A good news story from an innovative school program

Engagement in education and retention in schooling are a key component in the wellbeing of young people. Kids who stay in education do better - even aside from academic achievements which can create further opportunities, the social connectedness and supports that exist within a school environment can help to build life skills and emotional resilience. This is why programs that promote engagement in schooling for teens who are at a high risk of dropping out, like the program for young parents at The Canberra College in the ACT, are such a good news story.

As a community, we are becoming more aware of how disadvantage can become entrenched in families across generations. Children growing up in a home where there is no role modelling of the positive aspects of education an employment will be more likely to drop out of education and not find stable employment as adults. If we can encourage teen parents to stay at school, not only are the teens more likely to do better as adults their children will see the benefits in the next generation as well.

The Canberra College has a history of innovation and providing programs that deal with the social determinants of health. Several years ago when I was living in Canberra, I was involved in a "full service schools" project at The Canberra College. This was a project which brought in several services (including primary health services, alcohol & drug services, sexual health services, employment services, pastoral care) into the school as a colocation model. The idea was to bring the services to where young people were in order to overcome the barriers that teens may be faced with in trying to navigate some of these systems in the community. It was fantastic working with a school that was enthusiastic about supporting the wellbeing of their students, and willing to innovate.

I'm not surprised to see that The Canberra College are still "kicking goals" for their students. Good on them!