Sarah Barrell's List: Aboriginal studies

• We're going to have to tackle the two hardest things to do, and that's generational change. That's what we're trying to achieve here: better outcomes that may take a generation to achieve within the Aboriginal community.
  

• The Connected Communities strategy is a result of that work. The strategy positions schools as community hubs.
• strategy has been informed by advice from the Aboriginal Education Consultative Gro
• This strategy complements a number of other reforms in education, including Local Schools, Local Decisions,
• Early Action for Success
• It will provide strong educational leadership and a working partnership with the community
• Stephen Ryan, chairman of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, said that the plan is a significant step in the right direction in addressing an absence of aspiration in educational outcomes in many communitie
• Aboriginal people tell us that one of the most important issues that must be addressed in closing the gap is economic disadvantage
• education is a powerful tool against that disadvantage
• Connected Communities builds on existing targeted Aboriginal education programs that have been in place for many years
• Schools in Partnership program, which was also designed to assist schools with large numbers of Aboriginal students to improve their outcomes
• A key strength of that initiative was that it encouraged the wider community to participate in the education of its children
• Schools in Partnership operated across 89 schools and the schools that participated reported improvements in literacy, numeracy, attendance, reduced suspensions and community engagement
• It is disappointing that today's budget made no mention of this program in the Education section despite its importance
• Programs like this face enormous challenges.
• She said that for it to work there must be a genuine partnership with Aboriginal people and they must shape the initiative every step of the way
• For too long governments in this State have tried to help Aboriginal communities but have been unsuccessful. This initiative goes a long way towards addressing this issue
• The principals of participating schools will be the best and highest paid principals in New South Wales. Their salary, which will not be related to the number of students in the school, will act as an incentive to attract the best principals to these schools.
• the services provided by government and non-government agencies in the past have not been aligned or focused and, in many cases, have been duplicated. We need to do something different. There has been no improvement in outcomes in 10 years, despite the best efforts of many people.
• Connected Communities takes a different approach that positions schools in rural and regional locations as the community hub.
• With a direct line to the director general, the executive director will be able to more effectively meet the needs of those communities, such as brokering education services on behalf of the schools, as well as access services across government on behalf of the communities.

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• Aboriginal people to have a voice in self determining their educational future which will impact on the future prosperity of Aboriginal communities.
• it allows policies and programs to be developed that meet the needs of Aboriginal people and their communities
• Aboriginal communities and the Department of Education and Training is strengthened, under this Partnership Agreement
• to achieve common goals set in consultation and negotiation with Aboriginal communities.
• The Partnership Agreement is also critically important in fostering collaboration between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in promoting a better understanding of our shared history, respect and acceptance of both cultures and recognition of the unique place Aboriginal people have in this country.

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• The NSW Government is transforming 15 schools into community hubs in a bid to lift results in Aboriginal and other disadvantaged communities.
• the chosen schools will act as centres, with health, education, parenting support and anti-gambling measures all coordinated from within the school grounds.
• acted out of sheer frustration with poor academic results among Indigenous students, who have shown little improvement in the past 10 years.
• "Leadership is the key. So what we've really focused on is making sure that we put things in place to make sure we get the best leaders possible," he said.
• "The principals of these schools are going to be the highest paid public school principals in NSW.
• also help parents improve their literacy and numeracy.
• Indigenous languages is a key part of the State Government's policy, as is preschool education.
• Gov

  ernment will have to tackle two difficult problems to be able to succeed with its program: generational change and cultural change within bureaucracy.
• "That's what we're trying to achieve here: better outcomes that may take a generation to achieve within the Aboriginal community," he said.
• seamless cooperation to achieve these outcomes - which may well be 15 different models across 15 different schools."
• He says the recommendations from the Gonski report would help because it would see additional funding flow into public schools.
• The NSW Teachers Federation says it supports the connected communities program as long as funding is maintained in the long term.

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• All teacher education degrees must also include detailed instruction in areas that have been identified as a priority
• Aboriginal education
• The Staff in Australia's Schools Survey 2010 indicated that fewer than one-third of early career teachers rated their earlier pre-service education courses highly for preparing them to teach students with learning difficulties, students from Aboriginal backgrounds or students from different cultural backgrounds.

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