A Whangarei charitable trust is about to launch a campaign to provide 800 computer tablets to needy schoolkids in the district after a successful trial gave out 300 tablets across six schools.
The Taitokerau Education Trust is a Whangarei-based incorporated trust that has been set up by to provide equity and access to modern learning pedagogies that are proven to improve the educational achievement and engagement of students. This year the trust launched a pilot programme with six Whangarei schools under the name Te Puawai Digital Immersion Cluster. The trust's ultimate goal is to put a tablet in the schoolbag of every poor Northland student.
Trust chairwoman Jo Brosnahan said the pilot was such a success that on Tuesday the trust will launch the next stage - putting another 800 tablets into Whangarei schools next year. She said the project will ultimately be Northland-wide, but Whangarei is the initial focus.
Te Puawai Digital has been successfully led by Manaia View School in the initial roll out of e-learning and other programmes aimed at raising student achievement. The other schools are Hikurangi Primary, Whangarei Intermediate, Te Kura Otangarei, Whau Valley Primary and Tikipunga High School. The schools range from decile 1 to 5 and the majority of students are Maori.
"The principal of Hikurangi saw it as a trial, but within a month or two realised the difference it was making for the children and saw it as the way forward," Ms Brosnahan said.
