Page 4089 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 13 December 2006
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in addition to education. Minister Gallagher and I are committed to creating a best practice model for our younger students.
In addition to having early childhood schools, parents and students throughout Canberra will be able to choose a schooling option that suits them, no matter where they live. In addition to the traditional P to six, seven to 10 and 11 to 12 models, there will be a new middle schooling focus at Stromlo high school and North Tuggeranong, extending to south Canberra an option that already exists in other parts of the city. Parents will also be able to choose Melba-Copeland secondary school, a seven to 12 school which maintains separate campuses for the high school and college years. The government recognises that, when Gungahlin college opens in 2010, it will be necessary to review year levels and whether to locate the secondary school on a single site. Every student in Canberra has individual needs; we should not take a one size fits all approach to their education.
This increased choice and diversity will be supported by a record injection of funding into public education. Since being elected in 2001, the Stanhope government has increased investment in education by 30 per cent. This package builds on this commitment to public education with a record $90 million injection to renew our schools over the next four years. In this financial year alone, this means over 220 projects in 70 schools, including new science labs, new arts rooms, upgraded play and sports areas and much needed improvements to the look of schools.
We as a government refuse to accept that students and teachers should work in surroundings that would be unacceptable in other workplaces. We will invest the money needed to ensure that our classrooms are worthy of the students and staff who work in them. We know that students who have pride in their school are more successful than others. We want to create schools where students, parents and teachers are proud of their environment from the moment they walk through the school gate. In short, we will be ensuring that our school facilities live up to the promise of our students.
We will also invest $20 million in information technology in our schools. This investment will help us realise the potential of new technologies and will see the ACT continue to lead the nation in the use of IT in teaching and learning. Renewal of our school IT infrastructure will ensure that students can enjoy all of the opportunities that state-of-the-art access to the internet and cutting edge technology can provide. Students in the ACT will be able to carry in their iPods multimedia portfolios of their work from throughout their schooling. We are making this a reality with the student digital passkey project. Parents will be able to participate in online discussions and lessons, check online what homework has been set and engage with their child’s teacher through online videoconferencing. We will also introduce electronic roll marking and an SMS service for parents to alert them to student absence.
Broadband connections will be upgraded in every public school in the ACT—an Australian first. This investment will address the pressures placed on the current bandwidth connecting schools to the internet and to each other. Wireless networking capability will also be rolled out to all schools. This project will put ACT schools at the leading edge of bandwidth provision both nationally and internationally. This
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