Meet a participant: Catherine Starr
Catherine Starr’s professional connections with her students, her colleagues and her community are such that she’s making quite an impact in her corner of the world. She uses opportunities such as The Learning Powerhouse Conference to extend her creative educational talents, keep up to date with the latest initiatives around TAFE and catch up with colleagues from around the State. The conversation with Catherine which follows is just a brief encounter with one of TAFE’s exceptional but quiet operators.
What is your background?
I’ve lived and worked in the area for many years, had my family in Cowra and joined TAFE in the late 80’s. I have enjoyed nearly 20 years teaching there and being part of a great team and part of the community.
What motivates you to come to conferences such as this?
For me, it’s an opportunity to see what’s going on in the wider TAFE environment. It’s like getting a shot in the arm; it helps me to see where I fit into the TAFE community, that I’m doing a good job and making a difference. It also helps combat isolation in the job and exposes me to lots of creativity. It keeps me ‘fresh’.
What are you hoping to take away with you?
It’s interesting to see the creativity and innovation of other teachers and how they respond to the needs of students and their communities and the clever ways in which they do that. I’m particularly interested in looking at training for family day care workers, finding out how others are coping with RPL and checking out e-learning and how I can better apply this to my work.
Do you have a particular project you’re involved in at present?
Over the years, I’ve been involved in many local initiatives, including a mentoring program in partnership with the local high school. But currently, I’m involved with the Breakaway Program in Cowra.
How does the program work?
It is a collaborative and co-operative program involving TAFE, DET, Greater Western Area Health Services and Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) which identifies resources, training and support needs in the community and develops programs to address these needs of young people in the community. Initially we worked with only indigenous students who are still at school. However by accessing funds from TAFE and PCYC we have been able to extend our programs to include other youth at risk.
How did the project come about?
Within our community networks, it became apparent that many community organisations received resources and funding for various initiatives for which they had applied, but we 
were all seeming to target the same group! It just made sense to draw these organisations together, pool resources and combine our expertise to provide practical and sustainable programs especially for indigenous students. For the first couple of years, we targeted indigenous girls, providing programs which combined skills learning with culture and dance. Since then, we’ve expanded to programs involving job seeking, lifestyle, computing, health and safety, outdoor activities, creative arts and cultural awareness and we have now developed a program for indigenous boys.
How does it work?
There is a small representative group who form the core and are the drivers of the programs. We share knowledge, expertise and resources, collaborate on proposals and share the delivery and venues for the various programs. It is a wonderful network on a professional level but also a valuable support group for the students.
What have you learned from this project?
Basically, that you have to be very creative to make things happen. You have to keep ‘on the go’ all the time. And I do have a keen interest in the students and take great joy and professional satisfaction in seeing them grow and succeed.
How is the project making a difference?
It’s linking significant community organisations so that they can work together to achieve some impact in an area of need. It’s breaking down the silos and spreading the knowledge and expertise. For the students, it’s hopefully planting a seed – modifying behaviours and opening up some pathways for the participants to choose which will enable them to learn and perhaps eventually make a difference in their own communities. The group also provide a valuable support team for students who have moved out into the community or have moved on to other training.
Can you give an example?
Yes – After delivering the health component of the program to a couple of groups of indigenous girls we decided that a more suitable resource was needed. Pauline Rowston from the Greater Western Area Health Service (GWAHS) and Christine Leys from TAFE were successful in obtaining funds through Health to write a new resource. This resource entitled The Breakaway Program is now used by GWAHS throughout NSW.
What of the future – where to now?
Late last year we took time out for a day of reflection and planning. We needed to develop more programs and seek accreditation for our participants. We also needed to develop a tracking system to follow up on our participants. Ideally, through networking we will identify some key indigenous role models who can work on the programs with the Breakaway Group and then become facilitators within their own communities. Already we have seen some great changes with two new indigenous health workers employed by GWAHS and joining our team. Also our first group of boys will receive an accredited Statement of Attainment in outdoor Activities.
A final word?
It’s a privilege to work with a wonderful team of dedicated professionals. I thoroughly enjoy working as a teacher and developing relationships with students, which hopefully have practical outcomes and enable them to grow as individuals and begin a new and positive learning journey. I look forward to sharing and developing some of the great ideas I have picked up from today’s conference.