By Christine de Kock
HIGH school lobby group SKY High will release surveys to two primary schools this week to identify what parents would expect from a high school in Maribyrnong.
Group member Karen Ingram said questions included in the survey relate to what educational model parents are interested in and more detailed questions such as how “local” does a high school need to be.
“Does a local high school mean a five minute walk from home or a 10 minute drive?” Ms Ingram asked.
Parents launched the SKY (Seddon, Kingsville, Yarraville) High Working Group earlier this year, after it was established that primary school children in the area were often sent to schools outside the municipality.
“We found 26 students from Kingsville Primary School ended up going to 15 different schools,” she said.
“We see that as dispersing our children outside our community and that could possibly result in more teenagers becoming less connected with their community and that can affect community cohesion.”
The surveys will be sent to parents of grade six students at Wembley and Kingsville primary schools this week and sent to other schools later.
She said figures released by the City of Maribyrnong’s coordinator of maternal and child health services show births in the SKY area increased by 20 per cent in 2004-05 and 12 per cent in 2005-06.
The group believes the baby boom “validates the growing need for a high school in the area”.
They collected 1000 signatures from parents within the Seddon, Kingsville, Yarraville areas earlier this year, in support of the push to establish a high school.
“We did have one in the Wembley area but it was closed during the Kennett era,” Ms Ingram said.
The group intends to keep the issue in the minds of politicians who are running for the State seat of Footscray, they have already met with outgoing MP Bruce Mildenhall and Labor candidate Marsha Thomson .
