As a teacher of distance education in the Northern Territory I see many community schools. I am very impressed with an independent boarding school in Litchfield called Woolaning Homeland Christian College. They have about 60 indigenous students from around the Territory. They run 6 x 6 week terms, with a bigger break in the dry season to cater for cultural festivals. This is imperative, I feel, as the students don't get the usual homesickness of a those studying for ten weeks away from home. Students are in classes according to their literacy level, not ages. They teach Accelerated Literacy. They have VET programs for senior students, working on construction and mechanical engineering projects on site. They have a team of dedicated teachers and house parents who have stayed longer than the average remote teacher. All the above has resulted in creating, by my observations, a group of well rounded, well educated indigenous students. I believe the state school system could learn from their model.
The Principal is Fred van Brussel. Phone 08 8978 1000.