You know when… you’ve resided in an area for quite some time as a teacher and now you can quote the decile number of the
surrounding schools. I am
currently an RTLB in cluster 21 from Potaka to Mohaka. Majority of the schools I work in are decile
1 rural schools. According to the
education.govt.nz website, “decile 1 schools are
the 10% of schools with the highest proportion of students from low
socio-economic communities.”
They also mention that
deciles are based on 5 socio-economic indicators for a community. These indicators
look at the following areas:
- Percentage of households with income in the lowest 20% nationally.
- Percentage of employed parents in the lowest skill level
occupational groups.
- Household crowding.
- Percentage of parents with no educational qualifications.
- Percentage of parents receiving income support benefits.
However,
regardless of the socio-economic gauges the schools I work in strive to do the
best they can, with the best they have in the best possible way they know how
and try to improve on them as well. They utilise a localised contextual
curriculum that reflects the hapu, iwi, history, stories of people who have
made significant contributions to society, of their maunga, awa, marae which
are all pertinent to one’s identity and whakapapa. This manifests through waiata, haka, sports,
art, Maori performing arts, music, marae gatherings, local hui, in schools and
more.
In my opinion
there are pockets of gold in every school I’ve been to, despite the decile
number, gender, race mix or religious association and I think that some of those
wonderful nuggets, have been passed down through the generations from even
before my time. However, there are still
the issues of isolation and having to travel to the closest city for sports
tournaments, resources, other options of study, work and professional opportunities.
The
professional environment has a pool that changes as new information comes to
the fore and grows as people continue to learn.
People contribute and engage in different ways with their knowledge and
in different environments. Each school
has their strengths and weaknesses and for me it’s about sharing both, and
collaborating with other schools through agile leadership which is ‘inclusive, democratic who exhibit a greater openness
to ideas and innovations. With a passion for learning, a focus on developing
people, and a strong ability to define and communicate a desired vision, they
possess all of the tools necessary to successfully inspire others and become an
agent for change within any organisation…’
In addition
to agile leadership I also support Stoll’s (1998) article in which Stoll and Fink (cited in
Stoll, 1998) identified 10 influencing cultural norms of school improvement.
‘Norms of Improving Schools
1. Shared goals—“we know where we’re going”
2. Responsibility for success—“we must succeed”
3. Collegiality—“we’re working on this together”
4. Continuous improvement—“we can get better”
5. Lifelong learning—“learning is for everyone”
6. Risk taking—“we learn by trying something new”
7. Support—“there’s always someone there to help”
8. Mutual respect—“everyone has something to offer”
9. Openness—“we can discuss our differences”
10. Celebration and humour—“we feel good about ourselves” Stoll
and Fink (1996).
The norms are
interconnected and feed off each other. They do not just represent a snapshot
of an effective school. They focus on fundamental issues of how people relate
to and value each other.’ I think this is
a model that can be referred to as often as needed, to prompt conversation,
guidance, direction and improvement.
References:
Education.govt.nz,
(2016) School Deciles. Retrieved from
http://www.education.govt.nz/school/running-a-school/resourcing/operational-funding/school-decile-ratings
Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School
Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9.Institute of Education, University of
London. Retrieved fromhttp://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture
file:///C:/Users/ngaio/Downloads/stoll_article_set3_2000%20(1).pdf
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