Melbourne Indigenous Transition School
In 2016, Colonial Foundation joined a new initiative seeking to develop an innovative education model enabling young Indigenous students from remote and regional communities in Australia, access to Australia’s best schools. The MITS model was the first of its kind, providing Year 7 students with a twelve month intensive education in an environment that celebrated Indigenous culture and learning, paving their way for a more successful transition into scholarship positions at high-performing Melbourne schools.
MITS’s unique model recognises the innate capabilities of many young Indigenous students, the strong desire of students and their families to receive an education outside of their home community and the willingness of Melbourne schools to offer scholarship opportunities to Indigenous students.
This grant enabled the School and its students to build capacity, particularly in the formative years of the School’s establishment. In 2016, MITS opened to its first 22 Year 7 students from remote Top End and regional Victoria, with students attending school in MITS’s classrooms at the Richmond Football Club and boarding on Richmond Hill. The students attended regular schooling at a founding group of eight Melbourne Partner Schools.
Over the past ten years, the School has matured into a highly effective education model. The model has expanded to include both a Year 7 and Year 8 school program with approximately 100 students. In addition, the number of Boarding houses has increased from one to three.
MITS has successfully built an educational model that creates pathways to greater opportunity for Indigenous students from remote and regional communities, so that they may lead lives full of choice and opportunity.
