(bright music)
- Swan View Senior High School is in the
eastern suburbs of Perth.
We have a student population of 610,
and 22% of those are Aboriginal students.
What is absolutely unique about Swan View Senior High School
and the programmes that we offer here is that we have
buy in from all staff, not just those staff
that work within the programmes.
We look at every student and we look at their needs.
It's everything from cultural identity,
all the way through to making sure
that our students have high aspirations,
because the belief that all staff at Swan View
Senior High School holds is that education changes lives.
We have our ABLE umbrella, and ABLE is
Aboriginal Learning Engagement.
Under that umbrella is our three lighthouse programmes:
Flourish, Clontarf, and Follow the Dream.
- Follow the Dream is a programme for A boriginal students.
It's a voluntary programme, and it aims to assist
students to graduate from year 12 and go on to university,
or further educational training, or meaningful employment.
We offer a learning centre four afternoons a week,
from three o' clock to five o'clock.
We have seven or eight tutors every afternoon
that can help students to extend their work,
catch up on work, complete assignments,
and prepare for exams, and that's a really successful
aspect of the programme.
- I'm currently finishing my first year at uni,
enabling course.
I was in Follow the Dream from year 10 to 12,
and I've had that much support that, you know,
I wouldn't be where I am today, and it's an honour
to have been asked to come back, and tutor, and mentor.
Each student, you watch them blossom through
Follow the Dream from their first starting years,
to the end of when they finish, so they just grow
into more confident students, especially within themselves,
but also their schoolwork.
- My short term goal is to stay in the programmes
that I'm currently in and go through an ATAR pathway,
and my long term goal is to graduate from year 12,
and have direct entry into university,
where which I choose to study medicine.
- We measure our success as educators if,
when our students have finished their time at
Swan View Senior High School, they have reached
their potential, and really, if they've been able
to follow their dreams, and that, I think,
is all that educators can ask.
(calm music)
- The Kwobidak Yoka Flourish programme is targeted for
Years 7 to 9 young Aboriginal students.
The programme reflects on building foundations
and, I guess, cultural understandings for those
selected students to be able to succeed,
and improve on their lifestyles, and become
positive role models within the community.
- All the programmes I'm in help me achieve my goals
and help me work towards them.
The skills we learn, like organisation, and team building,
and being able to work with other people,
are very important to use in day to day life.
(calm music)
- The Clontarf Foundation exists to improve
the education, discipline, self esteem,
and employment prospects of young Aboriginal
and Torres Straight Islander men.
We're basically, every single day, myself and Garth,
the Operations Officer at the academy,
working with the boys before school, during classes,
after school, communicating between families in the school,
and being that conduit to build the relationship,
and improve the relationship, so the boys
engage with their education.
Our partners are hugely important to the foundation.
Not only do they provide financial support to allow us
to set up academies in school, but provide
a wide range of opportunities in the workforce.
Part-time work, full-time employment, work site visits,
exposure to a wide range of job possibilities, so boys can
actually get an understanding of what's involved.
(calm music)
- Through Clontarf, they've helped me get
a certificate to an automotive servicing through Qantas.
It's at the international airport, and basically I come in
every Thursday, and I work on all the ground equipment,
and we'll fix it, maintain it, and service it.
- My role at the school is to track their academic progress,
and where it's leading, and what we need to do.
If they're falling short in a category, then what do I
need to do to make sure that they're successful?
We wrap our kids around in all this support
so we give them the best possible opportunity to succeed.
- These programmes are important because they help
students like myself get employment for the future,
or help get your grades up, or help with anything
that you need, 'cause even after you graduate,
Clontarf and Follow the Dream will still work
closely with you to help you succeed in life.
- How do we measure success at Swan View Senior High School?
We obviously have big picture components of data
that we use, for example, attendance data.
At the moment where our attendance starter is well above
like-schools, and well above state average in WA.
There's also Year 12 data, and a whole range
of other metrics that we use.
What's harder to measure, and yet so vitally important,
is their outcomes and progress, and that each
of those students are coming back to school every day,
and that their pathways post-school are
absolutely non-negotiable.
Those students have success fair in their sights.
(calm music)
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