KEY POINTS:
Amid the grim picture often painted of New Zealand's poorest schools, examples of inspirational leadership and innovative programmes are emerging.
Over the coming days the Herald will talk to the dedicated teachers working to make a difference in some of the nation's lowest decile schools.
About 30 per cent of decile-one schools - those whose families face the greatest hardship - are in Auckland.
Dr Vicki Carpenter, a University of Auckland expert on low-decile schools, says a stigma is growing towards these schools, partly because of the Government's funding model, which allocates them extra money.
Under the current structure, schools are given a decile rating according to the broad socio-economic positions of their students, and low-decile schools get additional funding.
Dr Carpenter said the model created an attitude that schools in poor areas got "charity" and contributed to negative attitudes towards them.
"There is a stigma beginning to emerge of 'I'm not sending my child to that school because it's a low-decile school'," she said. "They equate ... 'low decile' with poor education."
In fact, despite achievement levels being poorer in low-decile schools, Dr Carpenter argued that many of them added "more value" because students arrived with a lower standard of education.
"I believe a lot of teaching in low-decile schools is extremely good and it really takes those children forward."
Dr Carpenter argued that the extra funding did not compensate for the money that was around in the higher-decile areas.
"A high-decile school can just write a letter to parents and ask for an extra $100 donation and they receive it from most parents," she said. "A low-decile school would have a fair going all day and be really delighted that they've made $1000 or $2000."
The decile-rating system looks to be here to stay.
Education Minister Steve Maharey backs the structure and says the Government has no intention of altering the system.
National Party leader John Key - who says he has seen some "magnificent" results in the low-decile schools - also acknowledges that many need extra support.
"There's no question that lower-income communities find it much more difficult to raise money for their schools," Mr Key said.
"There's a lot of logic behind them getting more support."
He said that while funding played an important role so did the leadership of the school, and there was no reason that pupils from lower-decile schools could not go on to be successful.
The Ministry of Education is reassessing the decile rating of all state and state-integrated schools based on data from the 2006 Census and this year's school roll returns.
Any changes are expected to take effect next year.
Child Poverty Action Group researcher Donna Wynd said initial indications from the Census suggested overcrowding was increasing in pockets of South Auckland and that had implications for children.
As well as health issues, she said, overcrowding was a barrier for children, who found it hard to find a place to study.
