Family Empowerment Report July-Dec 2020

Page 39

Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy (CYAAA) was originally established in January 2010 as part of the Cape York Welfare Reform initiative, and seeks to turn around historically low school attendance and academic performance. CYAAA is currently managed by Good to Great Schools Australia through a unique partnership with the Department of Education and operates two primary schools in Coen and Hope Vale. CYAAA also provides case management around school readiness and attendance for Mossman Gorge students who attend Mossman State Primary School. An overwhelming majority of CYAAA’s students are socioeconomically disadvantaged and live in communities where violence, drugs and alcohol are common and undermine their school attendance and performance. The use of Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports (PBIS) mean that CYAAA schools are ‘safe havens’ where students come to learn, despite community disruptions. CYAAA employs a full-service 6C framework—Childhood, Class, Club, Culture, Civics and Community—across an extended school day to ensure students are school ready, attend regularly and succeed in their education. CYAAA uses the Direct Instruction (DI) and Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) frameworks to accelerate students, even if they are starting from behind. CYAAA is determined to ensure that our younger generations achieve their full potential, talent and creativity, and have the confidence and capacity for hard work so that they can orbit between two worlds and enjoy the best of both.

ENROLMENT AND ATTENDANCE ENROLMENT

154 students were enrolled across our two CYAAA campuses at the end of December. 98% of CYAAA’s students are Indigenous. ATTENDANCE

78% average attendance rate across the two CYAAA campuses

during Semester 2. Coen and Hope Vale remained in the top attending schools of Queensland Indigenous communities during the semester.

AVERAGE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE (%) TERM 1 2019 TO TERM 4 2020 100% 80% 60% 40%

Coen Hope Vale

20% 0%

TERM 1

TERM 2

TERM 3

2019

TERM 4

TERM 1

TERM 2

TERM 3

2020

TERM 4

HOW DOES CYAAA SUPPORT STUDENTS TO SUCCEED?

CYAAA delivers an innovative 6C program over an extended school day (for Pre-Prep students, 8:30am–12noon; for Prep to Year 6 students, 8.30am–4:00pm). The 6Cs are: 1) Childhood, 2) Class, 3) Club, 4) Culture, 5) Civics and 6) Community. CHILDHOOD The Childhood domain supports early childhood social, emotional, intellectual and physical development and seeks to reduce—through a targeted Pre-Prep program—the number of students who are developmentally at risk or vulnerable when they enter Prep. The Pre-Prep literacy program, for instance, helps students learn English before they start formal schooling.

CLASS The Class domain focuses on mastery of literacy and numeracy using effective instruction methods. DI and EDI are both employed and have resulted in amazing gains for our students, including those who otherwise start from behind.

CIVICS The Civics domain supports students’ understanding of democracy, identity and civic engagement. The aim is to ensure students understand their multi-layered identities, and to give them the tools to practically engage in their local communities and broader society.

CLUB AND CULTURE The Club Curriculum encourages moral development, higher-order skills and creative expression, including through participation in sports, music and health subjects. The Culture Curriculum promotes individual identity, culture and language to help students prepare for their futures and walk in two worlds. Australian and global non-Indigenous and Indigenous perspectives are embedded within lessons, while community members are also engaged in delivering cultural content in ‘free’ lessons. An ancestral language program has successfully run in Hope Vale (teaching Guugu Yimithirr) since 2012. New EDI units from the re-written Culture Curriculum were also implemented during 2016.

COMMUNITY The Community domain focuses on attendance and school readiness, including health, wellbeing, special and material needs. CYAAA case manages its students—especially those most in need, including severe non-attenders—and is also developing a comprehensive special education support program.

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