Jennifer Pittorino
A group of Altona Meadows parents are pleased that out-of zone enrolment restrictions have been removed for Altona College, however believe there is still work to be done.
For years, parents have been concerned there is no high school in Altona Meadows, despite the suburb having three primary schools.
With the help of a dedicated group of parents, mum of two primary school- aged kids, Kia Brusa, has been campaigning for a high school in Altona Meadows and for the suburb’s zoning to be changed.
“Previously Altona Meadows’ kids were zoned to one of four schools,” she said.
“Those were Altona College, Laverton P-12 and Carranballac P-9 (Jamieson Way and Boardwalk campuses) in Point Cook.”
Ms Brusa said the ideal situation is for the suburb to have its own high school.
“When you look at numbers of students within Altona Meadows from census data, the numbers of students of secondary age in Altona Meadows is higher than Altona or Williamstown which both have their own high schools,” she said.
“So when looking at the data and numbers, I think there are enough students of secondary school age to justify a high school in Altona Meadows.”
On May 2, it was announced that the restriction on out-of-zone enrolments to Altona College had been lifted, and new school zone boundaries had been put in place for the Altona Meadows community, with the south-western boundary now aligned with Skeleton Creek.
“Instead of being zoned to four schools, students from Altona Meadows are now zoned to one of two schools: Altona College or Laverton P-12. This increases the chances of friendship groups continuing into high school, and also means that people don’t have to navigate Skeleton Creek and the busy Point Cook Road to get their child to school.” Ms Brusa said.
“In relation to the lifting of restrictions at Altona College, it is not a rezoning to Altona College but it does increase the likelihood of students from Altona Meadows being accepted at Altona College.
“We have been talking with council and local government for a long time who have been very supportive so we are pleased to have some outcomes to show for that shared advocacy..”
Hobsons Bay mayor Matt Tyler said he will continue to work on improving the education opportunities for all the community, along with Point Cook MP Matthew Hilakari.
“This is an important first step towards responding to long-expressed concerns from families in Altona Meadows regarding the lack of a high school in our area,” councillor Tyler said.
“It reflects our advocacy efforts over a number of years, together with committed members of our community, in partnership with Mat Hilakari to make progress in terms of meeting the educational needs of our community”.
