By Mikayla van Loon
The new Croydon Community School (CCS) campus is set to open next term, with the final touches being completed throughout June, ready to welcome students.
A walk through of the new $18 million school development happened on Wednesday 1 June and saw education minister James Merlino and eastern metropolitan MP Sonja Terpstra marvel at the school grounds.
Drawing a majority of students from outside the Maroondah Shire, principal Bronwyn Harcourt said students travel from all over the eastern suburbs.
“It’s a wide geographical area. Some of our kids are travelling an hour and a half each way,” she said.
“Very few of them come from Croydon. 65 per cent of them come from Knox not Maroondah and 65 per cent are boys.”
Ms Harcourt said students come from Healesville, Warburton, Monbulk, Avonsleigh, right across to Dandenong and even Frankston mostly because of the lack of alternative education offerings in the east.
“Mainstream education is so outdated. It’s pretty much the same model that’s been in existence since 1942 and the world has changed,” assistant principal Kaye Bhan said.
“Because we do education differently, kids get an opportunity to be curious and learn what is going to be of benefit to them and their pathway.”
CCS offers project based education to young people who have become disengaged from mainstream learning, students who have anxiety or are on the disability spectrum and those who may not be able to learn in a structured environment.
The special design of the school, thanks to architects Carol and Roger Vieth from Crosier Scott, has two entrances to cater for those young people unable to handle bigger crowds or who have been out of school for a number of years.
“This section is basically focused on kids who’ve been out of school for an extended period of time and the re-engagement can be through one to one sessions or for some kids, it’s two to one,” Ms Harcourt said.
“It may look completely non-educational to start with but it’s about building a relationship and building trust with young people who have none in adults and young people who are used to transactional relationships.
“It’s about having a home here where they feel comfortable and welcomed.”
Going from the former school campus of portable classrooms to a broad education landscape of art rooms, a 3D printing room, science lab, woodwork and upcycling room, media and IT rooms, as well as a full sized vegetable garden, the facilities offer opportunities for individualisation.
The main courtyard features a beautifully landscaped area, multipurpose sport courts, calming seated areas and four flag posts for the Australian, Aboriginal, Torres Strait and Pride flags.
Counsellors and youth workers, as well as a doctor will regularly be on site to provide medical support to students when needed.
For someone like Monbulk local Marcus Joy, who had been out of school for two years before attending CCS, the school has led him to a pathway of an apprenticeship with the landscapers who designed the new campus.
“We, sadly, are often picking kids up when they’ve been discarded. It’s not about where they’re at, it’s about where they’re going,” Ms Harcourt said.
“So our goal is to graduate confident young people who will make positive change in their world and that’s what we see from our graduates.”
Currently the school has 126 students and a wait list of 73 young people for this year alone, with inquiries coming from those still in primary school wanting to make the transition in Year 7, right through to those in Year 11 not coping with the mainstream.
Mr Merlino said for a project that has been on the cards for 15 years, he was blown away by the scale and effort put into the design.
“This is just so beautiful and this project is really critical. Every school project is important but this is the last stop for kids and if we can engage with them and deliver them a pathway, we set them up for life,” he said.
Ms Harcourt and Ms Bhan returned the thanks to the State government for believing in the alternative education approach that will help give students a better outcome by having these new facilities.
