PPTA supports Parata
April 24th, 2012 at 3:37 pm by David FarrarThe PPTA have praised Hekia Parata:
PPTA president Robin Duff congratulates education minister Hekia Parata for taking a firm stand against the board of Northland’s Moerewa School .
The board was sacked yesterday after extending classes to years 11 and 13 without the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) permission, with seriously questionable results.
“Primary schools may have the best of intentions, but it is wrong for them to believe they can adequately provide specialist subject delivery to students over year 9,” Duff said.
However the Principals Federation thinks the school should be above the law:
“The decision to sack the Board of Trustees at Moerewa School is a sad day for self-managing schools and their communities,” said Phil Harding, Vice-President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation.
“Moerewa is a tiny community, working with its people to do all in its power to provide high standards of education, while achieving success as Maori,” said Harding. “Rather than being celebrated for its efforts and excellent ERO reports, the Moerewa School Board has been punished, and its senior students excluded from their school of choice,” he said. …
“Few schools would come through an NZQA audit of 84% of their students’ work unscathed, and the protracted process has kept these students in limbo,” he said. “The Ministry has funded the unit for three years, and it is tragic to see a positive innovation ended in this way.”
It may be sad it has ended, but the fault is with the school. It is a pity the NZPF defends a school with such a low achievement rate. Radio NZ reported:
The Education Ministry says the school is not offering senior students a quality education and its NCEA results are alarmingly low. An audit by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority found that 11% to 33% were passing NCEA.
“If you look at the nearest school, they are achieving results twice as high for their Maori students than have been achieved at Moerewa. The outcomes are just not good enough, I’m afraid.”
TVNZ reported:
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) audited students’ work and said it had concerns about Wikipedia being used word-for-word and work being submitted with two different types of handwriting.
Radio Waatea reports:
The Education Minister says the audit of Moerewa School’s NCEA results was launched after discrepancies picked up in a review of paperwork at Otara’s Kia Aroha College.
Moerewa held on to its senior pupils by enrolling them in the South Auckland Secondary School run by the mother of Principal Keri Milne-Ihimaera.
Hekia Parata says rather than scoring better than most other schools, outside assessors found just two out 16 students passed NCEA level one, two in six passed levels two and two in three passed level three.
Only 12% passed NCEA Level one. Incredible.
Tags: Hekia Parata, Moerewa School, PPTA, Principals Federation
April 24th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
according to willie jackson the govrnment is picking on a school that has had some brilliant results over the years.
they are nit picking at one bad year
BAHAHAHAHAHA
Vote:April 24th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Maybe Moerewa school should take the opportunity Charter Schools provides for them to do things their way….
Vote:April 24th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
… are they not already within David Lange’s TOMORROW’S SCHOOLS?
Vote:April 24th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Good to see someone setting high standards. We should put those days of “everyone passes, everyone gets a prize” be hind us
Vote:April 24th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
The puzzling bit –
“Rather than being celebrated for its efforts and excellent ERO reports, the Moerewa School Board has been punished …”
Vote:How did what they were doing get excellent ERO reports?
April 24th, 2012 at 5:12 pm
So this is one case where both the PPTA and the government do not think that parents have the right to choose their own school.
Right-winger seem happy about that?
[DPF: They can choose their school, so long as the school is meeting some minimum standards]
Vote:April 24th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Inky School choice does not mean expecting to be able to send senior high school kids to a primary school which is not staffed or equipped for a high school curriculum.
Vote:It is doing those kids a disservice to allow them to laze their way through basic NCEA units and then tell them they are doing well.
As a taxpayer I am happy to fund high schools but I am not prepared to pour money into a primary school because it is easier for the kids to stay there when there are nearby high schools with satisfactory pass rates and properly taught senior courses.
April 24th, 2012 at 7:33 pm
I’ve was told a year ago by a teacher that parents have been sending their kids down the road from Moerewa to Kawakawa school for some time because Moerewa was so bad. So no surprise here.
As for Willie Jackson, empty vessels make the most sound.
Vote:April 25th, 2012 at 9:02 am
Hekia grew up in a poor community and sees education as a way out for people. But it must be a good education and she will not compromise here. And she has the people skills to get her way. Watch out those who abuse their position of trust in children’s lives.
Vote:April 27th, 2012 at 1:14 am
It’s funny with all the yammer about the apparent infallibility of high decile schools, that it’s those same schools that are against league tables because they will be shown to be no better then lower deciles. Slightly off thread but very interesting.
Vote: