Written by Lee Oliver
Supporting young people to become valuable contributors to their community is what motivates Dale Hansen every day.
Since 2005 he has been a teacher at Carinity Education Glendyne, providing positive educational outcomes for at-risk and disengaged Fraser Coast youth.
The special assistance school in Hervey Bay provides education, vocational training and lifestyle enablement skills for 130 students who have faced difficulty succeeding in traditional mainstream schools.
Dale commenced his career as an educator in Maryborough in the 1990s, working as a qualified skills trainer specialising in vocational learning. His experience also includes educating Indigenous Australians and people living with disability.
Glendyne opened on a former pineapple farm at Nikenbah in 1998 with five students who had experienced extremely adverse life circumstances. Dale was initially engaged by the school to assist teachers to better deliver important literacy skills to students.
He was offered a permanent role and, now as the school’s Principal, is still excited to support young people whose “dreams for the future were once very cloudy”.
“We often see students who come from very disadvantaged backgrounds and some who have had significant traumatic experiences in their life,” Dale said.
“Our teachers and staff get much satisfaction from seeing teenagers who arrived at Glendyne lacking direction, confidence, and hopes and dreams for the future, and seeing them develop into valuable contributors to their community.
“Some of the first students I worked with at Glendyne are now parents who I see around town. Seeing the life that they have come from, to the life that they’re living now, is considerably different.”
Carinity Education Glendyne is structured to support young people in upper primary and secondary school who previously disengaged from school or face barriers to education.
“Our focus is on positive relationships, partnering with students in their learning, and co-creating goals based on their perceptions of what they would like to achieve,” Dale said.
Students can undertake accredited vocational training courses as part of their senior curriculum. Dale notes that often those who struggle with academic schoolwork “have an aptitude for hands-on work skills and flourish”.
Dale has relished helping to deliver positive educational outcomes for hundreds of young people over the past 20 years.
“It’s about enabling them to develop belief, seize opportunities as they’re presented, and transform their life to a more positive and better future,” he said.
“It’s a real joy seeing those students who have had multiple barriers in life overcome and achieve.”
