Educate Together Second-level News  Vol. 1, Issue 5, June 2008

Petition Launched to Accelerate Patronage Registration Process

An online petition has been set up to put pressure on Minister Batt O’Keeffe to confirm Educate Together’s registration as a second-level patron. The previous Minister, Mary Hanafin, was first contacted in relation to this in December of last year and detailed documentation in support of second-level registration was sent to the Department of Education and Science in March. However, the only information that has been made available since is that the matter is “under consideration”, causing great frustration for start-up groups who are working to meet the need for a school in their area in the short to medium term.

It is hoped that a good response to this petition will help us to accelerate this process and we are also asking people to write to their local TDs asking them to contact the Minister on their behalf. A sample letter is available for download on the Educate Together website: http://www.educatetogether.ie/2_campaigns/secondlevelet.html.

Please sign the petition and then send it on to others who might be interested. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/educate-together-second-level-campaign.html

First Draft of Curricular Framework Completed

A draft of a Curricular Framework for an Educate Together Second-level School was presented to members of the Curriculum and Teaching and Learning Methodologies working group on Saturday 21st June. This draft has been drawn up by Kathleen Geraghty, and it draws together the findings of the Trinity College feasibility study, the work of the working groups and of various workshops which have ben held, as well as the latest research and development work of the ESRI and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). This draft provides a basis for a curricular framework for second-level education through which the Educate Together ethos and philosophy can be fully realised. The curricular framework will be a central part of the blueprint for Educate Together second-level schools which is due to be completed by the end of the year.

This draft will be available for consulation by the end of the month and any members or interested parties who would like to offer feedback should contact emer.nowlan@educatetogether.ie to request a copy.

Public Meeting Confirms High Demand for Educate Together Second-level School in Lucan

The atmosphere was one of excitement and determination at the Public Meeting held in Finnstown House Hotel in Lucan on 28th May, aimed at establishing a new Committee to campaign for an Educate Together second-level school in the Lucan area. Over one hundred people attended the meeting, with over forty signing up to form a Task Force to work towards the goal of establishing an Educate Together second-level school for Lucan by 2010.

Carol Dunne, parent from Griffeen Valley Educate Together National School spoke about the determination of local parents that their children should be allowed to continue their education within an Educate Together ethos at second-level. “It stands to reason that with five Educate Together primary schools in the area the need for an Educate Together secondary school is paramount”, she said.

Paul Rowe, CEO of Educate Together, addressed the meeting, assuring local parents of the support of the fast-growing Educate Together organisation for their campaign. He spoke of the crucial importance of second-level education in the development of young people and the positive contribution that Educate Together’s learner-centred approach, which inherently recognises the different needs and learning styles of students from diverse backgrounds, can make at this stage in their lives.

He also spoke of the need for reform of the second-level education system if it is to meet the needs of 21st century Ireland, saying “this is a crucial time in Irish education”. Referring to remarks made by John Herlihy, Google’s European Vice-president of Sales and Online Operations, on national radio during the week, that Ireland needs to move from a traditional economy not to a knowledge economy, but to a thinking economy, Paul Rowe said: “Our young people working in tomorrow’s world will be absolutely inundated with information – we need to equip them with the critical intellectual and interpersonal skills necessary to assess and analyse that information and to work with others in a diverse society”.

Questions were raised at the meeting about the manner in which the Department of Education and Science decides on the patronage of new schools. William Lavelle, Fine Gael rep for the area, pointed out that while there were two new post-primary schools planned for the area, local parents had simply been told what kind of schools they would be, without prior consultation.

A number of local Councillors attended the meeting and voiced their support for the campaign, including Derek Keating (Independent) and Eamon Tuffy (Labour). Cllr Guss O’Connell (Independent) said that Educate Together had clearly proved themselves through their work in primary education and had earned the right to be recognised as a patron of second-level schools.

Second-level Project Manager Visits Waterford

Emer Nowlan was welcomed to Waterford by the Waterford Educate Together Second-level School Committee on 19th June. She attended one of their weekly committee meetings, where she answered some questions on Educate Together’s registration as a second-level patron and on the ongoing negotiations with the IVEA, the national  representative body for Vocational Education Committees (VECs).

Emer also accompanied the local group to a meeting with Brendan Kenneally, TD, in which he was asked to investigate the delay in the registration of Educate Together as a second-level patron. She also visited a possible school site that has been identified by Waterford City Council, which the group hopes to share with the local Gaelcholáiste.

New Websites for Start-up Groups

Congratulations to start-up groups in Waterford and Swords, who have both launched new websites in recent weeks. They can be found at:
Waterford: www.secondleveletw.com     Swords:  www.setsecondary.com

Join a Working Group

If you have an interest in ET second-level education and would like to join a working group, or if you (or someone you know) has particular skills which would be useful to these groups please contact Emer at the national office or email secondlevel@educatetogether.ie. In particular we are looking for people with an interest in ethical education, curriculum, teaching and learning methodologies, consulting young people, school buildings and planning and campaigning and lobbying.

That’s all for this month. Don’t forget to visit the second-level rooms in the forum and get chatting! www.educatetogetherforum.ie

Educate Together Second-level Project
Email: secondlevel@educatetogether.ie
Web: http://www.educatetogether.ie/2_campaigns/secondlevelet.html
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Educate Together Second-level News is published by Educate Together, the national representative organisation for multi-denominational education in Ireland. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the policy of Educate Together unless expressly stated. Any non-commercial organisation is free to copy the contents of this newsletter as long as the source is attributed. Educate Together supports the standards proposed by the ePhilanthropy Foundation. See Code of Ethics (http://www.ephilanthropy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ethics) If you have received this email counter to your wishes or no longer wish to receive it please contact secondlevel@educatetogether.ie. We also undertake that the details of any person who subscribes to this newsletter will not be forwarded to any third party or used for a purpose other than to receive this newsletter unless you have expressly given permission.