Presenters

1. Presenters • Jennie Waters – St George PaCE Reference Group member • Clint Bishop – PaCE Coordinator • Esther Garcia – Contract Manager

2. St George - Our Town • Traditional Owners are the Kamilaroi people • Approx. 2,700 people • 15% Indigenous population • Average age: • Indigenous populations in schools: • State Primary School 53% • State High School 38% • St. Pat’s Catholic School 10%

3. Our Town cont’d • Industry: predominantly grazing and agriculture • High transient population in good season • Unemployment Rate: 3% • 1 Kindergarten - Indigenous

4. 6 hours drive From Brisbane

5. Picturesque Balonne River

6. Attractions • Beardmore Dam – 81,800 mg capacity

7. 2010 Floods

8. 2010 Floods

11. Parental and Community Engagement Program (PaCE)

12. Parental and Community Engagement (PaCE) will contribute to the COAG’s Closing the Gap targets: • To ensure all Indigenous 4 year olds in Remote Communities have access to Early Childhood Education within 5 years (2013) • To halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements for Indigenous children in a decade (2018) • To halve the gap for Indigenous students in year 12 attainment or equivalent attainment rates by 2020 • To halve the gap in employment rate between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians within a decade.

13. The PaCE Program is a community driven program which focuses on the development and implementation of creative and innovative approaches to improve the educational outcomes of Indigenous school students through enhancing Indigenous parental engagement with schools and education providers.

14. Supply/Reach out Demand/Reach in . Schools and Education Providers REACH IN - Parents and communities reaching in to schools in order to improve the educational outcomes of their children. Projects would include activities that enhance their capacity to do this. Indigenous Parents and Communities REACH OUT - Schools meeting their responsibility to partner and engage with parents and communities. Government schools are resourced under the NEA and non-government schools under the Schools Assistance Act 2008.

15. PaCE Objectives • engage with schools and education providers in order to support improved educational outcomes for their children; • build strong leadership that supports high expectations of Indigenous students’ educational outcomes; • support the establishment, implementation and/or ongoing progress of community-school partnerships; and • support and reinforce children’s learning at home.

16. Example of possible PaCE Flow Chart Community Forum Discussions This stage may require 4-5 meetings to include other gov't or local community agencies etc.. where and when required. TO IDENTIFY ISSUES, OPPORTUNITIES & STRATEGIES TO ASSIST PARENTS OF INDIGENOUS STUDENTS & THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY TO REACH INTO EDUCATION SYSTEMS Provide ongoing feedback to community, schools, agencies and Gov'ts to have two way communication. IDENTIFY ACTIONS & BY WHOM Once concensus is reached on a way forward This stage may require 2 or more meetings Discussions on suitable proponent/s to engage with community IDENTIFY POSSIBLE PROPENT/S Parents/Community, Proponent, Other Gov't Depts and Agencies (inkind support) & DEEWR meet to finalise proposal brief This stage may require 2 or more meetings

24. ST GEORGE PaCE ‘COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS’

25. Beginnings of PaCE in St George • Oct 2009 – Community meeting with DEEWR • Nov 2009 – Workshop • Dec 2009 – Workshop • Feb 2010 – Workshop • Feb 2010 - Formed Reference Group

26. Beginnings of PaCE in St GeorgeCont’d • April 2010 - Funding Agreement • May 2010 – Coordinator appointed • July 2010- First Training Program • Oct 2009 to Present – Ongoing consultation with Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander community.

27. Community Engagement • Mailing lists to key stakeholders and service providers • Initial Meet and Greet for Indigenous and wider community • Developed PaCE pamphlet to create awareness of program • Local media promotion e.g. local paper; school newsletters

28. Community Engagement Cont’d • “Taking it to the Streets” – door to door awareness • Monthly community meetings to provide updates and future directions • Developed networking links with key stakeholders and local Indigenous organisations

29. Snapshot of Training • Needs analysis of parents and community (pick-a-box) • Delivered to date: Cultural Enhancement; Creative Problem Solving • Future Workshops: Literacy & Numeracy; Resume Writing/Job Applications/Interview techniques; Computer Skills/ Healthy Lifestyles

30. Outcomes from Workshops • Positive Evaluations! • Created momentum for future training • Increased awareness of PaCE in St. George • Opportunistic promotion of program

31. Future Directions • Activities highlighting parent/school engagement • Aboriginal linguist working with schools/parents • Bridging Education Program

32. Success of the Program to Date • Lengthy community consultations • Active Reference Group with one vision • Skill level of members of reference group

33. Sustainability • Work closely with schools • Parents are the priority • Proper Resourcing of Program • Need Incentives for Parents • Key Stakeholder involvement • Development of a Community School Partnership

34. Questions??? Contact Details Esther.garcia@deewr.gov.au 0427123409 or 46178 607 cbishop@lifelinedarlingdownssouthwest.com 0458093925 Jennie 0408700771