To prepare our children for life in today's progressive society, we are in desperate need of a Catholic, co-educational secondary school in Altona North.

We, the undersigned, are campaigning for Emmanuel College Altona North's conversion to co-education as soon as possible.

Emmanuel College, St Paul's Campus, in Altona North is currently offering Catholic, secondary education for boys only. 

Emmanuel College have embraced co-education at their campus in Point Cook. However, for many families in Melbourne's inner-west, the Point Cook campus is not a viable option due to proximity and traffic conditions during peak times.

In particular, parents of St Leo’s Altona North, St Mary’s Altona, Sacred Heart Newport, Annunciation Brooklyn, St Mary's Williamstown and St Margaret Mary's Spotswood have no options locally for their children to continue their Catholic education in a co-educational environment. Many families within these schools have sons and daughters and are forced to either separate them for secondary school to stay within their own community, or to travel great distances to keep them together.

St Mary's College St Kilda (formerly Christian Boys College and Presentation College Windsor) has recently converted to co-education.

"In a co-educational environment, all students can share in the joy of learning together and develop mutual respect and trust for one another. [St Mary's College] believe[s] that there are many advantages in this model where gender equality is promoted, in both academic and co-curricular activities, and for the social and emotional development of young people. This learning environment ultimately reflects the world beyond the classroom." - St Mary's College website (2021)

St Aloysius in North Melbourne will be co-educational from 2023:

"Life is co-ed and so are we from 2023. The world into which our school was founded was a vastly different world to the one we now find ourselves in; women over the last century have made tremendous strides towards equality in all areas, and schools like St Aloysius, led that very charge and continue to do so with our embracing of co-education." - St Aloysius website (2021)

"In 2019, Mercy Education concluded a two-year project with Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM) to
reimagine Catholic education in the inner-city of Melbourne. Research from CEM highlighted a significant portion of families, keen on Catholic co-education, who were not able to access a suitable school for their children." (https://www.aloysius.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2020-Frequently-Asked-Questions.pdf)

Gender-diverse educational environments encourage the development of empathy and cultivate synergy in society. Recent events around the world highlight the need for young men and women to develop skills before adulthood fostering the ability to work productively and harmoniously with different people from all backgrounds and genders.

We, the families of Melbourne's inner-west, implore Emmanuel College in Altona North to convert to co-education and allow the children of our community to become the empathetic and innovative men and women that society needs them to be. 

To show your support, please sign this petition and, local families, please include your suburb in your profile to strengthen our campaign.

Image source: https://oecdedutoday.com/students-ready-thrive-interconnected-world-first-pisa-assessment-global-competence/