This was part of an article on NCEA results. Touched my heart and is what we used to try do do when we had our ECE centres. Many families dont have a clue and normal bare minimum state funded education hasnβt a hope of changing outcomes. It takes the whole community and going the extra mile to make intergenerational change. This is a model that should be the standard - inspiring stuff:
Secrets of success
A third of the Te Kura MΔori o NgΔ Tapuwaeβs 300 students (from Year 0 to Year 13) live in solo working-parent households, while one in six have grandparents as their main caregiver or living in their homes.
So itβs vital, principal Stirling says, to break the intergenerational cycle of unwellness and teach students what it means to be well: βA quiet mind so they can think, a flourishing spirit so they know their worth, and a body fit for purpose, not a body thatβs fit for social media. How do we go about that? Your BMI is irrelevant. Are you moving? Feeling a physical experience that makes you feel well in your mind and your heart?β
The co-ed kura has extraordinary buy-in from the community, which translates to a unique level of trust.
βWeβre three generations going into four now. Ninety per cent of staff are ex-pupils or have family members in our school. Iβve been here for 35 years and Iβve been the principal for 28 years. Even though we come from different areas of MΔoridom, this is our little tribe here,β she says.
βWe have what we call a tripartite agreement. Sometimes it will be the parent and the child coming to the kura to say they need something to change. Or it might be the child and a teacher saying to Mum and Dad, βYou need to change something at homeβ because this will make their learning experience better. Or it could be the parent and the teacher saying to the child, βPull your socks up, get out of bed because Mum needs to go to work.ββ
Thereβs also a willingness among staff to go above and beyond.
βWe spend probably a good 20 hours a week looking for funding, over and above our jobs, so our kids can have experiences they canβt afford. Learning how to scuba dive? Thatβs $1000, $1500 per kid.
Spirit of Adventure? $2000. We sent 12 of our kids there last year. We find every cent so our kids donβt miss out on experiences, so they know some of the world outside of here,β Stirling says.
βIf you canβt afford uniform, if you canβt afford books, weβll find the money. Money is never a reason why you canβt be at school. I tell the parents all I expect is that they make sure the children get at least seven hours of sleep, and that they come to school. Weβll do the rest.β
The school offers more than education. A doctor spends four hours a week at the school.
βSeventeen per cent of our community are grandparents raising children, so those grandparents can come in - and if we need to pick them up, weβll pick them up - and have their own wellness checks. Anything that their children might need a check for, itβs all free,β Stirling says.
And nutrition, courtesy of a school chef.
βOur marks have continued to rise over the last 15 years, but the trajectory has been astounding since having food in school. And with the Ka Ora Ka Ako programme [which is currently funded to the end of 2024] our academic success has become extremely sustainable,β she says.
βOn Monday, our kids go for extras, and on Friday they stock up. Without that food, weβve got 300 hungry kids. Youβre not going to get academic success on empty stomachs.β
The proportion of its school leavers with NCEA Level 3 in 2020 was 81.8 per cent, rising to 92.3 per cent in 2021 and 95.2 per cent in 2022.
βI constantly say to my students, βyou know, the more education you have, the more choices you have, and the more employable you areβ. Thatβs the bottom line,β Stirling says.
βWhatβs so exciting about the results in 2023 is that the cohort of Year 13, who had to come through the roughest ride of Covid, had 100 per cent UE. When communities mobilise themselves to address the challenges, academic success is a natural byproduct.β
One of the kuraβs Year 13 boys went to America last year as a Nasa space cadet, she adds.
βIf you work through a lens of improving wellness, you improve everything. Itβs not even about being MΔori. Itβs about understanding the cultural premise that meets and suits the needs of your children. We just happen to be MΔori, in a total-immersion MΔori school.β
NZ Initiative senior fellow Dr Michael Johnston says what happens in school has relatively little impact on student achievement, according to research.
βThereβs a raft of reasons why, irrespective of what schools do, kids from well-off families are advantaged in education. If youβve got highly educated parents, theyβre more likely to be able to help you with your studies, theyβre more likely to be able to afford private tutors,β he says.
But that doesnβt mean it has no impact.
βThe job of the public system should be to level that playing field as much as it can. The things I argue for very strongly are that we need to be very clear about the importance of quality teaching, and a high-quality curriculum.
βIf you have a weak curriculum or poorly trained teachers, or both, then that disadvantages everybody, but especially those whose families canβt make up for that in some other way.β
Where does your school rank? Which ones stand out, and why?
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