Where there’s a will, there’s a way
The Melbourne Indigenous Transition School employed some drastic and creative solutions during the pandemic to ensure their students didn’t miss the opportunity to advance their education.
Former Trinity College board member Rick Tudor and his wife Liz started the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS) in 2016. The school was established to provide transition classes and accommodation for year 7 (and now also year 8) students from communities in the Northern Territory Top End and regional Victoria, who wish to pursue secondary educational opportunities in Melbourne.
When the coronavirus first became a concern in Melbourne in March 2020, the MITS team decided to send all of their students home, pre-empting any lockdown, concerned that students could introduce COVID-19 to their vulnerable communities.
Through semester 1 of 2020, MITS staff taught students online, but for many students in remote settings, connectivity was a major barrier to learning. When Melbourne went back into lockdown in July that year, it became clear that an alternative needed to be found.
At an extraordinary board meeting on a Friday evening, the decision was made to move the school to Darwin. By Sunday evening, the leadership team was on a plane to the NT, with other staff and Victorian students following a few days later.
Liz and Rick Tudor
Liz and Rick Tudor
2021 started with optimism, but Melbourne would soon lock down again. This time, however, the decision was made to keep students in Melbourne, rather than move them to Darwin, as MITS received an exemption from home schooling.
Students then returned to the NT a fortnight before the end of each term to undertake the government-mandated two weeks of quarantine in the Howard Springs quarantine facility. MITS established a pop-up school in Howard Springs, where students continued their studies for two weeks, leaving them free to enjoy the school holidays with family.
As a result, these two ‘COVID cohorts’ remained engaged in the MITS program throughout the pandemic and are now continuing their educational journey in Melbourne.
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