The program aims to help improve literacy, develop life goals, life skills and to make the Alice Springs community more supportive of emerging young Indigenous women.
Challenges for Alice Springs Indigenous girls: High levels of family unemployment, poor housing and stress , low school attendance, unlikely to finish year 12, five times more likely to be teenage mothers than non-Indigenous girls, less likely to be employed after they leave school, more likely to be the victim of violence, less likely to own their own home. Often utilised to care for young siblings or attend to other family care needs rather than attend school. Subject of low expectations and racism in the community.
For the broader community: Many programs are one offs or just provide one aspect of support. The Smith Family knows from our research that vulnerable students need the wrap around support and high expectations that a multilayered program like Girls at the Centre can provide. The challenge for the community was seeing so many young Indigenous girls with so much potential ending up “pushing prams“ at age 14. The community decided they wanted a better future for these girls and so the Alice Springs Indigenous Education and Employment Taskforce asked The Smith Family to develop
and run this program.
Girls at the Centre Components
Girl Coaches
The work of the Girl Coach is the core element driving the outcomes of the program. The role of the Girl Coaches, working with the students, is to “hassle and help” the girls to fulfil their potential. In this role the Girl Coach challenges the girls to raise their aspirations and work hard. They also help the girls and their families to overcome the barriers that they may face. Their work includes negotiating a signed commitment from parents and each girl to fully participate in the program and working with each family to ensure consistent participation. Sometimes this means providing the girls with broader experiences through arranging and leading sport, arts and work observation, or arranging a range of brokered in programs that meet specific needs (see below). Breaking down barriers for the girlscan also mean helping Mum arrange childcare for the little ones or develop her budgeting skills through financial literacy programs. The Girl Coach also works with each girl to develop an Individual Aspiration Plan and to understand the steps they need to take now toward that goal.
Program Manager
The Program Manager will assist to ensure the ongoing community support and involvement in the program, which is the key element in developing its long term sustainability. The role includes:
· Managing relationships with local Indigenous, government and community stakeholders such as the Community Reference group and the Steering Group and local Indigenous contributors such as Centrecorp
· Promoting the aspirations and value of Indigenous girls to the broader community. This is an important part of creating employment and social pathways for these girls, and one of the four outcome areas of the program
· Program monitoring and development to ensure the program remains sensitive and relevant to the girl’s needs, is excellent value for money and that the complex array of activities and relationships are in place. The Program Manager also ensures the program takes opportunities, as they arise, that further progress the outcomes. A recent example is gaining the opportunity for the girls to meet Tania Major, previous Young Australian of the Year and Cape York Indigenous lawyer. Another example is the development of a relationship with the Victorian Alliance for Girl’s Schools
that is providing interest from a number of schools for experiential mentoring and home stay opportunities
· Program reporting. The program collects a range of qualitative and quantitative data that ensures we are monitoring milestones toward the outcomes. This includes monitoring post program outcomes for girls beyond Middle school. This is essential to ensure the program is continuously improving, that success can be celebrated and that best practice can
then be available for The Smith Family and others to scale up.
Girls Room
(located within the Centralian Middle school campus and provided as a gift in kind by the NT Education Dept)
The girls attend a girls room each day before and after school and in breaks. This provides a healthy “Breakfast on the Go” that the girls make for themselves and a safe and comfortable space for the girls to make friendships, do homework, develop their IT skills and gain the support and spend time one on one and in groups with the Girl Coaches.The room also provides a “safe” meeting place for Girl Coaches to bring together mothers and staff as they help work through some of the family-based barriers that
inhibit girls’ attendance and participation.
Curriculum enhancement
This element provides an opportunity for the girls to improve their motivation and opportunity for success outside of the classroom. The Smith Family knows from the research and our own program experience (in Darwin at Karama, Gray) that arts and sports programs can provide motivation and confidence for some students. The girls have a “taste” of a range of sports, including ball sports, but also dance and rockclimbing and then can choose one to develop further.
· Sport (equipment, participation at Darwin competition, guest coaches)
· Arts (equipment , participation in events, tutors).
Life Goals
The Girl Coaches assist the girls to develop their aspirations through the written Aspiration Plan. These program elements support the girls to imagine a positive future and plan for it and work toward it.
· World of work, pathways to employment (transport and speaker costs)
- The Girl Coaches arrange visits for work, TAFE and University observation, guest speakers and workshops on how to choose and apply for a job
- Workplaces will include Newmont Mines as well as local Alice Springs corporate and community and Government workplaces, the hospital and Imparja TV station
- · Breakfast With Mentor
- Each week a mentor comes to a breakfast with the girls and Girl Coaches to share their life story and encourage the girls. Local Indigenous business woman, Raeleen Brown from Kungas Can Cook, was a recent guest. The star of Samson and Delilah was another. Newmont executives and politicians have also attended.
· Experiential mentoring (trips to Melbourne for a total 20-30 girls annually)
- An exchange program with Ruyton Girls School and Korowa Anglican Girls is also an important aspiration and relationship building part of the program. Girls stay in pairs with Ruyton and Korowa families, attend school, visit TAFE and University and experience family and city life in Melbourne
- Girls win a place on the trip through excellent participation in school and the program.
Life skills
· Lizzie Wagner presentation skills workshop (two one day workshops)
This workshop provides the girls with a range of skills from personal grooming and deportment to how to sell a message. It is motivating and builds the girls sense of self worth.
· Core of Life: making good choices about mothering
This program is facilitated by local health professionals who The Smith Family has had trained in this program. The program developed by two Victorian midwives teaches girls about the realities of pregnancy and childbirth and the first year of mothering. As Indigenous girls in Alice Springs are around five times more likely to be a teenage mother, this
information is important to them. It empowers them to make choices and gives them information and skills that may be useful in the short and medium term.
· Families and Schools Together: eight week program for 20 families
This is an eight week program that is attended by the girl and one or both of her parents. Each week they all share a meal and the program involves coaching parenting skills “in situ”. The program aims to strengthen relationship skills and build family and school networks. The Girls Coach attends, along with trained program staff, and student peer mentors.
Parents are encouraged to maintain a network after the program and the Girl Coach assists in maintain this.
External evaluation
Since August 2008 a set of quantitative and qualitative data has been collected to enable The Smith Family to monitor the program. The program design document sets out four outcome areas and a set of strategies and actions, and a methodology of local consultation within the community and school. An external evaluator who could work with the program manager to refine the data collection and methodology and establish a timetable for evaluation that takes an action learning approach to empower the participants (girls, staff, Girl Coaches, community stakeholders) could be an important further development in making the program stronger and in communicating the model to others.
www.thesmithfamily.com.au
