand to include other health agencies."
MORE INFORMATION:
Andrew Plastow - Principal
Sophie Mountzouris - Aboriginal Education Coordinator
08 8447 1924 or andrew.plastow@albertonps.sa.edu.au |  |
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