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PUBLIC EDUCATION VOICE
Newsletter of the Australian Council of State School Organisations ACSSO - The national voice of parents in Australia's public schools and their school communities June 2004
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Contents
Editorial Welcome to the third edition of Public Education Voice for 2004. Recipients of the Newsletter are encouraged to pass it on to parents in your school community. Feel free to copy any part of it (with appropriate acknowledgement) for your principal and teachers, as well as parents. ACSSO is keen to make Public Education Voice as interactive as possible. Whether you agree or disagree with any of the material published, let us know. Letters to the Editor will be published with the aim of encouraging dialogue and assisting ACSSO to formulate national education policies that reflect parental thinking around the nation. In this regard, ACSSO has recently upgraded it's website. Earlier editions of this Newsletter are posted on the site, along with ACSSO newsflashes, media releases, submissions to inquiries and policies. Click on the link to visit www.acsso.org.au | |||||||
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President's
Column ACSSO recently held its major conference for the year in Sydney. Delegates were updated by the major political parties in relation to their respective agendas for education. Despite reports in the press about the government intending to issue a series of statements outlining its longer term policies, Senator Tierney representing Minister Nelson said that the government has no plans to review the controversial SES funding formula, despite an apparent agreement with the Catholic education sector that a review will take place in the next quadrennium. Unless this policy is changed, federal government funding for schools will continue to deliver inequitable amounts of money to those schools that need it least. Delegates were disappointed that Labor’s Jenny Macklin was unable to provide delegates greater detail on its education policy, although she made it clear that the total amount of funding going to non-government schools will not change - however there will be some changes as private resources available to schools will be taken into account. She did give a somewhat vague indication that more funds will go to government schools. We look forward to much more detail from Labor. Democrats Lyn Allison put forward their criteria for funding non-government schools. These included the extent to which the school is exclusive; the extent to which the school is secular; the capacity of parents to pay fees and of the school to raise funds. Kerry Nettle of the Greens, was quite clear that the funding model should be scrapped and they are calling for funding to private schools to be frozen over next 4 years pending the outcome of a full enquiry into funding of non-government schools. Any parent who wants to have their say about education funding, should write to the current Senate Inquiry. This need only be a short letter. More details are provided later. I am pleased that the Federal Government has found extra funds for students who have not reached the Year 3 literacy benchmarks, but am concerned that there appears no quality control over how the money will be spent. Dr Nelson should trust schools to deliver the extra support needed for these children. Judith
Bundy Your Say Have your say on any national education issue by contacting the ACSSO office by email or by writing to The Editor, Public Education Voice, PO Box 323, Curtin ACT 2605. A sample of letters will be published in this newsletter. |
$700 for parents of students falling behind in
reading Teaching kids to read is too important to be
outsourced! Nine out of ten disagree with Cardinal Pell on the
right to expel gay students Good schools become a private
benefit | ||||||
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National Awards for Quality
Schooling Get
rewarded for quality schooling! The 2004 National Awards for Quality Schooling (NAQS) are now underway, offering a $1 million prize pool and the opportunity for pre-primary, primary and secondary schools, teachers and principals from all Australian non-government and government schools, to gain local and national recognition for their school improvement project. If there’s an initiative at your school achieving fantastic results for students, then go to the NQSF website or to the DEST website for further information. Act now! | |||||||
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Aulich Hails Successful
Conference ACSSO Executive Officer, Hon Terry Aulich, commented on a number of aspects of the recent ACSSO Conference held in Sydney. He made special note of Premier Carr's opening speech, which focussed on the values transmitted to young people through public education. Carr said that "only public education provides the social mix of young people that is essential for a fair, cohesive and democratic Australian society - not a fractured one that will result from a fragmented schooling system based on individual wealth, ethnicity, ability or religious viewpoint". Aulich also made special mention of the conference input from NSW principals, teachers and students. "I was very impressed with the way these presentations demonstrated values such as respect, trust, honesty, and caring for others. These schools, which are typical of the thousands of others around Australia indicated very clearly that public education is in excellent shape!" "In particular, the student musical performances and presentations were very moving" He went on to describe several of the main elements of the ACSSO strategic plan which was endorsed by the Conference. "One of the main aims of ACSSO is to ensure that public schooling is the first and preferred choice of all Australian parents for their children. I am looking forward to this challenge" Editor |
ACSSO Free News Service
New subscribers welcome Every Monday, ACCSO publishes a round-up of national and international education news stories from the previous week. A short summary of each is produced, with a link to the source URL so that subscribers can read the entire document from the newspaper’s own website. International stories are generally chosen on the basis that their content identifies educational trends relevant to Australia. Readers are better able to predict the consequences of embracing new policies, such as charter schools, when they can weigh up information from overseas sources as well as local information. Existing subscribers find this a good way to keep themselves up to date with what is happening on the educational scene. ACSSO is happy to add additional subscribers to its email data base. Simply contact admin@acsso.org.au for
your Senate Inquiry Into Education Funding The Senate has announced a public inquiry into the principles for Commonwealth funding of Australian schools. The Inquiry will place particular emphasis on how these principles apply in meeting the current and future needs of government and non-government schools; and whether they ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the allocation of school funding. The Committee will also investigate accountability arrangements including through the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. ACSSO encourages parents to have their say on this issue of vital importance - note that submissions can be as brief as a single page letter. Further information can be obtained by clicking on the link below. | ||||||
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The
Election Some ideas for what you can do: Family School
Partnerships FamiliesMatter | |||||||
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Talk it up ... Parenting expert Chick Moorman's "10 best things to say to your
children": I love you. You choose. Check it out inside. You can do anything you make up your mind to do. You always have more choices than you think you have. Every problem has a solution. What do you attribute that to? I know you can handle it. I appreciate your efforts. No. Tone it down ... And here are Moorman's "10 worst things to say to your children": We never wanted you anyway. If you don't stop that, I'm going to leave you here. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Why can't you be more like your brother (or sister)? Because I said so, that's why. I'll let it go this time. If you do that, then you're not my son (or daughter). Here, let me do that for you. You're useless (sick, revolting, etc.) You're the reason we're getting a divorce. Visit the author's website by clicking here
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ACT Council of P&C's Unsubcsribe
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