Reinvigorating Action to Close the Educational Gap for Good

While educators focus on complying with expectations and regulations, have they overlooked the students?

The 2019 Closing the Gap Report revealed small improvements towards its 2018 targets, but nothing like it hoped.

Margaret Gurney says it’s time to do #whatever_it_takes.

‘Somewhere along the education journey, we have become distracted from our moral purpose,’ says Department of Education, Far North Queensland, Regional Director, Margaret Gurney.

‘Putting our Indigenous children and young people back at the centre of all the work we do requires courage, persistence and a culture shift. We need everyone to be working together – across departments, agencies and sectors.’

‘In our Indigenous communities we see our most vulnerable children and young people leave their families for boarding school with limited literacy, numeracy and social and emotional readiness.’

‘Exit schools together with parents and community have to ensure each students is ready for boarding school.’

‘With technology today, establishing expectations and processes for keeping families and communities ‘connected’ should not be difficult’.

‘I have a 10 year old grandson and I cannot even begin to imagine how he would ever leave home at the end of this year and move to ‘another planet’ and alien way of doing life.’

With over thirty years of experience working in education Gurney says every one of us, wherever we are, needs to do whatever it takes.

‘This generation is our future.’

‘Together we all need to do our job – our schools, our communities including parents, our transition team, departments, agencies and of course boarding schools.’

‘It’s not an easy job but raising awareness and building capability, accountability and responsibility is a very good start.’

If you are interested in doing ‘Whatever it takes’ to improve outcomes for Indigenous students please contact at, www.boardingaustralia.edu.au.

Written by Rachael Hakim