Kotahi - As one

Kotahi te hoe, ka ū te waka ki uta

Paddling in unison the waka will reach land

Kia ora e te whānau

Industrial Action

This week the NZEI union announced a significant decision. The latest vote of the union’s membership has directed strike action and this time it will be a joint strike of primary and secondary teachers on Wednesday 29 May.  We have never experienced this before.

Striking is not action that anyone takes lightly. We would prefer that settlement can quickly be reached through negotiations, so that there is minimal disruption to you and your communities. We hope that is still possible.

We appreciate that there has been a decade of neglect in school operations funding, in special education support services and in teacher salaries.  If we want a future teaching workforce that is of high quality, and we do, then the profession must be an attractive career option.  We want our teachers to be respected by our communities and to have the status they deserve.  Salary and conditions are a part of achieving that. 

Connecting with the Regions

Today I am in Taumarunui and looking forward to meeting King Country principals. Shortly I will be heading for the East Coast to meet principals from the Tairāwhiti in Gisborne. Tairāwhiti means ‘the coast upon which the sun shines across the water’. This is especially significant since Maunga Hikurangi in Tairāwhiti is the first place in the world to see the sun rise every day!

Last week I spoke at the New Plymouth Principals’ Association Conference and want to say what a pleasure it was meeting you all in the Taranaki. Thank you for hosting me.  

Pasifika Achievement Initiative (PAI)

The PAI, one of the most exciting and promising pieces of work, is now underway.  This is the design phase of an initiative intended to lift the success rates of our Pacific Island students. I feel privileged to be involved in this work as a member of both the advisory and design groups.

Like its predecessor, the Māori Achievement Collaborations (MACs), this PLD is designed to change the culture of schools so that our Pasifika young people feel that their culture, language and identity is valued at school. It will therefore be tailored for principals, as the leaders of their school culture. The work is exciting because it follows the MAC, which has been outstandingly successful in achieving school culture change for the benefit of thousands of tamariki across over 200 schools.  I acknowledge both Jason Swann, principal of Otahuhu Primary School, and Helen Varney, principal of Target Road Primary School, for leading this project and Minister Jenny Salesa and the Ministry staff who are supporting it. 

Have a great week and I will be back with more updates next week

Ngā manaakitanga

Whetu Cormick
whetu@nzpf.ac.nz