Charter schools: Northland educators considering move to model

David Seymour is expecting interest from educators in Northland about establishing charter schools. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Government is expecting significant interest from Northland educators keen to re-establish or open a new charter school in the region.

Details are still unknown as to which charter schools in the region will open as the Government moves to revive them by next year. More information is expected in the coming months.

But Associate Education Minister David Seymour said he expected to see significant interest from Northland educators who want to provide more choice to parents and students.

Applications would be received from the second half of this year after legislation is introduced, and Seymour said information about which schools and locations would fall under the charter system would be available as work progressed.

Te Kāpehu Whetū principal Raewyn Tipene, whose school oncewas one of New Zealand’s flagship charter schools, said it won’t be making a decision on reopening until it had seen the policy.

“This [would be] the third shift we’ve had to make in the last six years. It interferes with everything. So we would have to think very carefully,” she said.

When asked what an attractive policy would look like, Tipene said something similar to the original one.

“There was low interference and the resources we cashed up ... when you compare that with the mainstream [system], all those resources sit in the ministry and you have to apply and wait for things to be allocated. It’s time-consuming and draining.”

Students from Whangārei’s Te Kāpehu Whetū took part in the School Strike 4 Climate with principal Raewyn Tipene (right). Photo / Michael Cunningham

She believed “higher accountability” but low interference allowed teachers to “get on with the job of educating kids”.

The school ranked in the top two in Northland for University Entrance in 2018, and was described as “outperforming” most other private and public schools.

A charter model could be an option for the Mangawhai Education Trust, which plans to establish a secondary school in the area.

Chairwoman Jill Corkin previously told the Advocate if it were possible, they would consider it.

“It will depend an awful lot on the criteria they set up for partnership schools.”

Corkin was concerned they may not meet the criteria because their primary reason for opening would be geographical.

“We’re not setting up a school for kids who don’t fit into the mainstream system.”

Northland has a lengthy history of the charter school model, with some of the country’s first established here.

Schools like Te Kāpehu Whetū thrived under the model, whereas others such as Te Kura Hourua ki Whangaruru attracted controversy due to poor leadership and mismanagement of Government funds.

When asked how a repeat of history would be avoided, Seymour said charter schools had been and would again be subject to high levels of monitoring and accountability.

He said schools that weren’t performing well were shut down when they did not achieve their set outcomes.

A Charter School/Kura Hourua Establishment Board has been set up to support the reformation of the charter school model.

Seymour said the board would provide “strategic oversight and advice on the implementation of the model”.

“Charter schools will provide educators with greater autonomy, create diversity in New Zealand’s education system, free educators from state and union interference, and raise overall educational achievement.

“This is especially true for students who might be underachieving or disengaged from the current system.”

Brodie Stone is an education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.