Ralet

The Rush and Lusk Educate Together School

The Rush & Lusk Educate Together (RaLET) Association came into existence following a public meeting in December 2002 in the Community Centre in Rush. The meeting addressed by Mr Paul Rowe, Chief Executive of Educate Together and by representatives of the ET schools in Donabate and Swords identified a need for a new multi-denominational school to serve the Rush and Lusk area. A committee was established, a pre-enrolment day was organised and several offers of temporary premises were made so that the RaLET Association was in a position in January 2003 to apply to the Dept. of Education & Science for recognition of the proposed school.

A new independent body, the National Schools Advisory Committee has considered all submissions for recognition of proposed new primary schools. This committee has reported its findings to the Minister of Education & Science who on May 15th granted recognition for the new RaLET School. The RaLET Association can now finalise a lease agreement for premises, set up an acting Board of Management, advertise nationally for a Principal Teacher and offer places in the new school.

Support in the Rush and Lusk area for an Educate Together School.

RaLET launched its pre-enrolment list in the Fingal Arts Centre in Rush on 18t January 2003. The event was a good indication of the strength of support for the set up of the school - 60 children from forty families were enrolled for the period 2003-2007, 35 for September 2003.

Analysis of the enrolment lists shows that there was equal representation from both the Rush and Lusk communities with interest from parents in Skerries and Loughshinny. It is still possible to enrol your child in the new school.

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What is an Educate Together School?

It is a non-fee paying National School operating under the direction of the Department of Education & Science following the Irish National School curriculum. The difference is the general ethos of the school which is :

- multi-denominational
- child-centred
- co-educational
- under democratic management

RaLET believes that the school we are trying to establish will offer the following:

· a choice in the type of education available to our children e.g. multi-denominational.
· a school that embraces all social, cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds i.e. recognizing the changing demographics of local communities in this country.
· an educational experience that embraces both genders on an equal basis, i.e. co-educational.
· a school where parents can be more actively involved in the daily life of the school i.e. an environment where parents participate with teacher in the decision making processes and have a genuine creative partnership where parents can contribute their skills while respecting the professional role of the teachers.
· non-fee paying education so that no child is excluded because of financial constraints of his/her parents.
· additional capacity in primary education that will be required shortly, due to the forecasted growth in population of Rush/Lusk.

There are now 28 Educate Together Schools operating in the country. Recently new Educate Together schools were opened in Swords (2001), Donabate (2002) and Drogheda (2001).

Rush and Lusk Educate Together School Approved by Minister

The Minister for Education and Science, Mr. Noel Dempsey, has granted formal recognition to the ‘Rush and Lusk Educate Together’ (RaLET) national school. The need for a new multi-denominational school in the Rush and Lusk area was identified back in December 2002 and subsequently a committee was established to start the enormous task of setting up the school.

The RaLET committee consists mainly of parents and is chaired by the principal of Castleknock Educate Together national school, Mr. Dermot Higgins, who said “We are thrilled with the news that the educate together school for Rush and Lusk has been approved by the Minister and that the hard work of everyone involved has paid off. With the continued support of both the Rush and Lusk communities we can now look forward to opening the doors of our new school in September.”