Last day in NZ

Today was my last full day in New Zealand. I leave tomorrow morning at 6:40 am Friday NZ time which is 11:40 am Friday Manitoba time. I get in to Winnipeg around 4:00 pm on Saturday. That will be a long trip.

I thought it appropriate to take some time to do some general reflections on lessons learned. I will separate them into thoughts about New Zealand as a whole and then about their education specifically.

The simplest thing that I can say about the country is that both it and its people are amazing. It is certainly one of the most scenic places that I have ever seen. Other spots that I have visited have had elements of what I have experienced here...but this country seems to have it all.  Large mountains rising from the blue green sea contrast with harsh desert landscapes in the interior. They have volcanic peaks and flatlands. There are rock canyons and soft, rolling valleys.

The people are incredibly friendly, going far beyond what is necessary to make you feel comfortable and welcome. Even though there are differences in what you encounter in different regions, the general approach is consistent. These are really good people who seem to share similar approaches to life and similar values.  Peter Jackson stated it well, saying that "New Zealand is not a small country but a large village".

As far as the education system goes, I am not surprised that New Zealand consistently ranks among the world’s best. They do an excellent job making student achievement a priority, and they have several things built into their system to enable this to happen. Everyone seems so focused on using data to inform decisions about education…from the classroom teachers, school principals, regional support people, to Ministry officials.

That being said, education in New Zealand is not perfect. There is sometimes what appears to be a disconnect between what the Ministry tell us and how it is reflected at a school level. The education department speaks of their standards and expectations as being very well received while many educators suggest they are cumbersome and narrowing.  

While they have made great strides in Maori education, there is still a significant disparity in terms our educational equity.  People from all levels of education are consistent in acknowledging that their is significant work to do for their indigenous people. I am very interested in seeing what we learn on December 3^rd, when the next set of PISA results are released. In the previous results, New Zealand’s education system was rated to have high quality but low equity.

Despite the challenges, New Zealand is certainly focused on improvement. The scholarly approach that educators take is exemplary.  I have heard more people reference Michael Fullan in regular conversation over the past two weeks than I have in Canada the past two years. The irony is that he is Canadian. Regrettably, Rob Ford is also Canadian...and he has been a regular news story even here., talking the heat off the Mayor of Auckland who has had some recent bad press as well.

As I write this blog entry, I am sitting in a hotel room close to the Wellington airport. I flew here from Auckland this afternoon to get ready for my morning flight. In the background, I am watching the Womens’ Netball Challenge 2013. It's the opening ceremony and they are doing a Maori haka as part of it. Among the performers are students from the Auckland Girls’ Grammar School. Two weeks ago I knew little about either netball or the haka. Now I am even starting to get interested in rugby…especially the All Blacks

The next day two days will be travel days. So that’s it for me from New Zealand…see you back in the Prairies.

Mountain climbers, gardens, and fish trap houses

Today we went to the Ministry office to meet with our guides for the day. Following this, we split up and headed off for school visits. The people at this regional office has gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and to give us a tremendous perspective on education in their area.

First I went to Edmund Hillary School in Papakura, a suburb about 30 minutes south of Auckland. The school is named after the famous explorer who first reached the summit of Mount Everest. The principal of the school reflected on the extreme challenges that she has faced since taking over seven years ago.  She said that in the beginning of her appointment the school was one of the lowest achieving in the entire country.

The school is a Decile 1 school located in a very low socioeconomic area. The principal stated that only one student in the school lived in a home that was owned by the family. She also indicated that there were serious crime issues in her area including gang violence. It was her perspective that having a good school in the community was the key to changing the culture there. She said that she was saddened by the tragedy caused by her students having a poor education.

The priority areas at Edmund Hillary over the past few years have included improving staff and making the school a safe place.  She said that there was initially annual transition of staff but now it is stable, with teachers who have passion and who appreciate the collective vision for improvement. She stated that the school now is much more level, headed towards normal but striving for excellence.

The principal was particularly proud of their school garden which was planted and cared for by students. When they initially began the program, community members told her it was a bad idea because people would steal things from it. She said they did not have to steal things because the garden was for them. They could take whatever they wanted. Recently, the program has expanded to people’s backyards with students working with their own families to grow food for themselves and their neighbours.

Next we visited Western Spring Collegiate, a large high school with over 1300 students. It was a Decile 10 school that was nationally recognized as one of the leaders in Maori secondary education. When we arrived at the school, the Grade 9 – 12 Maori students greeted us in their sacred building and performed a traditional welcome for us. We again had to respond with a song which we performed better than previously. After this I met with groups of Grade 9 students and then four upcoming grads to discuss their school experiences. One young lady with whom I spoke had just received a $35 000 scholarship awarded for Maori student excellence. She was the first person in her school to receive such an award.

By mid-afternoon, we were back at the Ministry office. We met with Carol Stoney, the regional manager for school professional development. We learned that the Ministry has senior advisors that each work with 35-40 schools in the Auckland region. The focus is on those schools that have the highest needs based upon achievement data.

The Ministry develops contracts with independent service providers to deliver the professional development for schools. One such service provider is Evaluation Associates. Their founder Michael Absolum met with us to discuss how his organization works to support schools. He said that they will only work with schools who agree that the partnership will focus on raising student achievement. His organization focuses on shaping and developing teachers as well as encouraging positive change in the learning culture of school.

Our day ended as guests of Mr. Absolum and his wife. We joined them for supper at their new home outside of the city. Their architect helped them to build a house based upon the theme of a fish trap. While it may sound odd, the end result was amazing.

Tomorrow I fly back to Wellington and stay the night prior to my return home on Saturday.

A traditional Maori greeting

This morning we traveled to the Ministry of Education office in Auckland. When we arrived, a man of Maori descent greeted us using by hongi. The hongi is a traditional greeting which involves pressing one's nose and forehead to another person at an encounter. It is used at traditional meetings among Māori people and on major ceremonies and serves a similar purpose to a handshake in western culture. In the hongi, the ha (or breath of life), is exchanged and intermingled. The breath of life can also be interpreted as the sharing of both party's souls.

We then were led into a room where around ten Ministry officials awaited us. We stood directly across from them and they welcomed us in a way than I can only describe as both powerful and humbling.  First, three Maori people sang us a traditional song followed by a blessing in their language. Then the whole group sang us a song. After one of them spoke further, I was invited to acknowledge the greeting and bring thanks on behalf of the Manitoban delegation. This was followed by an invitation to our group to present a song…which led to an impromptu version of `This Land is Our Land`. Then we greeted everyone using the previously described hangi.

Our group then split in two, with each set of us being accompanied by a Ministry representative. We visited Henderson School on the north of Auckland to sit in on a meeting of regional principals focused on professional learning. One of them mentioned how she had visited Canada previously to present at an education conference in Vancouver.  A couple talked about how they would be taking study leave in the new year. This involves them being released for 32 weeks to work on post-graduate study, either working towards a masters or a doctorate. Most impressive was the fact that the Ministry pays their full salary during this sabbatical leave. It is obvious that New Zealand places tremendous value on the education and training of their school leaders.

During the afternoon, we met with a principal of a small Maori immersion school. Interestingly, the visit did not occur at his school but at a large outdoor community sport field. Over 800 students had gathered from regional schools for a large multicultural festival. While we talked to the principal, we watched groups of kids perform dances and songs indigenous to the variety of cultures found in the country.

While driving to and from our destinations, we had the good fortune to be chaperoned by a Ministry official of Maori descent who talked about his own experiences living in a bicultural country. That designation is noteworthy in considering that Canada is a bilingual country. Biculturalism in New Zealand represents the coexistence of their two distinct cultures, the Maori and the European settlers (mainly from Britain).

It is interesting that my first in-depth experiences with Maori culture occurred today in the large city of Auckland. However, the city does include about one quarter of the country`s total population. Also, 96% of all Maori people live in the north island…and 72% of all Maori people live in Auckland.  Auckland is a hub of indigenous people, both those of New Zealand ancestry as well as from the Pacific islands. In fact, there are more Samoans living in Auckland than there are in Samoa!

A day in Rotorua

Our day in Rotorua got off to an odd start. We showed up at the regional office for the Ministry Office for our 9 am meeting. Unfortunately, the person who was supposed to meet with us thought the meeting had been canceled. He also neglected to schedule our school visits in the community. Despite the setback, our day could not have worked out better. The main receptionist at the Ministry took off from her desk and within ten minutes things were back on track. We met quickly with a couple of the education senior advisors from area before leaving for two school visits.

In the morning, we were guests at Malfroy School, an elementary with 352 students of whom 70% were Maori. The enrolment of 352 is noteworthy because that is the specific number the principal quoted to the Ministry official who accompanied us. As I stated in a previous post, students start attending school on the day they turn five. Consequently, the school nominal roll may change at any time. Given that schools are funded based upon how many students attend, this particular principal wanted to make sure that the Ministry knew the exact number of kids in his building.

Malfroy is a dual track school with both English and Rumataki (Maori) sections. It is ranked as a Decile 3 school which reflects its students’ low socioeconomic status. Of the 352 enrolled, over 140 are on special education or alternate programs. The principal spoke very highly of the efforts of his staff, telling us that his teachers are “real magicians” in managing the diverse needs of their students.

There were several unique programs at Malfroy, including Roots of Empathy, which exists in Park West School Division as well.  Like most schools in my own division, the main focus was on literacy and numeracy. They are also one of eight schools in New Zealand to be designated as ``cornerstone schools`. The Cornerstone Values symbolizes a school’s commitment to the building of character through teaching, advocating and modelling honesty and truthfulness, kindness, consideration and concern for others, compassion, obedience, responsibility, respect and duty.

The principal of Malfroy indicated that he spends an average of five hours per week studying and analyzing his student achievement data and talking to teachers about what this data means. This is further evidence of the trend for New Zealand school leaders to be extremely data driven.

Our visit at Malfroy ended when the early years Maori immersion students performed a song for us. When we asked if they might sing, the teacher said ``absolutely`` before reaching in her closet for her guitar. In a class of twenty, there were two sets of twins and one set of triplets.

During the afternoon, we went to the nearby Rotorua Girls High School (RGHS), one of 24 female only schools in New Zealand. RGHS is another Decile 3 school with over 600 students of which 75% are Maori.  As I entered the main office, I was struck by the numerous displays celebrating student academic and extracurricular achievement. There was a hall of fame of sorts for each year with full page overviews for multiple students.  As the principal led us through the school, we encountered a TV reporter and cameraman who just finished doing a story acknowledging the recent success with Maori student graduation rates. The focus of the story was on a group of girls who were about to complete high school despite some serious academic and personal challenges.

RGHS has a performing arts department. We were treated to a group of students who sang several songs for us including a traditional Haka. The Haka is a traditional war cry, dance, or challenge. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.  The New Zealand national rugby teams practice of performing a Haka before their matches has made the dance more widely known around the world.

The school also has a large emphasis on technology. I spent some time talking with their two ICT teacher leaders about the school’s programs and approaches to instruction. They proudly noted that RGHS had a 1:2 student to device ratio which meant there were over 300 computers in the school. They also have a Bring Your Own Device policy which allows students to access the Internet and learn using their own laptops, tablets, and smart phones. I learned of the national plan to bring ultra-fast broadband connectivity, using a fibre backbone, to 75% of the country by 2016. The government is funding 80% of the infrastructure costs and allowing schools to access future capital budgets to cover the remainder.

The principal of RGHS was retiring next month after an amazing 50 years in education.  She actually attended as a student in the 1960`s. Several of her staff remarked how she was still extremely passionate about her students and education. A few with whom I spoke stated that they had never worked with an administrator so focused on using data to improve outcomes for students.

We arrived in Auckland just after supper. I drove one of our vehicles for three hour trip. While I am much more comfortable with the right-hand drive, left side of the road thing…it still feels completely and utterly wrong.  Everything is opposite. You get in, reach for the seat belt on the wrong side, put the car in gear on the wrong side, and drive off on the wrong side. I am getting better at signaling rather than turning the wipers on and off.

We are staying at a place called Latitude 7 Apartments which is right down in the heart of the city by the waterfront. This is a big and bustling place with over a million people. I expect that it will be an interesting few days working and learning in and around this city.

Today was Guy Hawkes day in New Zealand. On the 5th of November, 1605, a group of men attempted to carry out the 'gunpowder plot', a failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James the First. The man who was to light the barrels of gunpowder was named Guy Fawkes. The plan was discovered, however, when one of the conspirators sent a letter to his cousin warning him not to visit the Houses of Parliament. Fawkes was then caught just before lighting the fuse to the 36 barrels of gunpowder; enough evidence to lead to his conviction and execution. Today, the plot continues to be remembered through the use of fireworks, bonfire parties and general celebrations, observed primarily in England, but also in places such as New Zealand. Four hundred years on, Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night is really an excuse to have a firecracker of a party!  As I drifted off to sleep I could hear fireworks.

The Desert Road

This morning began with a visit to the rental agency to pick up our vehicles. I was excited because it was the first day that I was scheduled to drive. It was a great experience, both the right side steering and the scenery.  Even better, I turned right into the wrong lane just once. The two vehicles that I met were gracious…with only horns and no obvious hand gestures. The only other real issue was the fact that I turned the wipers on frequently when I was attempting to signal.

We travelled up the west coast of the North Island into the interior of the country. The changing landscape during the four hour trip was remarkable.  We started with mountains rising from ocean and then moved into rolling green farmland. Then we passed through an area which resembled a scaled down version of the Grand Canyon before arriving in what looked like the Badlands of South Dakota.  The one difference was the three large volcanoes that we passed as we crossed the appropriately named Desert Road. One of these volcanoes, Mount Tongariro, is pictured below.

New Zealand has 20 mountains over 10 000 feet, the tallest of which is Mount Cook in the South Island at 12 316 feet. We learned later that a few schools in the vicinity of these interior volcanic mountains have permafrost for three months of the year. That wasn’t surprising given what we saw today. It was about 21 Celsius as we drove along the highway, yet the mountain tops were snow covered.

The afternoon began with a brief visit at a school in the town of Turangi. It included students from Year 1 to 13…so it was equivalent to our K – 12’s back home. One cool feature of this school is one that it shares with many others in New Zealand…its students wear uniforms.

This school also had a large Maori and Pasifika population. The Maori are the main indigenous group in the country. The Pasifika represent all of the people from the various Polynesian islands that come to New Zealand. Most often, the parents come to work in the farms and their children travel with them to attend school.

Later in the afternoon, we visited the REAP office in Tapoa. We met with four of their staff, including their manager, the early years’ programmer, the school program coordinator, and the adult education facilitator. They provided an overview of the services that they provide and the challenges that they face in meeting the needs of the region.

At the end of the day, we drove north to the town of Rotorua which is renowned for its hot springs. During the ride up the highway, we saw a large thermal plant that resembled a nuclear power facility. The most interesting thing was the numerous hot springs that littered the landscape. It was somewhat surreal to see steam rising from pools in fields and in people’s back yards.

We settled into a nice place just on the outskirts of town. The only unfortunate thing was there was no Internet connectivity so I was unable to update my blog, check my email, or connect with home.

Tomorrow morning we will visit schools in Rotorua before heading north to Auckland. I am still really enjoying the trip but I have begun the countdown to getting home. Five more sleeps.

Kayaking to Abel Tasman

Prior to talking about today, I have one postscript from last night. I mentioned that we stayed on a working farm. Well…around 9:00 pm yesterday evening, we were visited by the senior member of the local dog family. Old Tom came in to see what we were doing and promptly crashed on the floor in front of the fire place. He stayed until we were leaving this morning. I was missing my own dog so I was grateful to have an animal snoring at my feet.

Our day started with a 1.5 hour drive north west to a little village called Mouteka. We were outfitted with gear and soon in the water in ocean kayaks. We spent the first bit crossing a 1.5 km open section of the Tasman Bay before moving along nearer the shore.

During our 4.5 km paddle along the coastline, we saw and heard a variety of indigenous birds and visited a small seal colony swimming and sun bathing along the rocks of a small island. One noteworthy highlight was the blue penguin that surfaced and swam not far from us for a short time. These birds are notoriously shy and the one that we spotted was gone before we could remove our cameras and phones from the water proof bags.

The kayak trip ended at a small beach at the base of a hiking trail. Once we bid farewell to our guide, we had a 30 minute hike up and over a mountain to a placed called Anchorage Bay (shown below).

After this adventure, we drove 3.5 hours back to the town of Picton to the ferry terminal. One thing to note for anyone considering travel to New Zealand…if you have a choice in roads, pick the one called “scenic route”. It will be a bit scary in places but some of the things you will see are unbelievable.

Tonight we will spend another night in Wellington after the ferry ride across Cook Strait. We will get to the hotel around 11:00 pm and likely go to bed quickly. We are on the road early tomorrow for a half day drive through the north island with some school visits planned for mid-afternoon.  Tomorrow is Monday, so we are back to work and I will be posting more information related to our educational tour.

Saturday in Nelson

The intent of this blog is to provide an overview of our educational tour to New Zealand. However, it is the weekend now. After several full days of meetings, school visits, and presentations, we resolved to take it easy and do some of the tourist things.

Today, we awoke to sounds of animals and the sight of the sun hitting the green ocean waters below us. We spent the morning in downtown Nelson, checking out a huge weekend market and wandering the streets while visiting the various shops and stores. The way everything is laid out with boutiquey streets running to the base of mountains makes this area feel a lot like Banff, Alberta. I guess it would be more like Banff, if it overlooked a huge ocean bay and if it was always summer there.

The highlight of my morning was the half hour at Starbucks where I found the best Internet connection since I arrived in the country. Everywhere else we have been, the wireless has been spotty or extremely expensive. For the price of a large coffee, I was able to connect with my family through Facetime. Thanks iPhone!

As I type this, I am sitting on a deck overlooking the bay. The temperature down at sea level is close to 20 Celcius. Up here, with the elevation and the ever-present breeze, it is more like a gusty 15 or 16 C. I just watched a small sheep run by…looking for his mother. I think it is the same one that I saw this morning. His anxious bleats seem a bit out of place in such a tranquil setting. The three farm dogs lying nearby enjoying the sun seem to be more in line with the serenity of the day.

Traveling across Cook Strait

Interislander's Cook Strait Ferries travel between Wellington and Picton New Zealand. The 92 km voyage takes 3 hours and has been described as "one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world".

We traveled on a ship called the Kaitaki, a Māori word meaning "challenger". With the capacity to carry up to 1600 passengers, it is both the largest ship in Interislander's fleet and the largest ferry operating in New Zealand waters.

We completed the ferry crossing around noon,picked up a rental van, and headed south to the town of Blenheim. There we met with the local coordinator for educational programs for the REAP program. She was a former teacher and regional education advisor for the Ministry of Education.

 

We learned about her current work in supporting and connecting schools and in mentoring new principals. New Zealand has a fairly elaborate system for inducting new school administrators, including an eighteen month mentorship with an experienced advisor.

From Blenheim, we made it through a wonderful valley framed by farmland and hills. That gave way to a nerve-wracking ride along another windy road high up a mountain side.

Fortunately, we made it through to the other side to the town of Nelson. This is an extremely beautiful part of the south island which served as the base of operations for the cast and crew of the Lord of the Rings movies. After supper downtown, we travelled six kilometres east and then about one straight up to the Harris Hill Cottages. During the climb up the windy gravel road, I alternately closed my eyes, said silent affirmations, and clenched the door handle tightly.

We settled into a couple of cabins high above the bay with cows, horses, and sheep around us. We lit a fire in our cabin and spent a couple of hours talking about our experiences during the past week in New Zealand.

"Windy" would be an understatement

I am guessing I will adjust to the time difference a day or so before going home. Again, I woke up too early…around 5:00 am. I passed the time by reading the two daily newspapers.

One interesting article indicated that New Zealand was rated as the fifth most prosperous country in which to live by the 2013 Legatum Prosperity Index. The same rating placed Canada in third place behind Norway and Switzerland. The index assesses 142 nations on their wealth and well-being in eight categories including health, education, safety, security, and economy.

New Zealand did rank first in the education area, based upon their access to education, quality of education, and human capital in the education sector. In the study, 82% of Kiwis were satisfied with the quality of education, compared with a global average of 66.3%. Nearly 90% of Kiwis indicated that their children had the opportunity to learn, compared to 70.2% globally.

First thing this morning, we blew across a few blocks for our first session of the day. I would have said we “walked’ were in not for the wind gusts that apparently were reaching 110 km/hour.

We visited the Education Review Office (ERO) and met with their acting national manager, Stephanie Greany. She provided an overview of how she and her staff of 200 assess the quality of instruction and learning in every school in New Zealand.  She joked about how her agency was the Department of Parties because schools have parties after ERO visits them. From my limited time in the country, I have learned that this actually is not the case. While some schools apparently have anxiety about ERO assessments, the organization is quite well regarded. Ms. Greany did say that the assessment that her agency provided some schools was clear and direct and often not something that the school leaders were eager to hear. She said that that was the nature of education. If our collective mission is to focus on what is best for children, occasionally we have to say things that might upset some adults.

The purpose of ERO’s reviews is to give parents and the wider community assurance about the quality of education that schools provide and their children receive. An ERO school report answers the question “How effectively is this school’s curriculum promoting student learning, engagement, progress, and achievement?" Individual ERO school reports are public information.

Ms. Greany talked about how her country has a high quality of education but continues to be challenged by equity issues. She said that while New Zealand schools do quite well for the majority of students, they need to do better at supporting students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. This is especially true for indigenous students. She stated that the country is quite good at doing quite poorly for their neediest students.

When we asked about future areas of focus, we learned that ERO is developing processes to assess student well-being using our own Manitoba framework as a reference point.

During the afternoon, we returned to the Ministry of Education where we had a chance to present to a number of officials on what is happening with Manitoba education. I was privileged to have a chance to speak about the unique partnership that Park West School Division has with Waywayseecappo First Nation.

At day’s end, we returned to our hotel where we were able to catch the last few innings of the final game of the World Series. Unfortunately the Cardinals lost. Congrats to the Boston Red Sox.

This evening we are going to get together for some discussion and planning. Hopefully the wind goes down for tomorrow’s three hour ferry ride.

That was a full day!

My day started with a twenty minute walk through the heart of the city. Even though Wellington only has 400 000 people in the region, it has much more of a large city, cosmopolitan feel than Winnipeg. It has many tall buildings packed closely together. Everyone walks so its streets are filled with people. On the ground, it feels as if you are moving through the Exchange District with several stone building fronts and countless unique shops and restaurants. When you look up, however, the stone facades give way to lots of steel and glass after the fifth floor or so.

Once we crossed the city, we made our way to the New Zealand Council of Education Research (NZCER). We had an intensive morning listening to several educational analysts as they provided an overview of their work.

I am getting a sense of how vast the bureaucracy is that supports education in this country. To start with, there are 4000 people who work in the Ministry of Education. Also, there are several other independent agencies that exist to provide different aspects of support. These include the NZCER, the Education Review Organization (ERO), and private businesses that develop assessment tools and school resources. To give you some comparisons to Manitoba, the NZCER has over 60 employees focusing on the analysis of educational research while Manitoba only has a couple of individuals charged with this responsibility.

The NCZER officials provided us with an overview of assessment practices in New Zealand. They said that student assessment is completely a local school responsibility. Consequently, it varies greatly across the country. Teachers and schools individually decide what assessment tools will be used, when they will be used, who will be tested, and how and to whom the results will be reported.

We also learned about some need national programs including one to develop leadership skills among new principals. It seems like they use data to analyze everything in New Zealand education, and this principal training program was no exception. Their Educational Leadership Survey revealed that school leaders were rated lowest in supporting teacher Professional development and in enabling aboriginal (Maori) student success. I suspect many people in Manitoba would suggest that these are similar challenges for us.

One particular item on the Leadership Survey demonstrates the extent to which education in New Zealand is an analytical enterprise. According to this survey, high performing principals lead staff meetings which “contain serious conversations about how to improve teaching and learning’. 

The NZCER also had a really neat perspective on what we in Canada often reference as 21^st Century Skills. They are asking what capabilities will today’s young people need if they are to become proactive future builders. Researchers are looking into their daily newspapers for what they deem to be “wicked problems”. They then work backwards, imagining the types of skills and competencies that

During the morning session, I mentioned that we were heading north to Masterton in a rental vehicle later in the day. One of the ladies then said “Be careful, it sometimes gets pretty windy going over the Rumatuckits”. She then said that sometimes when the wind is really high they close the highway to high-sided vehicles. Of course, we were going to making the trip in the van.

Well, the trip was interesting to say the least. Imagine a steep and extremely windy road that rose over 500 metres rather quickly and then continued on along the side of steep mountains for about forty minutes. It was difficult to unclench my hand for the roof handle when we finally came through on the other side.

When we eventually made it to Masterton, we visited a wonderful rural school just outside of the town limits. The Fernridge School kids were outside in their uniforms and all were wearing similar hats.  I even met a young girl from Toronto whose family had moved there recently.

Next we stopped by to learn about a regional program called REAP.  There are 13 REAPS in New Zealand. The first was set up in 1979 and the last in 1982. REAPs provide what they refer to as “cradle-to-the-grave” educational resource support to rural communities. They support preschool initiatives, public schools, community colleges, and adult education programs.

On our way back, we stopped in a small place called Greytown for great supper prior to tackling the mountain goat trail again.  It actually went much better on the inside of the road…although all of us were giving thinks when we came out on the other side.

It was a long and productive day. We got going shortly after 8:00 am and didn’t get back until almost 8:30 pm. Tomorrow we return to the Ministry of Education where we will present on the Manitoba educational system and our work with the mRLC.

To everyone back home, I am sorry to hear that the weather has turned wintery. The forecast for the city tomorrow is rain with gusts over 100 km winds. Apparently this is one of the windiest springs in recent memory. Hopefully it calms down a bit before our three hour ferry ride to the south island on Friday.

Let's go to school

We started our day visiting the Ministry of Education. We met with three officials who provided us with an overview of the New Zealand education system.

 

Schooling is compulsory from ages of ages 6 to 16, but most students start on their fifth birthday. So if you turn five on February 3rd, you go to school on February 3rd. You don't wait until the next September as is the case in Manitoba.

One interesting thing that we learned is how each local school has complete autonomy, even to the point that they develop their own curriculum. They do have a very brief curriculum framework but it is up to schools to determine how students will reach these outcomes. Boards of Trustees exist to support single schools. We heard that there were 2600 schools in the country and 2600 different solutions to what makes for an effective learning environment.

Accountability is built in by an Education Review Office which operates independent of the Ministry of Education. This department reviews and publishes reports on the quality of education in all schools in the country. As you may imagine, there are differences in how different groups view this process. It would be the perspective of the Ministry that schools are receptive to the education reviews whereas there are some teacher and community groups that view it as invasive and top-down.

There is tremendous diversity across New Zealand in the types of schools and student performance.
In the internal PISA assessment, the country ranks quite high on quality and low on equity. That essentially references the fact that students in some areas and in some socioeconomic groups do rather well while students in other areas and from different backgrounds have challenges. One particularly challenged group of students are those of aboriginal descent.

During the afternoon, the six of us split into groups of two and visiting three schools in the city. My colleague and I travelled by taxi up the side of a steep, windy, and narrow street to a small elementary school in the heart of a very affluent section of Wellington.  We spent three hours at Northland School meeting with staff and checking out what was happening in classrooms. The principal provided us with an overview of how they were using data to improve student outcomes in literacy and numeracy. It was a wonderful little school with lots of neat things happening and what appeared to be a high level of student engagement. Additional information about Northland School is available at http://www.northland.school.nz/

During the tour of the school, I mentioned how neat it was that every classroom had its own exterior door. The principal mentioned that was a convention of simple necessity. Given that New Zealand is prone to earthquakes, exterior doors allow all students quick access to the safer areas outside of the building. Sensing the mention of earthquakes unnerved me a bit, the principal followed up quickly by reassuring me that they did not have a big tremor in over two months.

Later in the evening, we all got back together to debrief and share what we learned from our different school visits. It was interesting to hear from the others about the similarities and diversity among three schools within the same city.

Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day as well as we visit with the New Zealand Council for Education Research.

The Botanical Gardens

I assume it will take some time to adapt to the time change. Last night, my jet-lagged body fell asleep shortly after 9 pm. I rested well but then woke up at 4:00 am Monday morning which is 10:00 am Sunday morning back home. On a positive note, it was great timing to do a Facetime call with my wife and daughter.

I hung around the lobby until 6:00 am for the breakfast buffet. While eating, I learned a lot about the country from the local newspaper as well as my waiter.

The New Zealand Herald resembles the Winnipeg Sun but is much more tabloid focused. Several pages were dedicated to a political scandal involving the Mayor of Wellington, his alleged mistress, and an aide to his opponent that was somehow tied up in the whole thing. There was a neat quote in one article that put a different spin on similar phrases in North American culture. In referencing the aide and his tactics, one article said ‘Dirt smears the digger as well as the target”.

I also read some interesting things about the New Zealand education system which gave me some important perspective as I begin my time here. We came to learn about the unique and innovative things that they are doing in this country. However, they are not without their challenges...and these challenges are similar to what many schools and divisions face back home.

For example, a front page story chronicled recent teen suicides in the Northland region of the country that were apparently connected with bullying and social media.  This region has been shaken by 34 suicides in the past year while having only 20 highway fatalities.

Also, there was a full page story about how schools and educators are concerned about the national standards tests and the countries practice of listing and ranking school and district results.
I also chatted a bit with my waiter, a former primary school teacher. He told me about some interesting places to visit, talked about the high cost of living, and gave me advice about who and when to tip. Interestingly, because it was a breakfast buffet, he told me I absolutely did not have to tip him. He joked about how in North America people tip hairdressers and cab drivers.

We spent the early part of the day visiting the Botanical Gardens at the top of the mountain in Wellington. We reached it by a cable car ride up and walked down. Later, we took a train about twenty minutes north of the city to a small town of Porirua to visit its museum and art gallery.
During the day, I was impressed with the unique vehicles and vehicles names. There were Nissan Pulsars and Qashqai’s, Mitsubishi Tritons, a Toyata Hilux, and several different models of Holden.

We just finished watching the end of the World Series game 4 on ESPN. After a bit of a break, we are getting together for supper. Tomorrow morning we get down to business with a visit to the Ministry of Education.

Hello from Wellington

Hello from New Zealand. I arrived in Wellington around 3:30 pm local time. I got settled in my room and spent an hour or so exploring the city area adjacent to my hotel. It is really quite breathtaking. Wellington sits in on a beautiful bay encircled by small mountains. The picture above is the view from my hotel room.  I then spent some time visiting with the others from Manitoba before finding my way back to my room.

The flight across the ocean was interesting…and incredibly long. Sixteen plus hours is a lengthy time to spend anywhere, let alone in an airplane. Fortunately, I had an aisle seat, because I was up and down at least twenty times during the flight. After supper service, the captain came on the PA system and wished us all a good night’s sleep. The lights went out and most people took his advice. I myself eventually drifted for what ended up being over six hours. Of course, when I woke up the little video map that tracks your progress indicated that we still had over seven hours to our destination. That is a long flight.

One interesting aspect of the trip so far was learning the geography of New Zealand relative to Australia. As stated previously, I flew from Brisbane to Wellington. I always pictured one country sitting right below the other. Instead, we flew around three hours back in an easterly direction through three time zones. So I departed Brisbane at 9:00 am, flew for approximately three hours, and arrived in Wellington at 3:00 pm. There is certainly something to be said about the educational value of experiencing geography first hand.

For anyone contemplating a flight to this part of the world, I would really recommend Virgin Australia. Even the economy service was excellent, with two full meals, snacks and drinks on hand whenever you wanted them, the best in-flight entertainment system I have ever seen, and lots of room in a brand new plane.

Tomorrow is a national holiday in New Zealand…Labour Day I think. We are going to do a bit of the tourist stuff in and around the city before getting together later in the day to work on our collective presentation about Manitoba education.

I will leave you with a quick fact about this country. New Zealand is around half the size of Manitoba but has four times the people.

No celebrities...but big planes!

This is my second post of the day. To be fair, the last one was at 4:30 am when I had a touch of insomnia. It is now about 16 hours later. I have the need to pass some time so I may as well update my blog while it is fresh…and the internet access is free. I will apologize in advance. Even though this post is on my New Zealand educational tour blog, there isn’t much NZ or education related content. There will lots of that over the next two weeks.

Here’s a question.  If you are only in the airport, does it still count as a visit to wherever the airport is located?  If so, I am now visiting Los Angeles for the first time. Also, my first visit to Australia is tomorrow…the airport in Brisbane airport I mean.

Now I can be like one of those cool people who talk about how they were in LA.  I am a bit disappointed however.  There doesn’t seem to be any celebrities in the terminal. I sort of expected to be sitting by someone famous in the departure lounge. I imagined standing in line at Starbucks behind someone noteworthy. I thought I would get to strike up an interesting conversation with someone from the cast of some late 90’s television drama. But nothing! I got excited earlier when I thought I saw Casey from “Mr. Dressup”.  Unfortunately, for both of us, it wasn’t him.

I wanted to spend some time reading the information that I collected about New Zealand. I have had a good layover in the City of Angels, so I could easily learn some Maori greetings and words while I am waiting. But I was afraid to look down at my computer screen and miss someone famous going past me. I contemplated just sitting here on high alert with my camera phone on stand by to see what happened.  Even an old time celebrity like Bob Newhart or one of the Kardashians would work.

I previously mentioned the “terminal” here in LA.   I should correct that and say “terminals”. In fact, the multiple terminals cover an amazing 4 million square feet. I arrived at one location, hung out there for a bit, and had a fifteen minute shuttle bus ride to where I am currently. It probably only would have taken ten minutes but we had to yield a few times to some big planes crossing in front of us. And when I say big, I mean double-decker Airbus 380 big.

In terms of the rest of my day, the flight from Winnipeg to Minneapolis was uneventful. I did get to sit with a young gentleman on his way to meet a friend in Las Vegas. I guess you could say that he was on an educational tour of sorts himself…although likely not one endorsed by the Manitoba Education. I was impressed with the size of the airport in the Twin Cities, despite getting a bit winded while racing from one end to the other to make my connection.

I flew Delta all the way so far. American airlines are different than those in Canada. Everything is pay-as-you-go in economy, including food and drinks, TV and movies, and internet. I was reluctant to go the washroom because I wasn't sure if I would have to pay for toilet paper. And I did say internet previously! In the US, once you get above 10 000 feet you can access Wi-Fi. To be fair, when you fly in Canada, you have a 30% chance of seeing a Senator flying to his permanent residence in PEI.

Well, soon time to board Virgin Air for the 15 hour jaunt across the Pacific. Good night all…and love you Candace, Alex, and Winnie.

It's travel day!

Well...it is Friday, October 25th...albeit still fairly early in the day. Today is wheels-up day for my flight to New Zealand. I leave Winnipeg this afternoon on a trip that will take me through Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Melbourne before setting down in Wellington.

Given that I was up a bit sooner than I expected, I sat down at my computer to see what was new in the world. Interestingly, one of the image galleries presented to me when I first opened up the internet was entitled "13 extraordinary places to see before you die". While clicking through it, I was pleased to note that two of these places are in New Zealand.

The first New Zealand site is the Moeraki Boulders found along the southeast coast of the southern island. These gigantic boulders started forming on the ocean floor and can now been seen sitting mysteriously on the coastline thanks to centuries of erosion. Unfortunately, my upcoming travels will not bring me very close to these natural wonders.

The other place noted in the slide show is the Champagne Pool. This is a colourful hot spring in the Waiotapu Geothermal area of New Zealand. I just happen to be spending a couple of days in the nearby town of Rotorua. The surface temperature of the big spring is 74 degrees Celsius and it's bubbles are due to uprising carbon dioxide. Minerals contained in the hot water are gold, silver, mercury, sulphur, and arsenic. One of our divisional trustees visited this area previously and recommended that I bring nose plugs. Apparently, the visual beauty is accompanied by a rather pungent odour.

One more sleep...

Well...I am officially excited. I have been trying to keep the trip as low key as possible. That has worked for the most part...until this morning. I started thinking more about what the next two weeks will entail. I even lost some sleep through the night thinking about what it is going to be like to steer a rental car on the left side of the road. I may need to feign tiredness and defer to one of my more confident driving colleagues at the beginning of our travels.

Personally and professionally, this trip promises to be extremely rewarding. At a personal level, like many others, visiting New Zealand is one of those bucket list things. At a professional level, I get to go accompany a Manitoba delegation on a tour of one of the top performing educational systems. The OECD's Program for International Student Assessment ranks New Zealand's system as one best in the world; with students performing exceptionally well in reading, mathematics and science. The country has an adult literacy rate of 99 percent. It is worth noting that other countries considered among the top performing in the world, include Finland, Singapore, South Korea, and of course, Canada.

Many educational programs and practices that we use in Manitoba came from New Zealand. Reading Recovery, an intervention program used in many of our schools to support students who require additional support in literacy, originated in New Zealand. New Zealand has also done considerable work focusing on aboriginal student success, which has tremendous relevance both in my school division and province.

New Zealand has had considerable success with international students. China is New Zealand’s single largest source of international students with approximately 25 000 students studying there annually. This number is expected to rise considerably, so much that New Zealand Education is developing what they have called a China Plan. In Manitoba, many divisions view international student recruitment as a means to counter declining enrolment in rural schools.

I expect that I will see and learn a lot during my two weeks in New Zealand. I am most excited about visiting schools and seeing teachers and students working and learning together.

To my colleagues from mRLC, Interlake, Lakeshore, and Prairie Spirit School Divisions...see you on Sunday.

Preparations, procrastinations, and considerations

I should be packing. Instead, I am online reading about different things related to New Zealand. On the ride home from work, I calculated the total amount of time I need to get ready prior to departure from home early on Friday. I should be fine.

The last time I was a principal, I taught Grade 7 ELA. One of my students spent some time travelling down under and she too recorded her experiences on a blog. Well...thanks to Emily, I get to read about those special places that she visited while looking at the wonderful pictures that she took of the country, it's inhabitants, and indigenous wildlife. I have really enjoyed revisiting what she wrote 5-6 years ago. I now have some added insight into what I should see and do during my time there.

I also did a quick search of other blogs related to New Zealand. Most of them are written from a tourist perspective, highlighting hikes through beautiful landscapes, guided tours for fans of Lord of the Rings, and sheep shearing. While the first two don't have a great deal of appeal, I could imagine making some wool if the opportunity presents itself.

Education in New Zealand

There are over 2 500 state schools in New Zealand. School rolls range from 10 to over 2 000 pupils. Most (86 percent) school-aged children attend state schools. The remainder attend state integrated (operated as a state school but with the particular religious or philosophical perspective of their owner), private schools, or are schooled at home.

The education system for schools comprises thirteen year levels.  Schooling is compulsory from the age of six to 16, which for most students is Year 11, although most students carry on to Years 12 and 13. Both single sex and co-educational secondary schooling options are available and state schools are secular. Most students attend the school closest to where they live.

The New Zealand school year usually runs from the end of January to mid-December, and is divided into four terms. Most schools are English language, but some schools teach in the Māori language.

The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa form the national curriculum. These set the direction for teaching and learning in Aotearoa New Zealand schools and provide guidance for schools to develop a curriculum that meets the learning needs of their students.

 

The New Zealand Curriculum applies to all English-medium state schools (including integrated schools). Its vision is that young people will be confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners. It includes values, key competencies and learning areas.

 

Te Marautanga o Aotearoa applies to teaching in Māori-medium settings. The aspiration is to develop successful learners, who will grow as competent and confident learners, effective communicators in the Māori world, healthy of mind, body and soul and secure in their identity, and sense of belonging. They will have the skills and knowledge to participate in and contribute to Māori society and the wider world.

The Manitoba Rural Learning Consortium

 

Manitoba Rural Learning Consortium (mRLC) is a non-governmental, non-profit cooperative dedicated to rural education. Collaborative and innovative professional learning networks serve educators in ensuring quality teaching that benefits the learning of all students.

mRLC uses a collaborative inquiry model to engage user groups in a process of defining their needs and determining their learning path.

When working with Manitoba school divisions, mRLC emphasizes:

• Partnerships to build capacity
• Processes to support implementation
• Products to enhance learning

mRLC addresses common issues and needs across school divisions by identifying, organizing and coordinating the collaborative use of resources on a scale unavailable to individual divisions. mRLC also works within school divisions, schools, and classrooms in an effort to meet specific local needs.

New Zealand this week!

In just a few days, I will be heading off to New Zealand with five Manitoban colleagues. We will be conducting an educational tour of the country.

Our plan is to develop some perspective on the educational system of a country deemed to be among the world leaders. We will meet with Ministry officials to learn about what they are doing and to tell them about our experiences in Manitoba. During our two-week tour, we will visit schools and education offices across the country to gain an overview of what they do to support effective teaching and learning.

I am leaving Winnipeg this coming Friday and then arriving in Wellington 26 hours later...on Sunday. This will be my first experience with time travel. Given that the time difference is +15 hours from Manitoba, I will actually gain a day as I fly. My ten year old daughter is really excited because I told her I will be calling her from the future. When I talk to her at 7 - 8 pm, it will already be 12-1 pm the following day in NZ.

My intent is to keep a daily record of my experiences on this blog. Speed of posting will depend on what I am doing on a particular evening and whether or not I have an internet connection.

Thanks to the Manitoba Rural Learning Consortium for allowing me to tag along. Thanks also to the Board of Trustees of Park West School Division and our CEO Tim Mendel for their support on this exciting educational and life experience. Finally, thanks to my wife Candace, daughter Alex, and dog Winnie for giving me the most important approval that I required in considering this trip.

While I have some small anxiety about being away from family and work for two weeks, I am very excited about this incredible opportunity. I was mildly disappointed that I was going to be missing the Pink concert scheduled for Winnipeg on Saturday. However, I just learned that she is postponing until January because of laryngitis. I don't think my wife and daughter will be really excited by that news in the morning.

That's it for now. I just wanted to get started tonight with the blog because during the next few days, I will be busy getting ready. Until next time...Kia ora!