EDITOR
‘Isolation is the enemy of improvement’. So says the message on Principal Jaco Broodryk’s office wall. This is not just some random aphorism to fill a space. At Whakarongo School, it is an underlying tenet by which teachers and students structure learning and teaching. Learning and teaching is a collaborative team effort. As the article adjoining this story attests, the key to success at Whakarongo School is ‘coaching’ which extends right across the school and is already being tested out with student peer groups too. Sometimes the very best research and the very best practices emerge from responding to need. At Whakarongo, three major events intersected. First was the implementation of flexible learning spaces; secondly, extensive school growth meant that seven new middle leaders would be required to lead each of these seven flexible learning areas and thirdly, Deputy Principal, Lisa Cuff, was embarking on a Masters’ degree in coaching. The roll at Whakarongo school did not swell gradually over time. Children arrived as if by tsunami. The school, located on the outskirts of Palmerston North, had long operated as a modest country school, defined by its bordering farmland. As if over-night, houses mushroomed into life, spreading like spores across the nearby undulating sheep paddocks. Urgently needed new classrooms could not keep up with the wave of
soaring numbers. With the escalation in roll came a change in culture and direction for the school, including the arrival of new principal Jaco Broodryk. Jaco’s first challenge was to manage this rapid roll growth whilst recognising that the core, the spirit of his little country school, was fading before his very eyes. ‘We still have an Agriculture Day,’ he said, ‘to remind us of where we came from.’ A brief tour of the school reveals little that would lead the observer to think ‘Agriculture Day’ is more than a little nod to history. As growth pounded its relentless path to his school gate, Jaco was already establishing a new learning approach called flexible learning. This approach turns the lens on the curriculum, on problem solving, project-based learning, exploring, developing and creating. The children all work in pods – seven of them – each with its own Lead Teacher and at least two more teachers. There may also be a Teacher Aide. Freedom of curriculum development is evident throughout but there are a few non-negotiables. These include a respect for and practice of cultural competencies. The school has developed a strong relationship with Rangitāne iwi and Jaco is determined to enhance the relationship. He wants all Māori children to have access to their language and traditions and to gradually make Te Reo and Tikanga Māori normalised. It’s not that his modest population of Māori children are not doing well. They are all succeeding on a par with their peers. He wants his school to be actively showing respect for the aspirations of t he Tre at y of Wait ang i and he wants everyone in his school to be learning more Tikanga Māori and increasing the use of Te Reo in the school. ‘We are all teachers and learners here,’ he said, ‘and we are just beginning.’ The school, embarked on a Tukutuku Project, Kaokao, in 2015 as part of an indepth learning programme where students collectively Whakarongo School has now grown from a tiny country school to a school of 500 students
Lisa Cuff, Deputy Principal and Jaco Broodryk, Principal in the grounds of Whakarongo School
researched, planned, designed, painted and wove five unique panels. Whakarongo School whānau, staff and the wider community also had the opportunity to participate in the weaving process for each panel. The project very much reflected the school’s approach to learning, through inquiry, problem solving and above all, collaboration. The finished Kaokao is a stunning visual representation of the spirit, the values, the togetherness and ‘how we do things’ at Whakarongo School. After the flexible learning spaces and the growth came the coaching. Coaching principals and coaching teachers are not new ideas. There is ample research to show that coaching can be very effective for improving practice. What is different about the coaching at Whakarongo School, is that it incorporates not just group coaching but also one-to-one coaching. Lisa Cuff, the Deputy Principal, individualised the professional learning for each of the seven new middle leaders who became the pod leaders. Key to the success of this coaching approach was relational trust, reflection and teaching the leaders collaboration and cooperation practices. Lisa Cuff found her coaching approach was a comfortable fit with the new vision for the school, based on collaborative practice at all levels. ‘Coaching,’ she said, ‘is really problem solving for ourselves.’
Once the trust was well established, confidence grew and the pod leaders flourished. Teachers became unafraid to admit and talk about their weaknesses, reflect on them, be honest about what they didn’t know and find ways to answer their own questions through conversations with others. Further, they learned how to use their new-found skills within their pods and to start coaching their own teachers. Being granted permission and indeed being encouraged to take time out to think about teaching practice and discuss alternative
Once a small country school nestled into rural Manawatu
The senior students mediate any issues that arise for the young ones in the sandpit
A pod of children is ready for their collaborative session of the day
ideas with a trusted and highly experienced Deputy Principal were also elements that led to success. Teachers and principals commonly say ‘having time to think’ is now a luxury and rarely attained. Lisa Cuff insists that reflection is a critical component if these middle leaders are to get maximum benefit from their coaching experience. In a school that has now reached a roll of 500 the job of coaching the seven pod leaders as well as their teachers has become unrealistic. Consequently, the leadership team members have gone through an introductory coaching course through GROWTH Coaching New Zealand. In this way they can coach their own teachers. Training all members of the senior leadership team under the same umbrella course means there is consistency across the whole school in the style of coaching. So successful was the coaching of teachers in the school, it was decided to extend the learning to the senior students. Through coaching they have developed clear goal setting strategies. Teachers actively encourage students to buddy up and help each other set goals and evaluate them. Alongside the already established learning pathways, coaching makes it easier to identify what they want and how to get there. They have more focus and direction now. As the coaching progressed so also did the new collaborative approach to learning. It was a delight to observe a group of young boys setting out their goals together, researching together and ultimately designing together, through Minecraft, a project to
enhance their city of Palmerston North. They asked what was the reality, what were the options and what tactics they would employ to achieve their goals? This involved conversations, thinking, working out next steps, planning then structuring their project. They were learning together yet all making their own individual contributions. Effective learning was starting to become second nature to these young people. A luge became a new feature for Palmerston North; eliminating pollution and cleaning up the river was another goal; and retaining Palmerston North’s green spaces a further consideration. The lack of mountains from which a luge could run was a problem to solve, but the boys applied Minecraft engineering to sort that issue! This new approach to learning produces a very open and caring outlook across both staff and students. Senior students have become ‘mentors’ for juniors and take on playground duties – like mediating problems that occur for the young ones in the popular sandpit area. They also round up the less confident children who want friends to play with and act as buddies to younger children. ‘Having the senior students so involved with the younger ones creates a family atmosphere in the school,’ says Lisa. It’s a work in progress, say both Jaco and Lisa. They won’t be satisfied until all children and support staff have undergone coaching. They won’t rest until they have completely eradicated isolation – that ‘enemy of improvement’ – from all areas of the school. But are they pleased with their progress so far? They most certainly are.
The boys collaborate on making Palmerston North a great city project
Through Minecraft, the boys design a luge for Palmerston North