The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard today encouraged all Australian businesses to be part of the Education Revolution and think about how they can build connections with Australian schools.
Ms Gillard today attended the launch of the National Australia Bank (NAB) Schools First initiative, a national education initiative aimed at building stronger partnerships between schools and their local communities.
The Schools First initiative includes funding of $15 million over three years for a national award program, regional workshops to show schools and communities how to improve student learning by building successful partnerships and the creation of a knowledge bank of resources for schools and local communities to draw on.
Developed in partnership with Melbourne Cares, the Foundation for Young Australians and the Australian Council for Educational Research, NAB’s Schools First initiative recognises that responsibility for the development of young people needs to be shared across the community.
The Education Revolution is all about investing and collaborating to lift educational standards and wants to see the whole community involved and interested in the education of our young people.
The evidence shows that when parents and the community are fully, actively involved in their children’s schooling, children tend to do better.
One of the ideas presented at the Australia 2020 Summit was to create a coordinated partnership between Australia’s top 200 businesses and our schools.
The Schools First initiative is exactly the kind of visionary national collaboration that will help that to happen.
A significant number of major Australian companies are already actively involved in partnerships with schools and the Rudd Government recognises that valuable contribution.
The Rudd Government, in partnership with business and the broader community, wants to ensure that every Australian child receives a world class education and every Australian school is a great school.
For more information on the Schools First initiative please visit: www.schoolsfirst.edu.au