Correspondence School Plans For The Future

The Correspondence School is enthusiastic about improving its ability to provide distance education in the future, Correspondence School chief executive officer, Rod Browning said today.

Mr Browning was responding to an announcement by Minister of Education Trevor Mallard that the Government has approved a new direction for the school.

“The Correspondence School welcomes the Minister’s approval. This repositioning plan has been prepared after extensive consultation during the year and addresses some of the principal concerns, expressed by the Government, staff, parents and students, about the school.

“The consultation process has confirmed that The Correspondence School has a strong reputation for being a valuable and effective resource for students and the entire education sector.

“However, it has also confirmed that if major change does not occur within a short timeframe, the future viability of our school is threatened.

“The Correspondence School has traditionally taught pupils using the tried and proven method of printed materials sent through the post. But there has been huge increase in opportunities in the way distance education can be delivered.

“If The Correspondence School is to survive, we not only have to ‘catch up’ with those developments, but we also need to restructure the school to make sure we are providing the best possible resources and education for our students.

“We already have many of the skills and experience to provide high quality student-centred education but everyone agrees there are areas where we need to improve. This includes providing student-centred learning in the medium of the student’s choice and improving the responsiveness of our teaching.”

Mr Browning said the school would be acquiring new skills and developing new teaching practices as part of the new direction.

The strategic plan would be initiated over the next few months and, as signalled by the Minister, the school would be working closely with staff and key teacher organisations to achieve the changes required, he said.

ENDS

For further information: Rod Browning phone 04-474 4311

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