School Trustees Association Enthusiastic About Refreshed Māori Education Strategy

A refreshed and re-energised Māori education strategy is launching at the perfect time for schools to work it into their post-lockdown planning and evaluation, says the New Zealand School Trustees Association.

"Supporting the kaupapa of Māori succeeding as Māori is core business for school boards of trustees," says NZSTA President Lorraine Kerr. "Providing opportunities for Māori and non-Maori students to learn te reo Māori is a critical part of that kaupapa."

"NZSTA has taken an active role over recent years in challenging boards to do better for their Māori students and communities, and we are very optimistic that the bottom line is shifting. Ka Hikitia has been an important part of generating the conversations and self-reflection that allow these changes to take place.

"Over the past few years especially we’ve seen a growing understanding that it’s not possible for boards to be effective unless we are providing equitable experiences and outcomes. We’re seeing this through requests for resources, the conversations that take place in our at our conferences, for example.

"With that recognition, we’ve seen increasing interest in resources to help boards and their principals embed the kaupapa of Ka Hikitia as a uniting theme across the school’s vision, strategies, relationships and curriculum delivery.

"Ka Hikitia is the best tool schools could ask for in terms of helping them understand their responsibilities under the Treaty of Waitangi. Tau Mai te Reo - the Māori Language Strategy is an integral part of that kaupapa," she says

"Working with Ministry officials and a range of other stakeholders to refresh Ka Hikitia has been a high spot for NZSTA over recent months, and they are to be congratulated.

"With this refresh the challenge is to take the seed of understanding we’ve planted in the last few years and grow it into a strong and vibrant change in the way we do things."

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