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| CENTRE EDUCATION PROGRAMME: INSIDE THE CENTRE EDUCATION PROGRAMME |
First impressions last. When arriving at the Centre Education
Programme (Centre Ed) an independent school based in the southern
outskirts of Brisbane, QLD, the immaculate presentation of the centre
is glaringly obvious. The walls are splashed with colour, lawns are
manicured, bins are used and graffiti is non-existent. The omnipresent
security grills guarding windows and doors and the routine nature of
staff members to secure all locks behind them seem somewhat in contrast
to the reverent vibe that fills the grounds. Some local knowledge helps
to confirm that the ‘Fort Knox’ feel in part reflects the prevalence of
crime in Logan City, as well as the history behind some of the young
people at Centre Ed.
 After
a few days at the centre you quickly realise that the aesthetics
reflect the respect that the young people have for the program. When
Principal Dale Murray speaks you could be guaranteed to hear a pin
drop. It’s a respect not driven by the formalities or seniority that a
mainstream principal beckons, but rather by his ‘fair dinkum’ approach
to people and education. Being ‘fair dinkum’ is one of four key
principles under which Centre Ed operates. Having respect,
participating and being safe and legal make up the remainder of the set
of conditions that all staff and students at Centre Ed commit to when
they join the programme.
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RESPECT, PARTICIPATION, FAIR DINKUM, SAFE AND LEGAL |
"Our
four key principles are enforced by living them every day. When we show
respect, participate, stay safe and legal and are being fair dinkum, it
impacts on the way that the young people act."
- Linda Houston – with Centre Ed for more than 10 years |
A regular day begins with the Centre Ed minivan shuttling to and from
the Kingston railway station, the perhaps not preferred, but primary
mode of transport for the 70-odd student population. The train station
ferries were introduced by the Programme after the huge cost of using
public buses in and around Logan proved to be simply unaffordable for
many students and their families. Along with the haul of the mini-bus
in and out of the school car park, some of the young people arrive on
foot, others car pool with a parent, big brother, neighbour or friend.
Upon entering the grounds many flock to the far end of the centre where
they congregate in a large group under a ceiling of cigarette smoke and
chatter. Not far from the gathering is a plot framed by wooden posts,
about 12 in total and all about 3 feet in height. I am told later that
these posts are in memory of former students taken by some of the
horrors life had hurtled at them – drugs, suicide and car accidents.
Across the grounds the remaining majority mill around the canteen where
‘Aunty’, part of Centre Ed’s Indigenous family, has prepared a
breakfast spectacular. Knowing that a substantial meal in the morning
is fundamental for concentration levels and general well being, Centre
Ed provides breakfast at no cost to its staff and students. As they eat
and chat, bodies slowly migrate to a large rectangular seating
arrangement for the daily morning meeting. No voices of authority are
raised to demand attention, yet silence somehow falls over the group.
The same man who has been greeted with ‘What’s up?’, ‘Yo’ and ‘How’s it
hanging?” that very morning seems to have a presence among the
population that incites respect.
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"The secret is not to say a word until there is complete silence. It may take a while but it works."
- Dale Murray – Principal |
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Dale asks if anyone would like to facilitate the morning meeting and
among a flurry of eager hands a young man, clearly comfortable with the
group, asks the gathering of his fellow students, teachers, other staff
and friends if there is any ‘business’. Discussion flies back and forth
with comment invited when arms are raised. The same respectful silence
as when Dale spoke, only very occasional broken by idle chatter, seems
to blanket the congregation when any one of the staff or students
speak. In a later discussion about the relationship between the Centre
and beliefs and practices of the Christian Brothers mission, Dale
Murray draws a metaphor. |
“We don’t hold masses or religious activities as such, but if you ask
me, the morning meeting is as Eucharistic as you can get. The Centre is
about building authentic relationships based in trust and respect for
each person’s story.” |
Once
‘business’ is filed and discussions draw to a close, the group disperse
to their various rooms for their morning lessons. No bell sounds to
indicate when these lessons start or finish, but they can rest assured
that the aroma of Aunty’s cooking will grow stronger around morning tea
time, and again at lunch.
HISTORY
Founder
of the Christian Brothers movement in Ireland, Edmund Rice longed to
develop an education system centred on Christian tradition and built on
relationships, outreach, being inclusive, just and relevant. His system
would be liberate and embrace uniqueness.
Established in 1986, the Centre was the brainchild of Christian
Brothers Br Terry Kingston and Br Mick Devlin, operating under the
ethos of Edmund Rice. After chatting with the local young people in the
Logan City precinct, Brothers Kingston and Devlin embarked on a
six-month national tour where they explored some of the issues
preventing young Australians from fulfilling their educational needs;
this included truancy and the need for intervention.
Upon their return from the expedition a site that has since cultivated
into the Centre Education Programme was established in Wembley Road,
Logan (now home to the Logan Cultural Centre). Here began the
relationship with Education Queensland. Sharing students with to
Woodridge State High School, the Centre was first a place to ‘drop-in’
for young people enrolled at the school. In its founding year it was a
gathering of just 10-12 young people who were guided by four, mostly
religious adults.
In 1989 the Centre moved to an abandoned shopping complex, next to the
Kingston Station, owned by be De Salle brothers. Here the Centre, now
boasting about 25 young people and 8 staff became an annex of Boystown
and for the first time was independent of any local high school.
The story goes that while the young people weren’t engaged in any
formal educational activities here, they soon approached one of the
Brothers and proposed that as qualified teachers they should be able to
help the young people with their maths studies. Of course the Brothers
obliged and maths lessons soon began. The rest is history. The year
2000 saw Centre Ed registered as an independent non-state school in its
own right under the governance of the Christian Borthers.
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“That’s
the thing I like. Right from the start Centre Ed has been responsive
and genuinely listens to what the young people are saying.”
- Dale Murray |
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