Gilmore Primary School has launched an online campaign to raise money for a literacy enrichment project.
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The appeal for $9474 was made via the Australian School Plus Smart Giving Showcase, an online platform which seeks to eliminate disadvantage as a factor in student performance by increasing philanthropy for schools in need.
The website was founded in 2013 in response to the 2011 Review of Funding for Schooling (the "Gonski report") and uses the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) rankings to determine which schools qualify for support.
Schools with an ICSEA value below 1000 are eligible and Gilmore Primary, with an ICSEA value of 967, is one of thirteen ACT schools classified as disadvantaged*.
Pressed on why the school of just 118 students, the second smallest in the ACT, would need to launch a public appeal to fund the literacy program an Education and Training directorate spokesman said "ACT public schools were well resourced for all teaching and learning programs".
"Per student, Gilmore Primary School is one of the highest resourced public schools in the ACT," the spokesman said.
"The particular project outlined by Gilmore Primary School is an additional enrichment program and provides opportunity to learn above and beyond subjects covered by the standard curriculum."
School finances outlined on myschool.edu.au show in 2013 recurrent territory funding at Gilmore Primary School was $14,454 per student which equated to a pool of $1,994,667.
Whereas the same year Turner School, with 479 enrolled, received $15,044 per student and a total of $7,371,696 in ACT government funding.
One in five of the 118 students at Gilmore Primary School is from a language background other than English, while nearly 10 per cent are from an Aboriginal background.
The concept put forward on the donation page is to roll out four programs, one per term, that incorporate visiting experts and focus on narrative writing, scriptwriting, computer coding and speaking and listening skills.
The school's stated aim is to "reinvigorate students' perceptions around literacy" and outlines the initiative would be "beyond the school's staffing and budget capacity".
"With your help, all students in years 1-6 would have the opportunity to participate in at least one of the workshops aimed at increasing achievement levels across the school in literacy skills," the donation page reads.
