Alta-1 College
About Alta-1 College QLD
Alta-1 Education provides an alternative education to students 15 - 19 years old who are marginalised by mainstream education and are therefore at educational and emotional risk.
Enrolment
Typically students are enrolled into Alta-1 because they have been unsuccessful in mainstream schooling where personal issues have impacted their learning and engagement. Many have been excluded from their former schools and some are referred by a variety of agencies. Most senior students take 2 years to complete a year 11 equivalent after which they are able to access employment, an apprenticeship, further training at TAFE or re-integrate into mainstream schooling. Some opt to complete a further 12 month year 12 equivalent with us.
Recovery Education
As part of the Alta-1 recovery model of education, students complete activities designed to lead them through a socio-emotional developmental process involving the following stages:
• Belonging. The student is integrated into a caring community that allows him/her to become connected.
• Healing. The units of study facilitate a process whereby the student needs to face the issues that are impeding his/her personal development.
• Restoration. The student has the opportunity to re-build his/her life and become a better person.
• Identity Formation. The student develops a new understanding of his/her self-worth and relationship to family, church and the wider community.
• Purpose-Driven. The adoption of a beliefs and values system and the development of identity provide reasons and motivation to engage in life.
Relationship Centred
The active dynamic that makes the Alta-1 program so successful is its focus on the creation of strong, encouraging and supportive relationships. Students typically begin their time with Alta-1 Education through participation in a specially designed transition program, separate from the main student body. Groups of 5 students undertake a five week program under the direction of an Alta-1 chaplain. This program introduces students to our Endorsed Program in Personal Recovery and Community Building which helps them recognize, identify and start to deal with issues that have thus far impacted their lives and educational outcomes. The therapeutic model it is based on fosters the development of “safe” relationships and places a caring community around the young persons. Students who engage with this process and who display a readiness and willingness to change are then transferred into the regular Alta-1 College program where the process continues.
Curriculum
The Alta-1 senior school curriculum is structured to meet three broad goals:
1. To enable students to achieve access to mainstream education through to school graduation, with entry to TAFE or other tertiary institutions, so that they can live productive lives as Australian citizens.
2. To assist students to address personal issues that hinder emotional, social, behavioural and educational development.
3. To provide the opportunity for students to evaluate various belief and value systems, making decisions that give them purpose and direction for their lives.