| Summary: | This article examines a controversial initiative in Indigenous education: the establishment of the Cape York
Aboriginal Australian Academy (CYAAA). The article provides a brief description of the Academy's three
campuses and their communities and considers: the circumstances of its creation, including the role of Noel
Pearson and Cape York Partnerships; the rationale and philosophy underpinning the case for establishing the
Academy; implementation; and some key issues relevant to assessing this reform. These include its impact on a
range of performance measures, the veracity and power of the social and educational rationales on which the
reform is based, the use of ‘Direct Instruction’ (DI), and the practicability of extending and broadening the
reform. The time period considered is from late 2009 through 2011. The article draws on publications, and on
visits to campuses of the school and meetings/communications/discussions with personnel from the Queensland
Department of Education and Training (DET, now Department of Education, Training and Employment), Cape York
Partnerships, the CYAAA and others undertaken in the author's role as a teacher union officer.
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