22 April 2015

Next wave of Communities of Schools

Education Minister Hekia Parata says 129 schools from across the country have signed up for the second round of Communities of Schools.

The schools, which together have more than 45,000 students, will form 18 new Communities of Schools dedicated to systematically lifting the quality of teaching and learning in their classrooms.

“I’m delighted that these new communities will join the first 11 that I announced in December. This brings the total number of communities formed to 29,” Ms Parata says.

Schools in the latest groupings come from across the spectrum. Almost 60 per cent are decile 1 – 5 schools.

Communities of Schools are part of the Government’s $359 million Investing in Educational Success initiative announced in 2014. Schools in the programme receive additional funding to enable teachers and principals to share teaching and leadership expertise.

“We know that the biggest factors in-school for lifting achievement are the quality of teaching and leadership. The biggest out-of-school factors are family involvement and community expectations. IES promotes all these by fostering systematic collaboration between teaching professionals and encouraging parents and communities to set achievement objectives and challenges.

“I want to thank all the schools who have seen the potential of this initiative for their kids. I’ve been thrilled by the interest shown and I’m looking forward to many more coming on board,” says Ms Parata.

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