Teach Learn Grow visits Mid West schools to help regional students and engage kids with school

Students in rural schools across the Mid West will welcome tutoring volunteers coming to teach them different subjects and make school feel exciting.

Volunteers from Teach Learn Grow will make their way across to 18 different remote schools across WA over two weeks to inspire learning in many young kids.

In all, 237 volunteers will travel to schools in locations that include Cue, Mount Magnet and Meekatharra from June 17 to July 1.

TLG managing director Hannah Beard said the program, which has been running since 2011, tried to help bring regional students up to standard.

“Bridging the educational gap between regional and rural students, compared to their metropolitan counterparts,” she said.

“There’s a really big disparity between the educational standards and outcomes between kids in the country and kids in the city.”

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, students from rural communities are on average two-and-a-half years behind students in the city.

Very remote students are 20 times more likely to be below the minimum standard and three in five Indigenous students in remote areas will never finish school.

TLG’s mission engages students with learning, tutoring in math and areas of need, they also involve the students with fun activities as part of the studies.

“We spend a week tutoring students and focus intensely on the subjects and areas they are falling behind in,” Ms Beard said.

“It’s about engaging students in learning and creating an environment for kids to want to school to school and change their attitude towards schooling.”

The program runs twice a year and aims to revisit locations, although it is usually a new batch of university or TAFE students that come each time.

“We try and get out to the same schools where we can each year and that helps us form a good rapport with the towns, the schools, community and students,” Ms Beard said.

“The volunteers get really heavily involved with anything going on in the towns that they’re at during the week.”

The organisation is not-for-profit and the schools don’t pay any fees to have them come visit, with funds coming from sponsors or fundraising.

“We always have such a warm reception from the teachers and principles who’ve seen us before, always encouraging and really helpful in getting us out there and they see it’s good for the students” Ms Beard said.