Mountain District Community College commences in 2022

Mountain District Learning Centre has successfully completed the registration process to establish a new Independent Specialist School, the Mountain District Community College.

Mountain District Learning Centre (MDLC) has been operating as a “Non-School” delivering a senior secondary program as a Registered Training Organisation. MDLC has run the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) since 2006 and has been running the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) (and the equivalent HSC) since 1976. MDLC ceased to offer VCE in 2016 due to falling enrolments.

MDLC’s mission has been to provide an alternative education program to young people who are not suited to mainstream education and has had enrolments numbering around 50 in the VCAL program each year. Over the last ten years, it has become increasingly difficult for MDLC to provide the robust level of education and support that is required by young people who have become disengaged from education.

The decision to register the VCAL program as an Independent School was initiated by the MDLC Board of Directors. The decision follows the lead of other “Non-Schools” operating in Adult Community Education settings, like MDLC. Becoming a school allows for additional support staff and improved access to resources, which will give the students the best opportunity to continue their education.

Mountain District Community College (MDCC) will be operating in a shared space within MDLC’s current building. MDCC will run independently of MDLC with its own Board of Directors, including Chris Markwick as Chair and current MDLC CEO Janet Claringbold as a Board member along with five other Board members who hold a commitment to alternative education pathways for young people.

The MDCC Board recently appointed the school’s inaugural Principal, Elise Hopkins. Elise, who has come from a leading teacher position at Heathmont College, is looking forward to getting the school underway, meeting the students and providing the kind of education pathway that will put them in the best position to succeed. The two organisations will operate in close partnership and maintain a focus on providing positive education in an alternate environment.

To find out more, visit the MDCC website.