"I respect Athe because he is an elder of the community.
He helps our school stay safe and happy."

...Year 6 student

We are a remote island school. We have been working towards creating safe, positive learning environments that improve student educational outcomes by developing strong relationships with the local community.

Where It Began... Our school was feeling estranged from the community. Teachers were unsure of the cultural implications of some mainstream behaviour management strategies. Community members saw the school as a place where the 'experts' took charge of their children for 5 hours every day. We were observing bullying and harassment among students. Parents said things like, 'These kids today have no respect. Not like when we were young.' There was a clear misunderstanding between school and community expectations and contributions.

Getting Started... To provide a safer and more supportive environment, we needed the support of parents and the community. A community meeting decided that a respected elder would work closely with the school to teach community values to the children. This would strengthen the link between the school, the community and community agencies.

How We Went About It... Athe (Grandfather in island language) was employed as our Community Liaison Officer. He visits classrooms daily and makes home visits to discuss behaviour, attendance and any other concern. Athe is available to students and staff, and he is the first point of contact for parents who have a concern and who are not confident to come into the school.

What We Are Learning... Since Athe has been working within the school the incidence of bullying has definitely reduced. Athe's knowledge of the families and culture has enabled us to see beyond the surface issues and get to the bottom of bullying behaviours. He has made school staff aware of the small things we would not have identified as bullying, but which have deep cultural significance for our students.

Athe's emphasis on the importance of education has influenced the community. We now have a much stronger bond between school and community, for example - the community council and other community agencies. At a recent behaviour management meeting an unprecedented 60 members of the community attended. Everyone is now better informed on protocols and processes to deal with various school issues and we have established clear expectations of our roles and contributions.

What's Next... The strength of the relationship is enabling us to continue working towards better educational outcomes for all our students. Elders will continue to play an important role in the daily life of the school.

Athe Walter cares about our school and always has
Time for children
He makes us happy and keeps us safe
Everyone in the school loves Athe Walter
When he is in the classroom
All of us
Listen
The school needs him
Every day he helps children who do the
Right and wrong thing

Year 6 student