Great examples of this effort are the programs “Community Hubs Australia”, “Paralowie Parent Program”, “Wellbeing Days”, “Multicultural Week” and the Parafield Gardens High School “International Policy”.
The “Community hubs” are welcoming places where migrant and refugee families, particularly mothers with young children, come to connect, share and learn. These Hubs bridge the gap between migrants and the wider community. They connect the women with the schools, with each other, and with organisations that can provide health, education, and settlement support. This federal initiative has seen seven Community Hubs established in South Australia, five of which are located in Salisbury. They also provide a gateway and capacity building for migrant families to connect with each other and with mainstream communities in both formal and casual settings.
Most schools in Salisbury make strong efforts to involve parents with migrant and/or minority backgrounds in the school life. Local schools, including Salisbury High and Para Hills School, run programs for parents in culturally and linguistically diverse settings. Furthermore, these schools have access to translators so parents can communicate in their own language. One of these programs is the “Paralowie Parent Program” which is part of The Paralowie (R-12) School. The students at Paralowie represent the wide range of cultures that make up the local community. The Paralowie (R-12) program displays the multifaceted and comprehensive approach to tackling the educational disadvantage. Paralowie’s efforts also point to the inherent complexities that characterise disadvantaged communities.
Salisbury’s schools often carry out intercultural projects. Regular “Wellbeing Days” and “Multicultural Week” events foster opportunities for cultural expression, safety and confidence. These events are a platform for students to wear their traditional dress, cook and share food from different cultures and to engage in identity projects. An underlying outcome is that students have the possibility to develop their understanding of culture, to work together and to have cultural safety in order to express themselves in a public setting. Further, many schools have relationships with schools in sister cities around the world and host regular exchanges.
Salisbury has a policy to increase the ethnic and the cultural mixing in the schools, called the Parafield Gardens High School “International Policy”. With staff and students from over 40 non-English speaking backgrounds, The Parafield Gardens High School has great cultural diversity, international students are welcomed, and generally fit in very quickly. Their Australian experience at PGHS can be a truly multicultural one. With many local students studying ESL (English as a Second Language), the international students can also undertake necessary English language learning in a mainstream class. Teachers from all subject areas have been trained to provide some ESL support. Finally, the school enrols local students into several programs available for overseas students which improve the intercultural exchanges.
