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After a little over a year in the job, Whangaparāoa College Principal Steve McCracken says he has listened to the community and students, and is ready to put some major changes in place, starting next year.
He says the ultimate goal is to raise levels of academic achievement.
This year, 12 staff have been visiting and researching other colleges, nationally and internationally, to bring together aspects that they think fit with the college and its community.
Next year the focus will be on literacy at all year levels – something the college has been working on with its three feeder primary schools.
He says a new structured approach will “rip away the fluffy stuff” and focus on the literacy basics.
Alongside this, a bi-lingual unit (Te Reo and English) will be introduced next year – open to all students who want it. McCracken says this is not just about teaching in both languages, but a Māori approach to learning, which may include things such as haka, dance and cooking – with the end outcome still being to increase academic achievement.
Currently the school has 300 Māori students.
“We want to engage Māori learners and give them access to the curriculum by walking in their world,” McCracken says.
Good quality teaching practices is another focus and here McCracken says all teachers will be impacted.
The process began this term, with “360° baseline observations” of teachers. McCracken says this will provide data, identifying any weaknesses so that professional upskilling can be provided if needed.
He says the most exciting development is that Whangaparāoa College is the NZ pilot school for a programme that works with Hewlett-Packard called Reinventing the Classroom.
McCracken says the programme, which has been tested in Australia, will provide access to world class technology for both staff and students.
Alongside this, the school will be reviewing how it constructs its school day and whether any changes there could improve student outcomes.
Over the course of next year, a Trades Academy is being planned for possible implementation in 2024. This will provide various non-academic work pathways, initially construction.
Connecting with local businesses and the community is another focus.
The college is growing fast – currently there are 1700 students, which is expected to grow by a further 750 next year. The Ministry of Education predicts a roll of 3000 in the next decade.
New buildings and facilities are therefore on the drawing board, with firm plans expected to be ready by next May.
McCracken says he sees the school’s strengths as “great young people and great staff”.
“This community really backs its children to do well, which means we have such huge potential – these plans are the start of unlocking that,” he says.
Staff reactions, he admits, have been mixed.
“We’ve been kicking around ideas for a while, but when I said recently that we were going to pull the trigger next year, and they realised how huge it is, it was a bit of a shock,” he says. “There is massive excitement, along with some trepidation. It’s going to be hard and challenging, and needs to be carefully staged, but the future is exciting, different and very positive.”
