When the Department of Education and Training received the keys to the newly built Dubbo College Senior Campus in 2001 it was thought a vast range of learning opportunities was being opened for Dubbo students.
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It was the beginning of a new era for Dubbo College with three separate campuses making up the junior and senior schools.
The move was described by Dubbo district superintendent Robyn McKerihan as an exciting time for education in Dubbo.
“What makes it even more special is it is part of a total education concept which uniquely meets the educational needs of the young people of the Dubbo area,” Ms McKerihan said in 2001.
Eight years on and the system is causing much concern for some members of the school community, with calls for a return to the Years 7- to 12-school structure.
The system has been described by Western Region Teachers Federation representative Brett Bertalli as one that is fundamentally flawed with poor student attendance rates and results, and low teacher retention. Yet the relieving director for the NSW Western Department of Education and Training Michael Cronk sees no reason for concern because he says constant assessments of the system have found no problems.
“For almost 10 years the community of Dubbo has been robbed of educational choice,” Mr Bertalli said this week.
“If parents choose to send their children to a public institution they have only one choice as opposed to the choice of three very successful comprehensive high schools.”
The Daily Liberal’s spotlight on the issue has sparked many comments on its website. It seems the community is sitting on both sides of the fence when it comes to how successful the schools collegiate structure has been.
One posting from an author ‘my kids excelled’ praised the system.
“As a mother of three kids who have all been through Delroy and then the senior campus all I can say is ... it was an excellent way to do it as the older children could focus on their studies,” ‘my kids excelled’ wrote.
“As for looking up to students, Years 7, 8, 9 all have school captains and sports people to look up to.”
Other comments suggest the students should be the ones to make the ultimate decision.
“Schools are not about making teachers happy, they’re about a child’s education,” a comment by ‘hmmm’ said.
“When the kids are the ones saying they’re not happy with it, and a vast majority of them are saying it, then it may be time to consider.
“As for dropout rates you can’t compare it and blame it on the college system. It has to be blamed on socioeconomic status, which quite frankly in Dubbo isn’t great for the entire school population at any of the college campuses.”
Both the Teachers Federation and readers have suggested that a comparison be made between the former and current structure.
“My children went to Dubbo South High School when it was (Year) 7 to 12 and it was an excellent school that produced excellent results,” ‘Philip’ said.
“How about a comparison between the three (Year) 7 to 12 schools and what Dubbo College has produced so far - now that would be very interesting. The department and Dubbo community should listen to the concerns of the teachers, and for the sake of our children and the long-term viability of the community we should put what they say into practice.”
According to Mr Bertalli the education minister has agreed to review the enrolments, achievement, attendance and retention before and after the introduction of the current multi-campus structure.
