A parent of a former student is concerned a Canberra high school leadership program is pulling teachers away from classrooms and entrenching inequity into a government school.
The parent describes Alfred Deakin High School's Panthers and Elements program as "private schooling" for a select few students.
At the same time, an independent review into the ACT's school system has found there is not enough support for students who need it most and has recommended the government call time on individual school autonomy.
Panthers and Elements is a leadership program for students in year 9 and 10 at Alfred Deakin High School.
The school said the program "fosters personal growth" and takes into account Year 8 students' English and physical education performance, whether a student can positively influence group dynamics, their willingness to support others and their potential for personal growth.
The program involves two camps a year, talks with external speakers and helping organise swimming and athletic carnivals.
The parent, whose child was Indigenous, said they had concerns over the prevalence of the students who "did every job" while also having a program which did not reflect the diversity of the school community.
"It certainly was not representative," they said.
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"They were pretty much stock standard, white, extremely privileged middle-class kids. They didn't need any leg up or more opportunity in the world."
Parents of participating students had to pay for excursions or school camps, some of which included a trip to Sydney, a rugby final and a visit to Luna Park.
But this parent said it was concerning how much time executive teachers spent away from regular classes to facilitate and supervise a select group of students.
"Exec teachers aren't there to organise bake sales and to go to the Lindt Cafe when classes aren't being taught," the parent said.
"There wasn't soap in the bathrooms, there weren't locks on the toilet doors," they said. "It's not a plush school."
The parents said they did not think the program was right for a public school setting.
"I genuinely don't see how that is fair to any of the kids," they said.
"I don't think it's right to create leaders ... where people feel so entitled to have something that their classmates don't."
When the parent raised their concerns to the government, they were told individual programs are up to the discretion of each school.
An independent report into the workings of ACT schools found students had been let down by the education system not meeting their needs.
The report found there were systematic problems rather than just not enough funding.
In particular, First Nations students and students with disabilities were not well supported, the report said.
"I don't think the ACT education system needs more money, I just think the resources need to be allocated to where they're meant to go," the parent said.
"There's no kind of supervision ... there's no oversight ... they need more administrators."
The government has agreed to operate schools as one system rather than giving each school autonomy.
Reforms will start in the education directorate, to ensure administration and financial processes are streamlined.
Education minister Yvette Berry said they would need to look at the different programs in each school, but cautioned reforms would not remove what made schools unique.
"Those are the kinds of things we can investigate further," she said when asked if individual school programs would be axed.
"But it's not about taking away innovation," she said.
An education directorate spokesperson said they value student voices and actively sought input from students and families.
"We look forward to receiving input from our stakeholders - including students and families - on how we can provide a more equitable, more efficient public education system," they said.
