More educational support for local Aboriginal girls

The education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls attending Mount Austin High School in Wagga Wagga will be further supported through The Smith Family’s proven Girls at the Centre program, to begin in February 2016.

Leaders from the community, business and government will join The Smith Family at an event, hosted by Wagga Wagga Mayor Rod Kendall, to discuss the program’s benefits and encourage community involvement and support.

The Smith Family’s Acting Regional Program Manager, Olga Srbovski, said Girls at the Centre had been running in the Northern Territory since 2008, with outstanding results.

“Girls at the Centre is a school-based initiative that is successfully addressing many of the barriers that prevent stronger school engagement by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls,” Ms Srbovski said.

“It is designed to strengthen the educational, social and emotional skills of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls at secondary school, who are often more at risk than their peers of disengaging from and discontinuing their education.

“Girls at the Centre does this by connecting students and their families with a variety of mentoring opportunities, through coaches and community mentors from a range of education and career fields.

“A review of the program recorded a 12 per cent higher than average school attendance rate among program participants compared to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls in the same year.

“We could have similar success in Wagga, but this will need the support of the local community. The partnership between The Smith Family, Mount Austin High School and the Wagga community will foster better educational outcomes for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girl students.”

Twenty-five Year 9 and 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at Mount Austin High School, and female members of their families, are already participating in Magarra Malungan, which has been facilitated by The Smith Family for the last year.

In addition to improving students’ retention and attendance rates, Magarra Malungan aims to increase parental engagement in their child’s schooling; build closer relationships between the high school, university and community partners; and improve students’ understanding of what they want to achieve from their schooling and beyond. This includes processes for seeking further studies and employment.

Ms Srbovski said the intention was to run both programs at Mount Austin High School, but the scope of Girls at the Centre would be dependent on the level of financial and in-kind support offered by the local community.

“With your help we will bring Girls at the Centre to the Wagga community and engage more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls at a critical time in their education.”