On the right track

Principal, Trish Keller and Jermaine

Principal Trish Keller remembers the time after the Koori Classroom had been set up…

I was invited to attend the APAPDC [Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council] forum in Melbourne. And for two days I listened and learned and was inspired by the Indigenous presenters and others. I realised then that what we'd embarked upon at Narrabundah was the way to go. We were on the right track.

A strong message that kept coming across at the forum was that Indigenous education is core business. The strategy is to spread the word, with the teachers being the key. Identify issues and make them our own and deal with them. Just do it. Koori Classroom was our starting point, our vehicle to travel our 'pathway of hope', valuing and respecting Indigenous culture. 'Pathway of Hope' had been the name of the keynote address at the forum.

Koori kids are our richness and we need to be advocates for the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our community whether we have Indigenous kids in our school or not. In our case we do - a considerable number and it was up to me to get on with what we'd started and to get on with it right now.

And I've discovered that you've only got to ask Koori people to help and they're happy to do so. Talking to the parents, making them welcome to the school, using their expertise and their talent… these are the things that start to get you on the right track.