History in the making for school trustees

History in the making for school trustees

Trustees from around the country were invited to lunch at Parliament yesterday, hosted by Minister Parata to thank them for their work over the past year.

Coming so soon after the announcement of the Prime Minister’s Awatea Award for excellence in governance and management and the commitment to improved support for boards of trustees in this year’s budget, this sends a very clear signal that the contribution trustees make is at last being valued.

“This is history in the making” says NZSTA President, Lorraine Kerr.

“The level of skills and experience that trustees freely give to our schools as trustees every year is beyond price. Being a school trustee can be immensely rewarding, but it requires a significant commitment. Until recently it’s been largely unacknowledged, so we are very pleased to see that it is being recognised.

“In some ways, it may seem like a small thing being thanked for the time and effort you give to your

community and your school, but in fact knowing that it is noticed and valued makes a huge difference to those involved,” says Lorraine. “The thing that we all have in common is our determination to see that our children have the best opportunity to be the best they can be.

“Boards are heavily involved in working out how to make that happen and to ensure that all students succeed. It’s not always easy, so we would like to thank the Minister for her public recognition of the work trustees do.”

“For the last quarter of a century, boards and the communities they represent have largely been treated as an afterthought. Now, 25 years later we are finally starting to see the importance of community-led governing boards being recognised and it’s starting to feel like the kind of genuine partnership between communities and government that Tomorrow’s Schools were supposed to be.”

“It is also very reassuring that the focus is now firmly on our students succeeding and not about the adults,” says Lorraine.

Ends

© Scoop Media