Minister learns by example

By Nicole Williams
DANDENONG North Primary School has been praised for unique and intensive programs.
Education Minister Martin Dixon visited the school last week and said the school was achieving great results.
“I have been aware for some time of how Dandenong North Primary School is achieving great outcomes for students and I really wanted to come and see for myself their recipe for success,” Mr Dixon said.
“Dandenong North is a great example of what can be achieved when a school and the community have high expectations of their students.”
Mr Dixon spent two and a half hours at the school and observed its intensive English as a Second Language program, a specialist math program and a class taught by leading teacher and former Dandenong North Primary School captain Tanya Dyker.
“What I’ve seen is some brilliant teaching and what I’ve felt is a really wonderful atmosphere of learning in this school,” he said.
“Having been a school principal for15 years, when I walk into a school I can tell when it’s working and this is really working.”
Dandenong North Primary School Principal Kevin Mackay said he was delighted Mr Dixon was willing to visit a high-achieving school from a low socio-economic area.
Mr Dixon said the school faced various challenges, with many students having recently arrived in Australia and some also having suffered trauma.
“So many aspects of learning at school are just totally foreign to (some of) them,” he said,
“They’ve never experienced it so the school’s got to teach that as well as their maths and literacy.”
The school has students from 33 different cultural backgrounds and more than 80 per cent are from families where English is not their first language.
“The secret to the success here, and it is well documented, is that they’re looking at where the children are at and giving them that intensive work in the small groups,” Mr Dixon said.
“They are children of different ages and different abilities and experiences. And they’re teaching to that.”
Mr Dixon also visited Dandenong High School on Friday.