Preparing Students For The Future An interview with Gary Yeatman, principal of Awatapu College, Palmerston North on what factors contribute to his College's success Liz Hawes Editor; Keith Dobson
Awatapu College – Photographs
Awatapu College is home to the secondary students of Takaro in Palmerston North, a suburb which takes in a wide range of social classes including its fair share of disadvantaged learners. It is an attractive school set amidst the tranquillity of green fields and leafy trees, but more importantly it is a school where everyone is welcome and included. It leads with integrity, honesty and openness and is determined to follow its own direction, values and drives irrespective of barriers and challenges or pressure from the external political climate. Schools have absorbed myriad policy changes in the past six years as the Government has set its agenda to have 85 per cent of students leaving school with NCEA level 2. The rationale for this policy is to lift standards across the board and to especially lift the achievement of Māori, Pacific Island, special needs and students from disadvantaged backgrounds. I asked Gary Yeatman, the principal of Awatapu College,
Palmerston North, how he felt about the new emphasis for his senior students. ‘There is far too much focus on results,’ said Gary. ‘Schools have a responsibility for a student’s future. We can get students through NCEA level two and meet the Government’s target but where is the pathway?’ Gary does not support the idea of placing so much emphasis on reaching some arbitrary percentage pass rate. He questions how that will help the economy of the country or how it creates a vocational course for his students. ‘We want the best for every student not just NCEA results,’ he said. Gary distinguishes between student learning and achieving NCEA credits. He insists that the emphasis should lie with encouraging students to love learning for life because they will have to respond to many changes in the course of their working
Principal Gary Yeatman listens carefully to his teachers
lives. The school’s job is also to help students choose the subject areas for which their capabilities are best suited, including the tougher options of Maths and Science. Gary wants his teachers to direct their efforts at supporting all students’ learning, irrespective of whether they are capable of attaining NCEA excellence or whether they are taking a completely different pathway. Having all the focus on NCEA results can be disheartening for teachers, he says, especially those working with students for whom passing NCEA level two is simply an unrealistic goal. It doesn’t mean these students don’t make enormous progress in their learning and won’t become great citizens and contribute to the wider society. Nor does it mean that their teachers are not providing extremely high quality teaching. Gary is very proud of his dedicated teaching staff and enormously proud of the progress his students make regardless of their abilities. He would just like to have all progress recognised, not just the NCEA passes. The idea that Governments would incentivise schools to produce higher and higher pass rates is not new. In fact, New Zealand is one of the late adopters of this particular trend. What is astonishing is that our Government would continue to pursue this goal despite the overwhelming evidence coming from early adopter countries like the U.K and U.S.A. showing that achievement targets do not lead to improvements in standards of education. A recent NZ Listener (November 1–7, 2014) editorial drew on information from a ‘Times’ article in which U.K. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan says that the push for higher grades and higher percentages of students passing exams has resulted in students leaving school with fewer useful work skills and a lesser
knowledge base. In other words they have not been prepared for today’s world of work. The other disturbing revelation is that those who are suffering the most are the already-disadvantaged. These students are being pushed into passing low quality qualifications just to keep the schools’ pass rates up. Gary Yeatman believes NCEA is a good system which could be improved to discourage students from ‘credit farming’. In his view subjects have too many credits making it easy for students to slip into ‘credit collection’ mode rather than putting their efforts into the actual challenges and rewards of learning. This ‘credit farming’ behaviour is unhelpful in Gary’s view and reducing the number of credits per subject would help rein in this practice and create a healthier quality/quantity balance. The problem is it
The creative Arts are well appreciated
Learning sign writing is a real world skill and highly relevant to the students’ future lives
would also negatively impact on pass rates. Because NCEA results are public and perceived as a measure of a school’s performance, the school would be judged on that. Awatapu College NCEA results, including those of Māori learners are very good and have been steadily improving. Some of this success Gary puts down to the school’s culture of aspiring to excellence in all they do. ‘If students are aiming for excellence, even if they miss, they will still reach ‘merit’ or ‘achieved’ grades,’ he said. Another factor is the appointment of an Academic Dean for the senior school. The Academic Dean meets twice a term with every student taking NCEA levels one, two or three. He helps them set their own goals and keeps them on track. The Dean also engages with the students’ parents, particularly those who may not have had positive educational experiences
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Neil Mackay Total Teaching 2015 Tour Neil Mackay, the internationally renowned dyslexia expert is returning for a speaking tour in 2015. In the climate of ever reducing support and ever greater pressure on classroom teachers, Neil presents strategies which close the gap between thinking, reading, writing and equips teachers to take “notice and adjust” when students are stuck. Neil will be exploring his concept of Total Teaching, and students will benefit when their specific needs are identified and addressed in the unsupported classroom.
Neil will be holding seminars in:
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AUCKLAND 4th and 5th May HAMILTON 6th May WELLINGTON 7th and 8th May CHRISTCHURCH 12th and 13th May DUNEDIN 14th May INVERCARGILL 15th May
Price $250 per head inc GST. Maximum 80 people each day. 10% discount for 5 or more teachers from the same school or if booking before 30th November 2014.
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Whole School Events – Neil is available to attend schools from 18th to 22nd May to speak to the teachers in your school or group of schools. Price and details on application.
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themselves. In this way parents can be advised how best to support their children’s study at home and the Dean reports to them on their child’s progress. ‘We have seen a gradual improvement in results since the Academic Dean was appointed,’ says Gary. ‘Keeping our senior students on track and engaging with the parents has definitely made a difference,’ he said. The College’s Board of Trustees agreed to fund the Dean’s position in 2014 and hopes to continue to do so, even though there are competing demands for the Board’s funds. ‘There are so many things we would like to be doing which we can’t because of funding limitations,’ says Gary. ‘For example, like many other schools, we would like to offer some foreign language classes to a small group of our senior students but we can’t afford the staffing resources to do that.’ It is not surprising that the ‘Investing in Educational Success’ initiative, with a price tag of $359 million, troubles Gary Yeatman. The policy is intended to pay a selection of teachers more to become expert and lead teachers and share their expertise with others and for a small number of principals to lead clusters of both primary and secondary schools so they can share their skills with the rest. Gary sees it as a contradictory policy in that on the one hand it is intended to promote collaboration yet all schools continue to reside in an environment where they compete for students and for funding. Aside from that, it also creates a threat to the management structures of schools. ‘When you can be an expert teacher and get paid so much extra to stay in your classroom, why would you take on the responsibilities of a Head of Department?, asks Gary. He is adamant he could spend the money far more usefully, offer more opportunities to his students and make real shifts in his students’ achievement. He is equally certain that there are many more secondary principals who would agree with him. ‘It would be great to have my Academic Dean position covered by that funding,’ says Gary, ‘and free up Board funds for other initiatives, including for my special needs students,’ he said. Awatapu College is big on inclusion and prides itself on being generous with its intake of students who present a broad range of physical, learning and behavioural special requirements. These students participate in as much of the school curriculum and other activities as they possibly can. The school employs a high number of ancillary staff including numerous teacher aides, so that the students can be integrated into as many classes and activities as possible. When they are not participating in classes with their teacher aides, they work in a centrally located unit, often with one-on-one specialist assistance. There are benefits
Awatapu College is a strong competitor in the local school rugby competition
Conducting Official assemblies at Awatapu College is a formal affair
both to the students who feel a strong sense of acceptance and belonging to their school, and to the mainstream students who have a greater sense of empathy, tolerance and recognition of difference because of their exposure to the diversity these students present. ‘Everyone benefits from the mix,’ says Gary. ‘Our students will be much better equipped to accept and support a diverse range of people when they are out living in the real world. Every student here has the same right to participate in every aspect of school activities, as far as they are able and all the students accept that as normal. Awatapu also enrols a number of international students each year from a variety of different countries. ‘We celebrate our international students and encourage them to share their cultures with the rest of us through special events like our international week’, says Gary. International week involves the international
students show-casing their countries through dance, song and culinary delights. It is another way that the school prepares all students to have a broader understanding of different cultural practices and beliefs so they can develop greater tolerance and acceptance of these differences. This is not the only event intended to bring all of the students together. There are also the sports days where houses compete for supremacy in a good natured spirit of fun. And there is ‘Art Week’ during which everyone can relax and immerse themselves in creative performing arts activities. It was during one such week that students were challenged to produce a mural incorporating the school logo. This resulted in a magnificent piece of art which takes pride of place in Gary Yeatman’s office. The safety, health and wellbeing of his students are high on Gary’s priority list and his staff are right behind him in supporting any activities that enhance student welfare. He wants
Gary Yeatmen, principal Awatapu College at work in his office
Meeting and greeting an overseas delegation is all in a day’s work for Gary Yeatman
every one of his students to feel confident and worthwhile and aspiring to excellence in all they do. He conducted a wellbeing survey of students which resulted in his staff recommitting to the notion of inclusiveness and determination that every student will experience success. He recognises that secondary schools can have a tendency for staff to ‘work in subject silos’ and have little appreciation of how other departments function. He wants open communication and shared understanding in his school so is setting up internal professional learning groups. In these groups, staff will share practice across different curriculum areas alongside guidance and learning support teachers who also contribute to the discussions. ‘It gives staff a chance to talk to teachers in other areas so they can develop cross-curriculum understanding,’ he said. This practice helps build stronger relationships and connections between staff which Gary encourages. ‘As teachers and leaders, we have to model the values we seek from our students,’ says Gary. This is not just about excellence but about quality relationships between staff and between staff and students. It’s also about respecting ourselves, our environment and our peers and this applies to both staff and students,’ he says. Gary leads by example holding social events for his staff to which everyone is invited, from the senior management team to the caretaker. ‘If we want the students to be inclusive, we have to be too,’ he says. Awatapu is a school that most (90 per cent +) students want to go to every day. Attendance is high and suspensions and stand-downs are in decline having dropped 30 per cent in the past year. Gary says the twin factors of high engagement and the drive for excellence contribute, but in the end it is hard to put your finger on exactly what makes the difference. From the staff room to the class room Gary endeavours to create a culture of care and support. He admits that working at his school would not be for everyone. He has created a high trust environment and one attribute shared by all of his staff is a passion for the students and their learning. His enthusiasm to get on and pursue making a difference for his students is obvious and any barriers create irritation. He returns to the unhealthy emphasis on NCEA pass grades which his teachers find distracting when their goal is to have every student progress and achieve success. He knows that the constant grading and marking of NCEA credits diverts their attention and frustrates them.
Principal Gary Yeatman takes time out to visit students in the Science Lab and discuss their work with them
‘My students and staff are happiest during Arts Week when everyone gets immersed in visual and performance arts. There is no marking, no grading and the emphasis is on collaboration. All students are part of it having fun,’ he said. As a first-time principal, Gary Yeatman has made a great start to his career in school leadership. The school statistics show that on most measures Awatapu School is on the rise. Whilst that may be pleasing at one level, Gary wants so much more for his students than exam results. He wants all of his students to leave Awatapu with a clear idea of their future pathway and with the skills and values to be great citizens.
The College senior team meet at the College entrance
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