Gomeroi Culture Academy farewells class of 2021, will double in size

Director Marc Sutherland said the four-year-old Indigenous institution will teach double the number of students next year.

But with the success of the Tamworth academy, he hopes the organisation can serve as an example for youth organisations all over NSW.

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"We've cracked it, we have," he said.

"We are now having conversations with other organisations and other state government bodies in trying to change the model of delivery across the state.

"Now this way of thinking that we've been able to not only do but successfully run it for four years, is now the proof that could potentially change the tide of youth services program delivery."

On Friday, 11 students graduated from the intensive year-long course, which teaches traditional Indigenous culture and leadership skills and knowledge.

Mr Sutherland said they had always been careful not to dilute quality by growing quantity too quickly.

But with nearly 50 graduates in the community, the time had come to do both.

The 2022 class will boast twice as many as in 2021, he said.

The cohort will also have its own unique "outcomes framework".

Instead of using school attendance as a KPI, the academy will use a much broader indicator of success.

Truancy will drop as a by-product of the academy resolving the problems that cause truancy, he said.

He said schools don't teach maths in a single workshop every year, and teaching leadership, confidence and culture can't be done in such a shallow way either

"There's a reason we teach maths every day from kindergarten to 12," he said.

"Why are we teaching culture in one hour a year workshop?

"We're tapping into motivation, we're tapping into purpose. We're building self-development and we're using culture as the vehicle to do it. That's the knowledge that's been created for thousands of years. But it is beneficial to all of us."

Graduate Janaya Sampson said the academy was a special experience.

"I'd like to thank GCA for giving me the confidence to achieve anything I set out to do," she said.

Mr Sutherland said they had been tempted to convert the program into a simpler pre-employment or tertiary feeder scheme, but resisted the urge.

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The academy didn't want to push students down any particular pathway, he said. Instead, the kids should make their own way.

"Our motivation is to try to build up their own sense of identity, build up that core belief in themselves so that they can make better decisions in how they choose to move forwards," he said.

The Gomeri Culture Academy is a federally-funded program delivered in partnership with the Gomeroi Dance Company and Indigenous business Yinarr Maramali. It is delivered out of the Tamworth Regional Youth Centre.

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