Submission from the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Education of Gifted and Talented Students Colin Simpson, Principal What programs do you currently provide to gifted and talented students? The Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School provides a nationally and internationally recognised specialist program for the training of talented young dancers and musicians. Integral to this program is the provision of a high quality academic education that is also offered to other elite training organisations. The VCA Secondary School is a highly professional school that has high expectations of staff and students. This is a hallmark of the schools I have benchmarked us against. It was initially founded by the Victorian Government to feed dance and music students into the undergraduate programs at the Victorian College of the Arts. In the early years the school was a formal part of the university and students went from year 12 straight to second year. Entry to the school for VCA Secondary School dance and music students is by competitive audition, which is held in August each year. The mission of our school is to help identify, and assist, children with exceptional potential, regardless of their personal circumstances, to benefit from world-class specialist training as part of a broad and balanced education, which will enable them, if they choose, to proceed towards self-sustaining careers in music and dance. The Victorian State Government support of our specialist program in music and dance currently enables over 200 exceptionally talented children to have access to the best specialist music and dance training available alongside an outstanding academic education. Why? There is a need to educate and train, from an early age, children who show promise and excel in the two fields of artistic endeavour - music and dance. The need for early training, in particular the primary development of the physical and intellectual disciplines required of dancers and musicians, is recognised by many to be greater than for some other forms of artistic endeavour. The program offered by the VCA Secondary School enables these children between the ages of 11 and 18 to receive an outstanding academic education alongside the best specialist music and dance training available. We believe that children benefit from close association with similarly gifted children who provide the stimulus of competition and example By receiving support with the costs of lessons, pupils from all over the state have access to an extended teaching day and to practice and studio facilities within the environment of the school School organization can take account of the individual requirements of the pupil and the need for orchestras, choirs and performances to be integrated with other parts of the school curriculum Distinguished practitioners can be attracted to teach and/or take master classes Positions are open to Years 7 to 12 students throughout Victoria. During audition a student's potential is taken into account as well as his or her talent. The school also provides its academic program to The Australian Ballet School, Gymnastics and Diving Victoria and the National Institute of Circus Arts. Other specialist students are selected from within their national training programs.
Your experiences and issues surrounding these programs (including for example responding to negative attitudes towards giftedness) The main issues we manage are providing access to wide sections of the community while addressing the high demands of families auditioning for our school. We would share this with other schools like ours, and this is reflected in the wider shopping for good schools that occurs now. We experience no negative attitudes, as families need to decide to access us and agree or aspire to our Mission. We also appear quarantined from the negative attitudes that some schools have to numbers of their students going to select entry schools or scholarships to other sectors. For our part we accept peoples rights to make the best decisions about the educational provision for their child and tend not to get into those discussions. Certainly when students leave us we allow the separation to be with good grace. We see our schools as only one step in the development of our young artists and in particular want strong relations with our alumni. Page 2
The experiences of students participating in these programs The student voice is helpful in this discussion: As part of the Year Seven Health course, the group looked back at what it was like starting at the VCA Secondary School, selected comments included. Dance student I thought it might be chaotic and hard having no bell. The first week was but then we all got used to it. Now I think it s a good learning experience having to be responsible for always knowing where you are supposed to be and when you are supposed to be there. I think the academic side of the school is very strong. You might think you wouldn t get enough teaching having only half a day of academic studies each day, but the small class sizes and the fact that everyone really wants to do their best easily makes up for it. And having such good teachers. Our school is in the Top 3 schools for VCE results. Does everybody know that? Some people might think the school is very competitive, and I suppose it is a bit, but in a nice way. Healthy competition is a good thing. All the people in this school are really nice, there are no bullies, and everyone helps the Year 7s. Music student When I first came, I was worried about how much actual school work we would do, but I quickly realized it was the same amount as any other school. We don t waste any time during the day. We don t have regular assemblies, we don t have half an hour in a home room in the mornings, like at my friends schools. We just come to school and get on with it. And we don t waste time in class either. I really like that. I don t know one person at this school who doesn t like it here. I mostly do all my written homework on the train home, then I don t worry about it all evening. I can practice violin when I get home. Last night I did three hours. It was easy to find someone at this school who gets the same train as me, we come and go as a group, with different people of different ages. Gym student I was amazed how friendly the school is. And to discover there was only one Year 7 class with less than 20 students in it. That is the best. Here is my weekly routine. Monday Wednesday and Friday, I catch the train at 7.15 to Flinders Street, then I get to school at about 8, walking down St Kilda Road with my friends to school. I start school at 8.30 and finish academic classes at 12.35. Then I have lunch in the school café, then I catch the tram to Prahran, up High Street till I get to the gym. We go together. We do homework at the gym between 1.30 and 3. Then we train from 3 till 7. On Thursday and Tuesday, we start training at the gym at 9 a.m., and finish at 12, then we catch the tram to school for academic classes in the afternoon. Then we go back to the gym for more training between 4.20 and 7 pm. I do about 28 hours a week at the gym. But it s so much fun! I just can t believe how friendly everyone is at this school. The benefit is I can still do all my academic classes and keep up my gym training Dance student We get more attention from the teachers at this school than at any other school I ve ever been to, and the older students really look after us. The boys and girls really get on well with each other. The thing I love most about this school is I can share my passion for dancing with loads of other people. Nobody at my old school understood. I didn t know the teachers would be so friendly. Dance student When I first came on Orientation Day in December I thought I would need a map to get around, it seemed so big. But the staff have all been very welcoming, they only make us do the things we need to do, and the academic is as strong as the specialist training we get. Public transport was a challenge to get used to, and sometimes there simply doesn t seem to be enough time at lunchtime to pack up the academic books, get them back to my locker, get my lunch and eat it, and get changed ready for Dance classes in half an hour. Overall, though, VCASS is a great place for me. I have the opportunity to dance and keep up my academic work. Page 3
The Year Nine Integrated Program was our response to the needs of this age group to be connected with more experiential learning. Here is a selection from their feedback: I really liked what we did in IP this year. I really enjoyed going and visiting the kids at Port Philip Specialist School and I really think I gained a lot from the experience. Once I had stayed at Port Philip for a few weeks I really didn t want to leave, I really felt like I had connected with some of the kids. I really liked playing the violin for them and I really felt that they enjoyed it too. I also really (really) enjoyed going to 'The Dwelling' Art exhibition at ACCA. I specifically like 'Opera for a small room' that was created by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller. I really got into it. Another great excursion we went on was when we went to Williamstown and took the ferry from Williamstown Marina to Southbank, it was a lot of fun. I think I have learnt a lot in I.P this year and I have really gained a lot from our excursions and various activities. In Intergrated Program this year I have learnt a lot about the City of Melbourne, Mental Health, and History. In the second semester we went to Port Phillip Specialist School which was extremely confronting. Hugo and I helped out a class with six kids. They were the most intellectually and physically disabled of all the students. As confronting as it was, I learnt so much about mental health and now I am embarrassed to say that I used to laugh about things like that. Now I understand the gravity of the situation of a mentally disabled person and how they are effected. I learnt how you can teach a mentally ill person life skills by taking many small steps to make them as able as possible. In the second semester we also went to the Dali exhibition where we learnt about Surrealist Art and Salvadore Dali. In I.P this year I have learnt a lot and had a lot of fun. The experiences I have had with Port Phillip Specialist School has made me a more responsible and it has made me more aware about mental illness. This year I have really enjoyed IP. My favorite activities would have to be the magazine and working with the children at Port Phillip Specialist. I think this program is really great because we have the whole morning to get work done and we don t have to hold back. This year we have done a very wide range of activities whether it be going to an exhibition or helping out at the Special School. When I went to Port Phillip I realised how lucky we all are to be born healthy, and just by working and communicating with the children, it is a really amazing experience, it was also extremely fun! I also really appreciated going to the memorial service on Remembrance Day, I felt very honored to have been there, and it was really interesting to see it for myself. I m going to miss IP next year. This semester in the Integrated Program I have learnt a lot about myself through going to Port Phillip Specialist School. Nathan and I were put in a class with kids who couldn t communicate or care for themselves so when I knew this, I knew it was going to be a confronting task. Through out the weeks we went to Port Phillip I got to see past the child s disability and see the real person and how they were just kids wanting to have fun. Also through IP I experienced Surrealist Art through going to the Dali Exhibition, I enjoyed this because I love artwork that really makes you think. We also went through an interview process with Mr. Nucci for the 9C Magazine, which I thought was beneficial to us. I.P was a great experience for me and has taught me many to appreciate myself, the people around me and the different individual views on everyday living. The best experience I had this semester in I.P was going to Port Phillip Specialist School, where I met an extraordinary group of children who all had different disabilities but had the best personalities and different views on life. In my group was Hunter, Evan, Hannah, Bella R, Bella I, Orly, Livy and Monique. During the 4 weeks that I was there I got to know all them well and what they liked and disliked. At the end of the 4 weeks I didn t want to leave because of the bond that I had with all of the children and how loyal they are to you. This semester we also went to many art exhibitions such as Dali and The Dwelling which was very different for me. I was so used to drawing manga and freestyle, seeing different styles of art are was amazing. We went on a coastal excursion to Williamstown. I really enjoyed the excursion because it was on the beach, it was out of the crowded city and it was relaxing. Page 4
The experiences of students participating in these programs The VCA Secondary School uses data to inform about and develop our school, and it will be useful to you to be able to consider our state in terms of state and median levels. VCASS has always been a school that has achieved good results for students. In particular the last seven year data is outstanding and is on the back of more than twenty years of hard work to get it there. Our intake adjusted score shows the incredible value adding to students while they are with us. What is clear in our VCE results (and expressed in other intake adjusted data not shown here) is that gifted and talented children benefit from being placed with similar students. This is not the whole story as that has always occurred here and it was not until 2002 we started to see excellent results. Schools need to be fully functioning entities and all parts need to be right. Parallel to our teaching and learning improvements we have also focused on school tone and culture and the creation of a sustainable high expectation environment. Our schools ability to assist students getting better results than they could in other schools is strong Page 5
In 2011 our combined Student Learning data shows us in the top 20% of schools nationally and performing higher than comparison schools. In Student Engagement and Wellbeing and Student Pathways and Transitions exactly the same with key Victorian Certificate of Education results indicate high levels of performance in all areas with consistent trending at the top or consistent improvement. The VCE percentage of study scores of 40 or more have grown consistently since 2002 and were THE HIGHEST they have ever been in 2010. Page 6
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An examination of VCE: Study Scores of 40 or more not opnly map the ongoing improvements in the school but also the abilioty of the school to sustain its results and provide strong pathways options to students. Interestingly our pathways are the typical university ones but also further training, employment and self sustaining career elements (dance). Page 9
Your views about how the concept of giftedness and talent should be defined In our system, and based on the work and research that our system has undertaken, we generally understand that gifted students show advanced development (or the potential for advanced development) when compared to their peers. These students are often indicated by an advanced rate of learning, quality of thinking or capacity for remarkably high standards of achievement compared to students of the same age. Gifted students therefore may be described as having high potential. The school tends to accept the Gagné's model of Giftedness refers to a student's outstanding potential and ability in one or more domains and these can be a number of things such as intellectual, creative, socio-affective and sensori-motor. From our point of view talent generally refers to outstanding performance in one or more fields of human activity. Talent emerges from ability as a consequence of the student's learning experience (Gagné, 1991). Referenced from: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/programs/gifted/default.htm During the review process undertaken by our school, the Dean of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and Ormond Chair of Music at The University of Melbourne described his concern about our school using a term like talented in so far that it tended to devalue the quotient of work required to produced high achieving individuals. While he was not questioning the use of the term he wondered if it devalued the work required. This is something we plan to discuss over the next three-year period. We find that the natural abilities, combined with the hard work of our students in their specialism and the self-esteem building that this engenders tends to grow and lead to success in a wide range of areas. Therefore success as musicians, dancers of elite sportspeople tends to flow exponentially to academic and student leadership. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development provide support material for the understanding of current thinking and conflicts in gifted and talented education thinking. The Queenslanders have done good work here as well. Page 10
Any broader implications for school communities arising from the education of gifted and talented students Gifted students require: Minimal repetition: Research indicates that gifted and high potential students are more likely to retain science and mathematic content accurately when taught two to three times faster than normal class pace. High expectations with no upper limit: High level, open-ended tasks support this. There should be no upper limit on expectation. More extended and involved, advanced level tasks: Research or extended projects requiring high level thinking, evaluating, synthesizing and creating. Specifically at VCASS students require: A thorough technical training which begins at an early age Daily classes and many hours of practice The nurturing of creativity Specialist teaching by highly skilled and experienced dance and music teachers, with Master classes by visiting national and international artists High quality performance opportunities Provision of appropriate facilities and resources The provision of a high quality comprehensive education suitable for young artists, which comprises a core curriculum covering the Key Learning Areas A well planned program focussing on individual student needs, delivered using diverse teaching strategies A safe and purposeful school environment The active promotion of cooperative and supportive relationships between all members of the school community The difficulties for this in a school systems is the requirement that schools deliver to homogenous groups of students and communities, while being expected to address the needs of gifted and talented. Critically the need to provide minimal repetition, deliver a high expectation environment and teaching skill in providing advance level tasks. Some considerations are: Selective schools and Specialist schools are one way of addressing this as are SEAL programs The new twenty-five specialist schools should provide further opportunities for schools to explore the way they could cater for some of these students The resourcing of schools and the system to better cater for students in this category is one element, as well as assisting broader parts of the community to better identify children with these capacities Currently identification is more possible in schools and communities where resourcing and opportunity is available and therefore a normal child with opportunity can be confused with giftedness It is also important to assist families to navigate through giftedness in terms of understanding the autism spectrum and also family aspiration and desire From the point of view of the VCA Secondary School I support our model of the grouping together of gifted and talented dancers and musicians to cater the best environment for their development in these specialized, competitive and training critical fields. The data indicates the ability to massively value add and develop students in this environment, regardless of socio-economic background. I would recommend a broad discussion about the most appropriate groupings of students to enhance the broad opportunities of students and not to further residualize schools. Colin Simpson, Principal Monday, May 30, 2011 Page 11