A natural part of ending a career, especially one that has been a passion project, is reflecting on the achievements. In ten years we have achieved milestones that were once dreams.
We launched our first Strategic Plan in 2014, refocusing our service on young women solely with a strategic narrative that we need to be ‘a school, run like a business, that feels like a family’. Successive Boards have embraced this, pursued strategic plan updates and supported growth.
In my early years, Foodbank, Grant funding and Childcare were hugely significant in removing barriers to educational engagement and enabling more students to engage with our school and achieve their education goals.
Agum Maluach was proudly appointed our first River Nile Student Ambassador in 2014. Agum was our first student to Attain the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL).
In 2015, we relocated to a larger, for-purpose site on Capel Street, North Melbourne. Our new home supported student growth and our ability to provide better services to our school community.
Our most transformative achievement was realised on the 7th of December 2016 when the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) granted us regulatory approval to become a school. We officially took the name River Nile School and 2017 was our first year of operation as a registered, specialist, single sex (female only), reengagement, zero contribution (fee free), senior-secondary school – established to meet the needs of young women from Humanitarian refugee backgrounds.
In 2019, we won the Premier’s Sustainability Award in the Education Category, and in 2023, the Victorian Multicultural Excellence Award in the Education / Schools category.
We were an exemplary school for risk management during the COVID-19 pandemic, highly regarded for both our safety and student engagement, so much so that we experienced a 33% growth in student numbers during 2020 and have sustained that higher student level ever since.
We have continued to build our capabilities, bringing VET Program teaching in-house in 2022 and embracing the opportunity to deliver the new VCE Vocational Major (VM) and Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) in 2023.
Our balance sheet has been strengthened from a total equity of $13,000 as at 31/12/2016, the year before we became a school, and as of 31/12/2023 I retire knowing it will be more than $5 Million which gives our school the confidence to make the human and physical investments needed to ensure our school continues to flourish and meet the needs of many more young women in the years to come.
These milestones are not only things to celebrate but demonstrate our commitment to helping young woman become educated, empowered and thrive, no matter what obstacles they face. This is at the core of every decision we make and will continue to drive our strategic and operational decisions for the next chapter.
Lisa Wilson AO
Foundation Principal