The proposal to close Tharwa Primary and Pres-School after serving its community for 107 years has outraged community members.
Students and Families are choosing Tharwa over larger Government and Non Government Schools.
Offers choice and diversity in the educational model within the Government system.
Tharwa Primary and Pre School have been successfully modelling the key educational components of Towards 2020
Early childhood integration
Preschool on two full days per week
Integrated studies
Historic setting of the school is closly integrated with local natural environment – rivers, paddocks, farms and local art community.
Very strong Pre-school is at capacity next year (and has been every year) and has an additional 100% on the waiting list. Pre-school can run an additional program with existing infrastructure.
Only reason given for Pre-school closure is that the Primary School is targetted for closure.
Savings from the proposed closure are minimal and overestimated. Costs passed onto other Government Departments have not be considered. Parents have a significant increase in costs of accessing other education options
Social damage is high to the Tharwa community in removing the last of their community assets.
Other options besides closure have not been explored by the Department.
Large potential for growth in numbers e.g. residential development in Ingeldene Forest
Options for saving on Department imposed administrative structures.
Boosted enrollments
Cost per student are distorted due to very small student numbers base – increase of 5 students drops average cost by $3000 per head (15%)
Proposed closure has made it difficult to find potential enrolments.
Tharwa School has been awarded a Commonwealth grant to improve building facilities. This extension has been frozen.
The ACT Government is implenting transition proceesses NOW, even though we are at the beginning of consultation process – forcing people to belive that the decisions have already been made. This is causing large amounts of stress and hurt in our most vunerable members of our community – our children.
Stop the madness now – let’s look at the information properly, not some incomplete policy on the run trying to save the ACT community only $10 million per year. $10 million for 39 Schools and preschools is lunacy.
This entry was posted
on Friday, July 28th, 2006 at 2:43 pm and is filed under General, Media Releases.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.