It’s been a while since the last posting here. Under the heading “The Most Important Speech on Education in Years”, this link arrived in an e-mail this morning:
http://www.ucc.org/justice/public-education/pdfs/NatlOTL.pdf
Please take the time to read all of it.
And then ask yourself why would the USA do this to their kids; and having seen the damage: why exactly are we in New Zealand happy for it to be done to ours?
I have always trusted and admired Kelvin Smythe’s educational ‘nous’. He has a proven track record of being “on the money” with things educational. Worryingly, his latest blog concludes:
“What a spot we are in. Social democracy is a more fragile thing than we might suppose. The Orwellian characteristics of the current control over schools are ominous. There is the rushed legislation, the lying, the scapegoating, the puppet advisory groups, the bent reporting of the review office, the bullying over charters and statutory interventions, the bent behaviour of the ministry, the stifling of universities, the lack of variety in professional development, the industrialisation and narrowing of the curriculum, and to finish it off, a compliant, facile media.
We need to be united to fight off this latest education obscenity. Are you up for it?”
Read how he reached his conclusion regarding the need to continue the fight:
http://www.networkonnet.co.nz/index.php?section=latest&id=363
This week, our Board of Trustees received another letter from the Ministry of Education. Long story short; after three weeks of providing documented evidence of our capabilities and processes regarding student achievement via e-mail, phone calls, and a meeting in Dunedin, the Ministry has completed reviewing us and has informed us that they are “…satisfied that your Board can meet its requirements.”
The letter goes onto quote from the minutes of the last Board meeting: “that implementing the NS requirements would be done professionally and thoroughly “…in true Waverley Park fashion; the school’s assessment practices in relation to the NS literacies are already compliant””. It concludes by thanking the Board for providing the information and asserts “Your school is now well placed to implement National Standards” and informs us that we will be monitored until after mid-year reporting is completed in 2012.
We were always confident that our school’s expectations (of student achievement) and professional practice that have been in place and in use for several years would stand-up to close scrutiny and readily transfer to meet the requirements of the National Standards. For us, the debate was always about protecting our kids and the potential of the New Zealand Curriculum from the damage done by standards regimes everywhere else in the world that they have been implemented.
Indeed, in a message to primary principals just yesterday, the New Zealand Principals Federation included the following:
“Everywhere else in the world, National Standards and its sister policy National Testing, has failed. Early adopters are now rejecting such policies and they look to countries like ours with our world class curriculum to lead them out of their National Testing wilderness. The irony of this situation is overwhelming. What these countries are finding is that the kind of accountability that comes with such policies negatively changes the whole culture of the education environment. It engenders disconnect between the professionals, the Ministry and Minister. The profession becomes alienated from its natural policy discussion forums. The environment becomes more competitive and more privatised which undermines the whole concept of public education and creates a culture of distrust rather than trust, openness and collaboration.”
However, we aim to keep our word to the Ministry; and we also intend to continue to hold true to our belief in the New Zealand Curriculum.
Consequently, this year’s reports - which will come home on Friday 9 December – not the week before as was stated in last week’s newsletter (consequently inducing several teacher heart attacks in the process); will not use the National Standards as we are not required to report using them until next year.
However, because of our processes (now acknowledged by the Ministry), they will be very similar to what you will get when we do use National Standards; and they’ll still be honest, accurate, and (because we listened to your feedback last year) more personalized to your child.
From time to time, something happens that puts life on hold and tests your general perspective.
On Sunday 9 October Marie Watts died in a head-on collision at St Andrew while en route to her new life in Auckland. Until earlier this year, Marie was one of our teachers; friends and colleagues alike remain deeply shocked by the news of this tragedy. Traveling in separate cars, Marie and her husband Alan were transferring north for Alan to take up his new role as principal at Stella Maris School; and for Marie to be near and care for her elderly parents. Sadly, Marie’s dad had passed away the day before.
Southland was well-represented at Marie’s Auckland funeral by staff from Alan’s St Patrick’s School; Salford (where Marie was until the end of last term), Bluff Community, and Waverley Park schools.
Alan and Marie’s kids spoke well and lovingly of a strongly family and faith orientated woman; she would have been very proud of the way they honoured her, and reflected their family values and upbringing. The Watts family connections with the south are strong; many are mourning with and for them; not least members of our own staff and community.
We extend heartfelt Waverley Park sympathies to Alan and to his family at this terrible time: kia kaha; kia manawanui.
STATEMENT OF DURESS
Under duress, the Board of Trustees has reluctantly agreed to comply with Ministry of Education direction to include a student achievement target in reference to the “national standards”.
While we have been unanimous, consistent and open in our ethical opposition to National Standards: having literally run out of alternatives, our Board of Trustees has now been forced to include the National Standards requirements in our charter: the law is the law.
Despite the well-founded reluctance of our trustees and leadership team - signalled in the relevant section of the charter (indicated above): we will nevertheless strive to make this work as well as it can for our kids and their families. While we may have lost the legal battle, it is our collective view that we have a moral and ethical obligation to continue to do the best for the Waverley Park community: please rest assured that we will.
To this end, we will continue to provide families of Waverley Park with assessment information that is valid, reliable and constructive.
Last week, Aranga School was in the firing line:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/85372/claim-school-being-put-under-statutory-management
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/85423/number-of-schools-threatened-by-ministry-nzei
Tolley has been suckered into a mistake by NZPF, BTAC, NZEI, this web site, and the courage of schools.
I recommend decisive action on this one. We can call Anne Tolley’s bluff.
Recommendations for how to do this follow.
On Tuesday, the ministry was all over my web site. I have learnt from experience that this often occurs around the time of the ministry making a move. I rang up a friend and said something’s on.
Late on Friday afternoon, I heard what – Aranga a small school near Dargaville had received a phone call informing the principal that on Monday a Limited Statutory Manager (LSM) was going to be appointed. I learnt on enquiry that the principal was Myles Ferris.
I rang the school and a calm, resonant voice said ‘Myles Ferris’.
The story that unfolded was quite remarkable and unprecedented in New Zealand education history.
A few hours earlier he had received a phone call from the Whangarei office saying that Aranga’s inclusion of a statement in its charter referring to ‘duress’ was a ‘disclaimer’ which meant the school’s charter was non-compliant.
The ministry person said that, as a result, the ministry had no alternative but to put the school under statutory management.
The ministry person, however, did not restrict this action to Aranga, saying, ‘All schools with such disclaimers would be put under statutory management.’
Nothing was sent in writing.
There was no communication with the board of trustees.
There was no communication with the chairperson.
The ministry is acting on highly dubious legal grounds.
The ministry would seem to know this – already it has said that, ‘The ministry has not recommended the appointment of any limited statutory managers.’
My response: ‘Aha!’
First, that is not a denial that plans to appoint statutory managers on the basis of the so-called ‘disclaimer’ inclusion were not en train.
Second, Tolley was clearly thinking that schools could be threatened into another backing off.
(I have read the conditions allowing the minister to appoint limited statutory managers to schools and it is clear that including the ‘duress statement’ in charters is not sufficient grounds. It is important to add that the appointment of an LSM is distinctly different from the appointment of a commissioner who replaces the entire board.)
Readers will recall that I recommended schools back off on charters and insert the two clauses the ministry wanted. I considered that schools had made their point beautifully and that in a social democracy the law should (under most circumstances) ultimately prevail.
On this one, though, I recommend standing firm.
I recommend that Myles Ferris make a statutory declaration about the details of the conversation with the ministry. (The ministry is likely to come out lying about this one – denying that there was ever any intention to call in a statutory manager, that it was all a misunderstanding)
I recommend that the NZPF take out an injunction against ministry in respect to Aranga. (I also recommend that schools follow the leadership of the NZPF as against any advice from elsewhere including my own.)
I recommend that schools send letters to the ministry reminding the ministry that they (the schools) had also included the ‘duress statement’ in their charters.
I recommend that schools that had not included the ‘duress statement’ in their charters or covering letters do so now in the form of an additional statement in a letter.
This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for – go for it.
And northern schools I strongly urge you, in particular, to support Aranga. It would have been no accident that a northern school was chosen for the first hit.
The now legendary Kawakawa meeting was the beginning of the ministry taking the opposition to national standards seriously – the look on Mary Chamberlain’s face in the course of the meeting, her vapid response, and the huddle of ministry people around their car following the meeting was an indication of ministry panic to come.
At that meeting you gave your unanimous support – this is a terrific opportunity to act on that support. (Another likely reason a northern school was chosen for the first hit would have been to curb the influential northern leadership of Kelvin Davis, Pat Newman, Keri Milne-Ihimaera, and Peter Witana, which, by the way, is why I think a deep south school will be next.)
As I will detail, the ‘duress statement’ is not a ‘disclaimer’ – which is a refusal to do something – it is a moral declaration with origins in our commitment to professional and ethical standards.
A moral declaration is not in itself a refusal to do something, especially, as in this case, it is contained in a document intended to comply with the law. A moral declaration comes from the domain of freedom of speech not the rule of law.
Boards of trustees can be made to do something (insofar as the law is concerned) but they cannot be made not to do something if it is not illegal and not harmful to children.
A board has the right to express its special character in its charter which means, as part of that, it has the right to say it finds the imposition of national standards repugnant, the carrying out of national standards in its school repugnant, and the best interests of the children not served by national standards.
Teacher organisations, BTAC, and this web site, might have linked future action with the moral declaration, but that is not implicit. The ministry might have read this into the moral declaration but schools cannot be held accountable for that.
I urge action.
Being the weekend, I urge principals reading this posting to alert other principals, to alert their boards, and to start planning a course of action.
There is no doubt that NZPF, NZEI, and BTAC will have plans. I await these with keen anticipation.
Concerted action is need on this one – we must not leave Aranga blowin’ in the wind.
Enough is enough.
As members of our Waverley Park school community you will be well aware of our Board’s opposition to National Standards.
We believe our decision to oppose National standards is an informed one. Sound research undertaken in many countries has found that it leads to a narrowing of the curriculum, an increase in the divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ and a detrimental effect on the educational potential of many children.
Last week our Board received a letter from the Ministry of Education stating that as we had not included National Standards in our charter (a document written in conjunction with you, our community), we were acting unlawfully.
Therefore we had to make a decision whether we would continue to oppose National Standards by not including them in our charter; which we believe to be morally and ethically correct;
or include them.
If we chose not to include them, the Ministry would take action against our school and our community. This type of intervention could mean that the board and principal could be replaced and a commissioner put into our school. Even though the ministry enforces this intervention, the school would be required to pay for it.
This intervention is usually reserved for under-performing schools or those where serious misconduct has occurred. Waverley is in neither of these categories - we are classed as a ‘high performing school.’
Therefore our board has had to make a very difficult decision.
Were we to continue to stand up for what we believe in and therefore comprise our school; or include National standards in our charter, potentially compromising the educational future of many New Zealand children?
Under great duress, we have very reluctantly included National standards within our charter.
We have decided that we will not compromise the unique, innovative, creative, and special place that is, Waverley Park School.
We will continue to voice our opposition to National Standards and to focus on what we believe to be sound teaching and learning; which has at its heart what is best for our children.
We would encourage you, our community to voice your concern with regards to how our school community has been treated. You may wish to discuss the situation with others, write a letter to the paper or to the Beehive (no postage is required).
Thank you for your support.
Kind regards
Lisa Tou
BOT Chair
Hat’s off to the creator of this clip:
