6 May 2015

Former principal appointed to key role

Highly-regarded educationalist and experienced school leader Prue Kelly, the former principal of Wellington High School, has been appointed to a key role overseeing appointments for new teacher and principal positions in Communities of Schools.

Education Minister Hekia Parata says Ms Kelly will chair the Investing in Educational Success New Appointments National Panel.

“I’m delighted Prue Kelly will be giving us the benefit of her extensive experience, including many years as a principal. She has the practical wisdom that comes from an intimate understanding of how schools operate, and knows how we can get the very best out of teachers and students.

“She and other panel members will support Communities of Schools as they select the best applicants for the new roles that are part of IES.

”This is another step forward for this $359 million initiative. Already more than 200 schools, with over 80,000 students, belong to Communities of Schools and they’re now in the process of drawing up their achievement challenges with their parent and whanau communities,” says Ms Parata.

Ms Kelly has enormous breadth and depth of experience in education, including 17 years as principal at Wellington High. She received the Officer New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Education in 2014 and was Wellingtonian of the Year for Education in 2011.

The other panel members are being appointed by a group including Ms Kelly, the Ministry of Education, the Education Review Office, the Post Primary Teachers Association, Secondary Principals’ Association of New Zealand, New Zealand School Trustees Association, Pasifika Principals’ Association and the NZ Area Schools Association.

The new roles the panel will oversee appointments to are:

· Across-community teacher roles, of which there will be an average of 4-5 teachers for each Community of Schools

· The across community leadership role for each Community of Schools

· Principals recruited using the Principal Recruitment Allowance, which is for schools that face significant challenges and have difficulty recruiting

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