Griffith Teachers Federation branch is calling for the state government to undo the MRHS merger

The future of Murrumbidgee Regional High School is uncertain after the damning report from the NSW Department of Education showed the merger experiment as a dismal failure.

The report proved what many teachers, students and parents already knew - that running two separate campuses as one was an impossible task and set education back.

While the report notes that the one-school, two-site idea 'should never be replicated again,' it's unclear whether the state government will de-merge the two schools or continue running the two sites as one.

The Griffith Teachers Association reaffirmed their position that the schools should return to a 7-12 model and be run separately.

Brett Bertalli, on behalf of the teachers, said that they wanted a return to the 'most proven and successful model,' the 7-12 Comprehensive High School.

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"The only way Griffith and Wade High School could improve on student outcomes is if they had the rural and remote incentives that all other schools in every direction of Griffith had, to attract and retain the most qualified 'high impact educators'," he said.

He noted that while student wellbeing had remained steady, the morale and wellbeing of staff had been compromised.

He added that even as issues became clearer, the Department of Education failed to act on suggestions from the community - including the addition of two site principals to manage day-to-day operation and increased release time to consolidate the schools.

Jenna Woodland, the Griffith Teachers Association president, noted that trust had been lost in secondary education.

"The school has suffered reputational damage and suffered more than a ten per cent decrease in enrolment... The community has lost confidence in secondary public education at this point in time."

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She added that the Department of Education's own admission that the new model wasn't working meant they had to change it.

"The department have said they wouldn't do this again, so why would they leave our school with a model that they've just admitted doesn't work."

"To me, it seems like the government are so preoccupied in saving face that they're willing to risk the educational outcomes of students in Griffith. I just think that's appalling."

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