Successful leadership in low socioeconomic communities
- Establishing pathways for dialogue and collaboration with Manawhenua
- Teaching in Rumaki classes
- Establishing parallel Māori /English medium pathways school-wide.
Over two decades of delivery of technology programmes for Year 7 & 8 students through positive partnerships with contributing schools
Implemented innovative learning and behaviour strategies including:
Established the Raglan Area School Surfing Academy in 1998, which was identified by leading sports academic, Dr. Clive Pope (2002) as one of the top three secondary sports academies operating in New Zealand. It introduced Surfing as a subject in an effort to support and sustain the academic pathway of talented surfers who had aspirations of becoming professional athletes in their sport. They were expected to achieve in the classroom and the water,
Pope, C., (2002). Plato makes the team: The arrival of secondary school sport academies. Waikato Journal of Education. 8:2002.
Established the Melville High School Services Academy in partnership and sponsorship with the Highwire Trust. The School Service Academy (SSA) provided four separate programmes with a military focus to Year 10 – 12 students.
Director of CentreNet (2002 -2007), Leadership of Volcanics and advocate for new national organisation Kootui Ako which by 2023 provided online courses to over 1990 school students across Aotearoa.
Secondary students gained NCEA credits in a variety of subjects including Psychology, Philosophy, seven different languages, and unique subjects like Equine Studies. Primary students could choose a wide range of curricula including: Te Reo Māori and Kapa Haka; New Zealand Sign Language and International languages; STEM subjects; Literacy and Creative Arts; and Complex Thinking and Sustainability courses.
Tracking is a unique monitoring and mentoring support programme for senior students which helped improve student achievement. This was part of a programme facilitated by Dr Linda Bendickson and was developed while working with her on a Schooling Improvement initiative project during 2018-21. This programme monitored every senior (Year 11 – 13) student on a three weekly basis, and resulted in positive interventions to improve student achievement or address social or psychological barriers facing these students.
Academic Counselling is a partnership between the teacher, student and parent’s/whaanau, with a key focus on raising the overall achievement of each ākonga. It is based around the research of the University of Auckland Starpath research organisation.
The programme involved every Year 11-13 student developing career and other goals, and academic targets during a weekly academic counselling period and a twice-yearly, 20-minute parent-teacher/tutor-student conference.
The Waikato Trades Academy (WTA) is a government funded partnership with secondary schools. The programme was originally delivered by WINTEC and is now part of Te Pūkenga Institute of Skills and Technology. The programme provides trades-related training learning opportunities for secondary school students at NCEA Level 2 and above, usually one day a week on the WINTEC campus. It improves transitions between schools, further education and training and work.
Melville High School was a foundation school in the programme and principal Clive Hamill was the secondary principal’s representative on the Waikato Trades Academy Steering Group from 2012 – 2022.
In 2006 helped pioneer the use of Restorative Practices in schools. It is a behaviour and school wide philosophy which ensures there are opportunities to resolve conflict and damage to relationships in a non-blaming and non-shaming manner. Students and others were taught how to resolve conflict by rebuilding damaged relationships. While there are more conventional consequences for deliberate major misbehaviour, there was a strong emphasis on repairing relationships, either between students and students, students and teachers, and teachers and others, so that learning and teaching can continue to be the primary focus.
This behaviour strategy also included elements of PB4L and other behaviour reward strategies.
Melville High School provided programmes and services which encouraged and supported all students to learn to their full potential. To facilitate this MHS provided the resources, organisational structures and training for staff to gain the skills necessary for teaching students with special needs. Innovative practices included home rooming for some students until Year 12, use of unique computer activities and strategies including Pause prompt praise. Further detail can be found in Review of Special Needs Provision at Melville High School.
NOTE: At the end of the year in 2023 adjacent school’s located in south west Hamilton were closed by the Minister of Education and education provision for the area was restructured. The schools, Melville High School (MHS), with Year 9 – 13 students, and Melville Intermediate School (MIS), with Year 7 – 8 students, had served their community for 60 years. The following year, a new Year 7 – 13 school, Mangakōtukutuku College opened on the two sites.
All the staff of the two Melville schools had their employment terminated at the end of 2023. Additional information on the restructure can be found at Review of the Melville Schools Restructure
This programme has a focus on teachers reflecting critically upon their own worldview and the impact such theorising has upon Māori students’ educational achievement. In addition, this research-based professional development provides situations where teachers are shown and can practise, in an ongoing supportive manner, strategies and resources that will change their classroom interactions.
The goal is to improve Māori student achievement but has been shown to improve the achievement of all ethnicities. Secondary schools across Aotearoa owe a debt to Pounamu Education Research and Development Centre and its many precursor organisations which provided “years of iterative New Zealand research, amplified by the voices of Māori students, their whānau and education professionals. It reflects the bicultural nature of New Zealand society”. https://poutamapounamu.org.nz/about
Leading difficult-to-staff to schools
Restoring school financial solvency
Implementing curriculum development
Extensive payroll expertise
Utilised for the Emergency Staffing Scheme providing temporary principal leadership to schools
Design and development of major property projects
Supporting schools in their appointment of Principals and senior leadership (in primary, secondary and area schools)
Building powerful Board and Principal relationships, policy and strategic development
Principal Professional Growth Cycle and appraisal of staff
Specialist investigations
Annual and Strategic planning and review
In depth involvement in school/community school establishment, restructure and reorganisation
Advocates for Social Justice and successful at challenging bureaucratic decisions.
Effective fundraisers for extra-curricular school/community projects
Individual employment coaching, CV development, interview preparation and support for principals, senior leaders, teachers and support staff.
Extensive leadership and support for the wider education and Not-for-Profit sectors
