NSW Catholic school Chevalier College unveils plans for remote learning Mondays
/ By Brooke Chandler and Nick RheinbergerA Catholic college in regional New South Wales has announced it will go ahead with plans for senior students to study from home one day a week, despite negative feedback from some parents.
Key points:
- Chevalier College in Burradoo wants to reduce classroom time to four days a week, with one scheduled remote learning day for eligible senior students
- Some parents believed it encourages more screen time and are resisting the changes
- Principal Greg Miller sought legal advice for the changes and said the community consultation process was fair
From 2024, students in years 10 to 12 at Chevalier College in the Southern Highlands will have their classroom time cut to four days a week if they complete a "flipped learning micro-credential" to make them eligible for remote learning.
The school says this would mean there would be no formal lessons scheduled on Mondays, to give pupils the opportunity to consolidate their learning and plan for the week ahead.
Year 12 parent Nicci Brauer said many school parents feel they have been "railroaded" into the new education model with little consultation.
"The scaffold for this model has been so urgent that [the principal] seems to have missed bringing all the stakeholders along with him and getting us all on side and producing a quality model," Ms Brauer said.
The 900-student school community was asked to submit its feedback via surveys and forums, which Ms Brauer said "caught parents off guard".
"They'd be open on a Friday night … and then closed by a Tuesday morning the following week," she said.
"And they weren't all favourable responses because I wrote one."
Ms Brauer said she supports the implementation of technology in schools but believes remote learning does not benefit every pupil.
"Not all kids will engage with this, not all kids will be able to understand. The teacher will have to spend the next couple of lessons getting those kids up to speed," she said.
"We are giving them more screen time rather than less. As parents we've been very concerned about screen time and the effects that it's having on our kids … but the school just called the shots here."
Students elect to revise at home
School principal Greg Miller said axing senior classes on Mondays is one of several changes aimed at enhancing student retention.
"Because what is happening is students are self-selecting days away from face-to-face teaching to complete the requirements of course from various subjects," Mr Miller said.
"So, it's about a raft of initiatives that are being brought in to broaden learning for students and to offer them opportunities to exercise choice when learning."
Although Chevalier College does not have a formal parent and carer (P&C) group, Mr Miller defended the school's eight-month consultation process.
He said the response rate was 40 per cent for parents with one child, and more than 50 per cent for families with more than one student.
"There was overwhelming support from parents of students in years 10, 11 and 12 for next year to press on," he said.
"Those sample numbers far exceeded what we anticipated we'd get back."
School seeks legal advice
In a letter to parents and carers, the school said a similar plan for year 9 students was dismissed "based on maturity and age", following consultation with solicitors.
Mr Miller said lawyers were only involved to ensure the schools policies reflected a "contemporary learning delivery" rather than to verify the project itself.
"The actual direction of the work will be exactly the same regardless of [the students'] location," he said.
The proposal comes a week after the Queensland Education Department updated its policy to allow state and secondary schools to trial flexible class schedules, including four-day weeks and shorter days from next year.
Incoming year 10 to 12 students at Chevalier College will have until the end of the month to complete their eligibility for remote learning on Mondays.