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Fri 30 Jul, 2004 07:12 pm
<sigh> This article is about a "troubled" school I recently taught in. <sigh>
Falling enrolments, continuous amalgamations with other schools, high unemployment in the area, tired (but many dedicated) staff, high numbers of one particular ethnic group (Lebanese), cash strapped, poor education achievements , inner-city location in the process of "upward mobility" ...
Does the picture of this school sound familiar to you? Which ever country you live in.
So now the school's closing & students will go "elsewhere" for their education.
I'm just wondering how schools with these sorts of difficulties have been treated in other places? Are there more constructive solutions than closure?
Troubled school shuts doors
By Shane Green
Education Editor
July 31, 2004
Principal Margaret Lacey says it's hard to close a school. "You're undoing all your own struggle," she says.
The Victorian Government has endorsed a decision by one of Melbourne's most troubled government schools to shut down, forcing its students to switch to other schools.
Moreland City College will close at the end of the year. The Coburg school's 270 students, from prep to year 12, will be transferred to other schools, although a new school may open on the site in the future.
State Education Minister Lynne Kosky applauded the school's decision to close as "courageous and mature".
But she insisted that the decision was taken by the school's council and staff and was unrelated to a new State Government policy to identify and intervene in the running of struggling schools. She said the aim of the new policy was to keep schools open, not close them.
Ms Kosky said the Moreland school's problems pre-dated the policy, which was designed to lift the performance of schools, not close them. She said Moreland City College was a victim of Kennett government school amalgamations in the late 1990s. "They had it forced on them, pulling the primary and the secondary in together, without any assistance to move forward."
Announcing the school's dramatic move in a letter to parents yesterday, principal Margaret Lacey cited changing demographics, competition between schools and the growth of independent schools among the reasons.
The school has also been plagued by bad publicity over vandalism by students to school buses and a VCE exam security problem.
The school's enrolment has fallen by more than half in the past four years, and year 12 numbers were set to plunge from 34 this year to fewer than 20 next year.
Ms Kosky said the falling enrolments meant the school was unable to offer the kind of education it wanted to.
Ms Lacey singled out competition between schools and "the policies of parental choice, where parents choose schools that they see are going to suit their aspirations".
She said the trend towards judging schools on league tables of VCE results was causing a polarisation in public education.
"There's always going to be a loser if there's a winner," she said. "For every one of those schools that get on the top of the league table, there's another one that struggles . . . on the bottom because some-one is taking the other students."
The school has suffered from bad publicity. Two years ago, seven mini-buses were damaged in the school grounds by year 12 students, and last year the Government ordered the school to improve security surrounding VCE exams.
"When a school's got a shaky reputation and something like that goes in the paper, the public gets their impression confirmed in their minds," Ms Lacey said.
"Once something has got a bad name, it's very hard to shake it."
The school has a diverse cultural make-up, with more than half the enrolment from the Lebanese community. Asked if the ethnic mix had been a factor in the school's closure, Ms Lacey said that if it was the case, "it's been a factor externally from people looking in. Within here, people see people as people."
Ms Lacey said it was difficult for a principal to close a school. "You're undoing all your own struggle," she said, "and that's what's terribly difficult."
The Government has given a commitment to continue public education on the site. In her letter to parents, Ms Lacey said it was likely a new school might open on the site "within a year or two" and students might want to return.
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I should have made it clear that this school is in inner-city Melbourne -Australia. But the problems experience appear to be fairly common in public schools in "advanced" countries.
Msolga, a comparative situation exists in Florida. One school, similar to the one you describe has been given an F status, and teachers are being transferred from thriving schools to see if the situation can be remedied. In some cases, the teachers have no choice--either go or be let go.
Letty
Hmmmmmmmmm .... I figured this sort of thing might happen in the US (maybe UK, too?) But it's new here for a school to close itself down for these sorts of reasons. A bit or arm twisting by the government, perhaps? Or a shut down or face the consequences if you don't senario?
Whatever the reasons, having taught there, I agree that Moreland City College had massive problems. I have mentioned them above. But I suspect that (with a huge injection of cash, allowing the present (often very tired) staff the choice to leave & be replaced by specially chosen replacements, the school could have been saved.
I think these "league ladders" stink! The reasons that schools like Moreland struggle are clearly apparent to anyone familiar with the circumstances of this & similar schools. It has very little to do with poor teaching. It has more to do with "market forces" running our education system. Schools aren't businesses! At least PUBLIC schools aren't.
I know, Olga. Frankly, I would have considered it a challenge to go to that school in Oak Hill. As someone once told me about bridge: "A monkey can play if he gets the right cards."
and so, a teacher can teach if they have all bright students.
the one commandment that a teacher of the gifted must remember:
First, do no harm.( I know, that belongs to the medical profession)
But aren't all teacher doctors of a sort?
Letty
Doctors? I tend to think that we are the ones that supply the band aids for the wounds of battle, from both inside & outside the institution.
Part of the problem with the staff at Moreland was that they had gone through wretched reorganization after reorganization. (read rationalization) Some of the reorganizations were not exactly a brilliant idea & left the staff exhausted & demoralized. In the year I was there I had to shift the Art room to a different site, due to falling enrolments. It was to be shifted again at the end of that year!
I can't imagine what forced almagamation after almagamation would feel like. Many of the good teachers left, as the school's days were obviously numbered.
Another problem was violence & vandalism. Mostly aggressive boys with little (perceived) future just being destructive for the sake of it. Awful & soul destroying for many in the school community. Cultural "problems", like violence against minorities were pretty horrendous, too. <sigh> So the more this sort of thing happened, the worse the school's name became, the fewer students wanted to come (or stay) there ...
Hello
Hi all...My name is Lorenzo..21...I was a student at Moreland City College, I left there a few years back (about 7), in one way I think it is good that they have closed down that school, because they did not provide any good education at all nor did the school i continued at.....this school with the students it has was all about competition with eachother....who was better and who was stronger.....I tell ya it was pretty bad.....I nevery got into any violence at that school....I kept to myself and done my own things with my own friends......the teachers...I do not know where they found them....honestly, I wasnt happy with the teachers...I know coming from a former highschool student...of course they arnt going to like the teachers...but hey, I had my fav's.....and they helped me through the years....if it wasnt for the students who just disrupted the whole school at times, it wasnt such a bad school.....well anyhow, Iv been working nightshift all night and im really tired....im going to head off in about 55 minutes to go home to sleep, it was a pleasure to post a letter in this
Cheers and Arrivaderci
Lorenzo
Hello, Lorenzo & welcome to A2K!
And a real surprise & delight to find a former Moreland City College student here!
I'm sorry that you feel you got a raw deal at the school. You probably did. My concern about the closure is that things were "on the skids" there for years. The school had been reorganized so many times that many of the staff were quite exhausted & disillusioned. Yet the state government allowed this situation to go on & on & on for years ..... to the detriment of the students. There should have been action (& money!) years ago to make the school viable, but there wasn't.
I'm pleased that you got some good things from the school, Lorenzo. Things got even tougher after you left!
school
hello
Well when I was at that school or even till now and people ask me what school I had went to....and when I do tell them, they have this look in their face like...wow dats a really bad school.....just the reputation the school gave was pretty bad, I never really wanted to tell anyone what school I went to because of its reputation, I was kind of embarressed about it......but I was neva embarressed on how I acted there because I was nothing like the students that brought the school down.....so many students there did not even pay their school fee's....so many people would get away with it and not pay anything, no wonder why the school has closed down, short on money, they even had to nock a few buildings down at the new campus....probly being short of funds...you neva know...anyhow nice to message bak again
Ciaoo
Lorenzo
For some reason I've missed your post - for weeks! - Anyway, I must say that this is a most unlikely place to bump into an ex-Moreland City student & it was a very pleasant surprise!
Good luck with your life. It sounds like you're doing well!
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