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.