Kamo High started the school term afresh yesterday welcoming a principal who is new to the post though a familiar face to some senior students.
Joanne Hutt was assistant principal at Kamo High School in 2010 and 2011. Yesterday, a powhiri welcomed her back as principal, following a stint in the South Island.
Ms Hutt's career spans more than 30 years of teaching at large co-ed schools, single-sex schools, small rural schools - and even in the National Youth Remand Centre.
At her most recent post as principal of South Otago High, Ms Hutt raised the Maori students' achievement rate from 38 per cent to 100 per cent. She had the chance to earn a yearly bonus of up to $50,000 for the next seven years. The formerly troubled Kamo High School was one of the first in the region to be given the Principal Recruitment Allowance, which was launched in March 2014 as part of the Government's controversial policy Investing in Educational Success (IES).
The allowance aims to recruit successful principals to fill current openings at schools facing significant challenges. The ministry had appointed a limited statutory manager to Kamo High School in March 2011 after the Education Review Office produced a report critical of the school's leadership and management.
