http://www.daretolead.edu.au/servlet/Web?s=169694&p=STORY_Abbotsleigh
Working Systematically at Abbotsleigh
An Independent school - with no Indigenous students enrolled - implements a remarkable range of programs and initiatives, including seeking Aboriginal students.
School: Abbotsleigh is an Independent girls' school in Wahroonga on Sydney's North Shore. None of its 1400 students identifies as Indigenous.
Information from: Judith Poole, Headmistress and Jacquie Harvey, Deputy Head Junior School, Abbotsleigh
Impetus:
Personal interest from several Abbotsleigh staff members drove the school to become more involved in Indigenous education issues; from there, it has been the commitment of the school leadership plus School Council which has allowed Abbotsleigh to achieve so much in a short period of time.
Several years ago Mrs Harvey spent part of her school holidays as a volunteer teacher in a remote West Australian school, which fired her with a desire to advance Indigenous education at Abbotsleigh. She and several other staff members attended a Dare to Lead event with Brian Giles-Browne. Subsequently the school executive completed the Dare to Lead School Review Checklist and was perturbed by Abbotsleigh's mediocre results on the ticklist. This became further impetus for action.
Indigenous Task Force:
In early 2006 Abbotsleigh formed an Indigenous Task Force (ITF). This had seven members, from different parts of the school K-12, and was chaired by Ms Harvey.
"The committee met once a fortnight and in the initial stages it was about dreaming what we could do," Ms Harvey says.
"We set some big picture goals, plus smaller goals with timelines. Our biggest goal was a system of scholarships for Indigenous girls to come to Abbotsleigh. In terms of smaller goals, we talked about opportunities for Aboriginal people to come in and work with students, writing a school policy of acknowledgment, flying the flag at appropriate times."
"This was outside of what we knew in so many ways. We were nervous about our community. Aboriginal people are pretty much invisible on the North Shore."
"We looked at our curriculum: Where were we touching Indigenous issues? Did we have a chronological and cognitive growth happening? Had we moved with the times? A big goal of ours was to get rid of stereotypes, broaden awareness, and rather than focusing wholly and solely on the past, look at Indigenous Australians today. This was a matter of community growth, for staff, students and the parent body."
The ITF grew rapidly to 17 members, and the surest indication of the priority was demonstrated by the staff involved who met fortnightly on a Friday afternoon.
The next step:
The ITF soon realised that it needed Aboriginal people on the committee. Indigenous women Sharon Cooke and Kim Hill came on board. "We were at a point where we were all terrified of saying the wrong thing. They said it was okay to make mistakes. They helped us understand the issues, gave us confidence, and helped with protocols and guidelines. The willingness to build relationships was so warm and so authentic. We realised it was okay if we didn't know everything."
Connections:
The school sits at the intersection of Dharug and Guringai land, and Abbotsleigh has forged connections with Elders of both groups. The school leadership and ITF have taken input from a wide range of sources, including Dare to Lead. They spoke with St Joseph's Hunters Hill about their Indigenous Foundation. They spoke with St Catherine's Waverley about their model, its pitfalls and advantages.
A key connection was with Waverley Stanley, head of Yalari www.yalari.org, an organisation dedicated to getting 500 Indigenous students into Independent boarding schools within 10 years. "The goal of having Indigenous students here will hopefully bring diversity into our school, and increase relationship-building. To use Waverley's line, it is not a hand-out, it is a hand-up. We have noticed that every time our students go and work closely with Indigenous people, that is where you see the most growth. It is all about relationships." Mrs Poole said.
Scholarships:
The goal of Indigenous Scholarships was approached through discussion by the ITF as to how they might work, then through presentations to School Council and other stakeholders. Some parents were invited to ITF meetings to galvanize support at that level. Abbotsleigh Old Girls also gave their support. This was not something that could be brought in quickly to the school structure, but it was approached systematically and with thorough communication at each stage.
School Council ultimately resolved that in partnership with Yalari, they would fund a minimum of two scholarships (full boarding positions from Year 7) per year, beginning 2008.
Yalari received the initial applications and created a short list of potential candidates who were then interviewed by Waverley Stanley and his Yalari co-director Llew Mullins. They narrowed the candidates to three girls who were consequently invited to Abbotsleigh, along with their mothers (and one grandmother). Mrs Poole had approached School Council about funding three positions rather than two in the start-up year. After formal interviews with the girls, she was delighted to offer a place to each of them.
"We will work closely with Yalari. They provide excellent support for children in boarding schools. We will also provide whatever mentoring we can, and a literacy specialist to work with them. The three girls were there for the Year 7 Orientation day, just like all the other girls coming to us next year.. We have no intention that these young girls will be poster children for social justice. Like any scholarship recipients they are Abbotsleigh girls, the same as any other.."
Further action:
Indigenous Education Policy.
This was written and ratified. "Once a program is funded, it is sustained," Mrs Poole says.
Acknowledgment.
A plaque inscribed with Acknowledgment of Country has been installed below the school flagpoles.
Speakers.
Abbotsleigh has invited a number of Indigenous speakers. Tania Major from Cape York was the speaker for 2007 Speech Day. The school also hosted 1000 students from various schools for the Fred Hollows Foundation's Indigenous Literacy Day addressed by the likes of Deb Mailman, Anita Heiss and Tara June Winch.
Donation.
The 2007 Year 12 students have made a parting gift of $3000 towards the Abbotsleigh Indigenous scholarship program.
In-service.
Dr Graham Chaffey in-serviced all staff on the Coolabah Dynamic Assessment tool for identifying giftedness in young Aboriginal students, and the concept of 'self-efficacy' in learning.
Flying the Aboriginal flag at appropriate times.
"You think, 'big deal', but it is a big deal. It was not something we had done before, and this is a very conservative area."
Service learning.
The 2007 Vice-Head of Service Aysha Abu-Sharifa (a senior prefect role) decided to address Indigenous issues with a focus on education. "This was not regarded as a fundraising project, not a charity for a year, but learning for life. It was about establishing sustainable relationships. It provided a platform for getting Aboriginal speakers into the school. A relationship was formed with Pastor Ray Minniecon at Redfern Crossways Church and we attended that church on several occasions."
Gilgandra.
Mrs Harvey writes children's books and she had been an invited author at Gilgandra Public School where more than half the students are Indigenous. Since 2005 Abbotsleigh has maintained a relationship with Gilgandra PS, including student penpals, teddy bear exchanges, Abbotsleigh teachers going to work at Gilgandra, Gilgandra PS teachers visiting Abbotsleigh. In 2007 Mrs Harvey and the Abbotsleigh Infants Coordinator spent some holidays working at Gilgandra PS. In 2008 the annual Year 5 excursion to Bathurst will hopefully be extended to include Gilgandra.
Year 10 applied learning program.
Groups of 12-15 girls work on a project. Groups have traveled to Moree, Walgett and Yuendemu for service work. Other Year 11 students volunteered as workers at CrocFest in Dubbo.
Leadership:
"Leadership is about taking calculated risks. Timing is everything. We didn't rush any part of this process. We needed concerted efforts at certain times but nothing was forced. As leaders we had to have the sensitivity to look at things from lots of different viewpoints, and that helped us take people with us."
Mrs Poole observes that different people move at different speeds. "At one point the ITF was galloping ahead, processing information faster than the community and making recommendations that perhaps not everyone was quite ready for, and I had to pull the reins in. That is part of the leader's role." "This is not about us bestowing good deeds. It is about taking the journey together, learning from each other. It is not a missionary approach - we are not 'saving' anyone. It is about providing opportunities for education for all involved - staff, students parents and the wider community.
More information: www.abbotsleigh.nsw.edu.au or 02 9473 7700
------------
Pretty impressive stuff if you ask me. It's hard for the pioneers - the people who go against popular opinion of the day - all the naysayers - and take the risks. The Hunter hill School led the way i think, and now more schools are hopping on board. it's still early days though. Malcolm Gladwell's book "The tipping Point", explains the process of introducing change really well.
Working Systematically at Abbotsleigh
An Independent school - with no Indigenous students enrolled - implements a remarkable range of programs and initiatives, including seeking Aboriginal students.
School: Abbotsleigh is an Independent girls' school in Wahroonga on Sydney's North Shore. None of its 1400 students identifies as Indigenous.
Information from: Judith Poole, Headmistress and Jacquie Harvey, Deputy Head Junior School, Abbotsleigh
Impetus:
Personal interest from several Abbotsleigh staff members drove the school to become more involved in Indigenous education issues; from there, it has been the commitment of the school leadership plus School Council which has allowed Abbotsleigh to achieve so much in a short period of time.
Several years ago Mrs Harvey spent part of her school holidays as a volunteer teacher in a remote West Australian school, which fired her with a desire to advance Indigenous education at Abbotsleigh. She and several other staff members attended a Dare to Lead event with Brian Giles-Browne. Subsequently the school executive completed the Dare to Lead School Review Checklist and was perturbed by Abbotsleigh's mediocre results on the ticklist. This became further impetus for action.
Indigenous Task Force:
In early 2006 Abbotsleigh formed an Indigenous Task Force (ITF). This had seven members, from different parts of the school K-12, and was chaired by Ms Harvey.
"The committee met once a fortnight and in the initial stages it was about dreaming what we could do," Ms Harvey says.
"We set some big picture goals, plus smaller goals with timelines. Our biggest goal was a system of scholarships for Indigenous girls to come to Abbotsleigh. In terms of smaller goals, we talked about opportunities for Aboriginal people to come in and work with students, writing a school policy of acknowledgment, flying the flag at appropriate times."
"This was outside of what we knew in so many ways. We were nervous about our community. Aboriginal people are pretty much invisible on the North Shore."
"We looked at our curriculum: Where were we touching Indigenous issues? Did we have a chronological and cognitive growth happening? Had we moved with the times? A big goal of ours was to get rid of stereotypes, broaden awareness, and rather than focusing wholly and solely on the past, look at Indigenous Australians today. This was a matter of community growth, for staff, students and the parent body."
The ITF grew rapidly to 17 members, and the surest indication of the priority was demonstrated by the staff involved who met fortnightly on a Friday afternoon.
The next step:
The ITF soon realised that it needed Aboriginal people on the committee. Indigenous women Sharon Cooke and Kim Hill came on board. "We were at a point where we were all terrified of saying the wrong thing. They said it was okay to make mistakes. They helped us understand the issues, gave us confidence, and helped with protocols and guidelines. The willingness to build relationships was so warm and so authentic. We realised it was okay if we didn't know everything."
Connections:
The school sits at the intersection of Dharug and Guringai land, and Abbotsleigh has forged connections with Elders of both groups. The school leadership and ITF have taken input from a wide range of sources, including Dare to Lead. They spoke with St Joseph's Hunters Hill about their Indigenous Foundation. They spoke with St Catherine's Waverley about their model, its pitfalls and advantages.
A key connection was with Waverley Stanley, head of Yalari www.yalari.org, an organisation dedicated to getting 500 Indigenous students into Independent boarding schools within 10 years. "The goal of having Indigenous students here will hopefully bring diversity into our school, and increase relationship-building. To use Waverley's line, it is not a hand-out, it is a hand-up. We have noticed that every time our students go and work closely with Indigenous people, that is where you see the most growth. It is all about relationships." Mrs Poole said.
Scholarships:
The goal of Indigenous Scholarships was approached through discussion by the ITF as to how they might work, then through presentations to School Council and other stakeholders. Some parents were invited to ITF meetings to galvanize support at that level. Abbotsleigh Old Girls also gave their support. This was not something that could be brought in quickly to the school structure, but it was approached systematically and with thorough communication at each stage.
School Council ultimately resolved that in partnership with Yalari, they would fund a minimum of two scholarships (full boarding positions from Year 7) per year, beginning 2008.
Yalari received the initial applications and created a short list of potential candidates who were then interviewed by Waverley Stanley and his Yalari co-director Llew Mullins. They narrowed the candidates to three girls who were consequently invited to Abbotsleigh, along with their mothers (and one grandmother). Mrs Poole had approached School Council about funding three positions rather than two in the start-up year. After formal interviews with the girls, she was delighted to offer a place to each of them.
"We will work closely with Yalari. They provide excellent support for children in boarding schools. We will also provide whatever mentoring we can, and a literacy specialist to work with them. The three girls were there for the Year 7 Orientation day, just like all the other girls coming to us next year.. We have no intention that these young girls will be poster children for social justice. Like any scholarship recipients they are Abbotsleigh girls, the same as any other.."
Further action:
Indigenous Education Policy.
This was written and ratified. "Once a program is funded, it is sustained," Mrs Poole says.
Acknowledgment.
A plaque inscribed with Acknowledgment of Country has been installed below the school flagpoles.
Speakers.
Abbotsleigh has invited a number of Indigenous speakers. Tania Major from Cape York was the speaker for 2007 Speech Day. The school also hosted 1000 students from various schools for the Fred Hollows Foundation's Indigenous Literacy Day addressed by the likes of Deb Mailman, Anita Heiss and Tara June Winch.
Donation.
The 2007 Year 12 students have made a parting gift of $3000 towards the Abbotsleigh Indigenous scholarship program.
In-service.
Dr Graham Chaffey in-serviced all staff on the Coolabah Dynamic Assessment tool for identifying giftedness in young Aboriginal students, and the concept of 'self-efficacy' in learning.
Flying the Aboriginal flag at appropriate times.
"You think, 'big deal', but it is a big deal. It was not something we had done before, and this is a very conservative area."
Service learning.
The 2007 Vice-Head of Service Aysha Abu-Sharifa (a senior prefect role) decided to address Indigenous issues with a focus on education. "This was not regarded as a fundraising project, not a charity for a year, but learning for life. It was about establishing sustainable relationships. It provided a platform for getting Aboriginal speakers into the school. A relationship was formed with Pastor Ray Minniecon at Redfern Crossways Church and we attended that church on several occasions."
Gilgandra.
Mrs Harvey writes children's books and she had been an invited author at Gilgandra Public School where more than half the students are Indigenous. Since 2005 Abbotsleigh has maintained a relationship with Gilgandra PS, including student penpals, teddy bear exchanges, Abbotsleigh teachers going to work at Gilgandra, Gilgandra PS teachers visiting Abbotsleigh. In 2007 Mrs Harvey and the Abbotsleigh Infants Coordinator spent some holidays working at Gilgandra PS. In 2008 the annual Year 5 excursion to Bathurst will hopefully be extended to include Gilgandra.
Year 10 applied learning program.
Groups of 12-15 girls work on a project. Groups have traveled to Moree, Walgett and Yuendemu for service work. Other Year 11 students volunteered as workers at CrocFest in Dubbo.
Leadership:
"Leadership is about taking calculated risks. Timing is everything. We didn't rush any part of this process. We needed concerted efforts at certain times but nothing was forced. As leaders we had to have the sensitivity to look at things from lots of different viewpoints, and that helped us take people with us."
Mrs Poole observes that different people move at different speeds. "At one point the ITF was galloping ahead, processing information faster than the community and making recommendations that perhaps not everyone was quite ready for, and I had to pull the reins in. That is part of the leader's role." "This is not about us bestowing good deeds. It is about taking the journey together, learning from each other. It is not a missionary approach - we are not 'saving' anyone. It is about providing opportunities for education for all involved - staff, students parents and the wider community.
More information: www.abbotsleigh.nsw.edu.au or 02 9473 7700
------------
Pretty impressive stuff if you ask me. It's hard for the pioneers - the people who go against popular opinion of the day - all the naysayers - and take the risks. The Hunter hill School led the way i think, and now more schools are hopping on board. it's still early days though. Malcolm Gladwell's book "The tipping Point", explains the process of introducing change really well.
