Imagine if half of Calgary students decided not to go to school next week.
It’s tough for most to wrap their minds around but in a region of Australia called Groote Eylandt, located just off the northern territory mainland, that’s the reality.
“Groote Eylandt has got the worst attendance rate for school attendance in the country,” said Const. Deb Blackwell, a community engagement police officer on the island.
At 46 per cent, Groote Eylandt’s school attendance rate falls well below the national average of 92 per cent. According to Blackwell, female youth between 13 and 17 years old have been the worst offenders for skipping school over the past couple of years.
A number or reasons can factor into a Groote child missing school, including culture and religion, Blackwell said.
But it’s her job to help increase attendance.
It was after attending her first International Association of Women Police (IAWP) conference last year that Blackwell said an idea came to her.
“I just thought wouldn’t it just be incredible for some community kids to see this, just to experience it, feel it — just have their eyes open to something like this,” she said.
With the support of her superintendent, Blackwell created the 2018 Groote Eylandt Female Indigenous Youth Initiative — a plan to entice girls back to school with the chance to earn a trip to Calgary for this year’s IAWP conference.
“I used it as an incentive, or carrot as you wish, to increase the attendance in that target group.”
By all accounts, the program has been a success. Blackwell pointed to the Angurugu School where extra teaching staff had to be added and there were “consistently 20-27 attending at Angurugu where typically there would only be a couple.”
In June, 16 girls who participated in the program were recognized for their increased attendance, but it wasn’t until July that Blackwell announced the two who would accompany her to Calgary.
“Even if it were just attending school just in case they won a trip to Canada that didn’t matter because it was creating habits,” she said.
“And I was hoping by that habit of attending school that passion for learning could be ignited.”
Blackwell, the two girls, and an adult chaperone toured Calgary this week and shared their experiences in the program at the conference.