It is my firm belief as an educator with over 40 years of experience, as a teacher, senior lecturer and Principal, that Charter Schools have a place in New Zealand because they offer choice to families regardless of income. Choice is fundamental to a thriving education sector and a healthy democracy.
We have a high calibre of school leaders in New Zealand, and I know that many are wanting to be released from burdensome red tape and the grip of the unions and to be given the challenge of greater accountability for student achievement and attendance. Charter Schools, which still sit within the public sector but operate independently, will provide them with this opportunity.
Indeed, many Principals have spoken to me about how the autonomy which a chartered system offers would allow them to run more effective schools.
Less red tape means more time for educational matters, more time to concentrate on higher accountability for student results and outcomes, more time and more flexibility to ensure the right staff are in place and properly resourced to focus on teaching.
Too much energy sapped by bureaucracy stifles creativity. If more autonomy were granted to Principals, that would free up time for implementation of more visionary approaches which would engage our children and youth and prepare them to excel in the world of tomorrow.
Such game-changing approaches would respond more fully to student interests, aptitudes and needs, with core curriculum areas embedded. For example, specialisation in the arts, STEM, sport, dyslexia, autism, age cohorts, language immersion, and countless others, are all possibilities. Charter Schools will focus on what is best for the student and will be given more control over how they achieve that.
I know many Principals and teachers are crying out for this opportunity because they have grave concerns, as do I, about the education statistics in New Zealand.
Standards in New Zealand schools have dropped markedly and, while it is fantastic there is a focus on the new curriculum, we also need more readily accessible choice in the system and the ability to quickly respond to the needs of those students whose needs are not being met. In 2022 New Zealand’s 15-year-olds’ average scores in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment dropped 15 points in mathematics. Science and reading scores fell four to five points.
As an educator, I feel keenly this sense of urgency in the sector. We must energise and empower educators to bring new models to attack the problem from all angles, as soon as possible.
Charter Schools will have autonomy and flexibility, but they must also reach the agreed performance outcomes and the very survival of a Charter School will be contingent upon its meeting such rigorous contractual obligations. Schools will have to report regularly on how their funding is being used and how it correlates to student outcomes. This does not mean money will simply exit the traditional state system. Education funding follows the child, and if the child chooses to attend the charter school, the funding goes with them.
Charter schools will require a certain number of registered teachers, and similar to state schools, can employ teachers without a practising certificate but with a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT). In essence, staff must have the skills and experience to respond to children and young people and bring out the best in them.
The evidence for the Charter School model, which has existed for over 30 years, is clear.
I have seen first-hand, how transformational Charter Schools have been in the Southern States of America. After Hurricane Katrina, which wreaked such havoc in New Orleans, children were out of school, in some cases, for three years. It would have taken the federal or state government years to rebuild the educational facilities. They needed a shortcut to success and that was the Charter School model. Community and parent needs were taken into account regarding how these schools were set up and operated; teachers were accountable for the learning outcomes and were rewarded for progress. In Atlanta, I have witnessed how whole neighbourhoods were transformed and lives were changed through the introduction of Charter Schools. College entrance numbers rose significantly and there was a decline in crime rates.
A 2023 study by the Centre for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University, found students in Charter Schools gain an average of 16 days of learning in reading and six days in maths in a school year, compared to their matched peers in traditional public schools. By the time they get to the end of their education, these Charter School students are a year ahead.
In the UK, Charter Schools, called academies, have raised standards significantly. Like Charter Schools, academies are publicly funded schools. However, unlike other state-funded schools, they’re independent from local authorities and there is more freedom in how the school is run. , the UK Government said in a blog, that it believed that academies are the best way for children to get an excellent education, which is why 80 per cent of secondary schools in England are now academies.
Charter Schools in New Zealand are for educational leaders who want the freedom to focus on education, who thrive on the challenge of meeting, even exceeding, expectations for academic outcomes and who can motivate and reward their staff for taking innovative and effective approaches to get the job done.
There have been overwhelming expressions of interest from educators wanting to open a wide variety of different Charter Schools.
In July, the first stage of applications will be sought from schools and prospective sponsors. This will be followed by a second stage, which will be considered in time to enable Charter Schools to open from the start of 2025.
An Authorisation Board will be established to review all applications for Charter School status. These applications will be examined rigorously against criteria, with student achievement and well-being at the centre of all decision making. Members of the Board will have a wide range of educational, research, financial, legal, administrative and management experience.
The Authorisation Board will take over the work of the Establishment Board whose members are:
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Justine Mahon (Chair)
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Glen Denham
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John Fiso ONZM
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Dr Nina Hood
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Neil Paviour-Smith
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Rōpata Taylor
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Doran Wyatt
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Professor Elizabeth Rata
Justine Mahon is a leading New Zealand educator, with considerable experience as a teacher and Principal in the tertiary, secondary, and primary education sectors, both in New Zealand and overseas. She was formerly a Senior Lecturer at the Auckland College of Education and, on her return to the secondary sector, became Deputy Principal then, most recently, Principal of St Cuthbert’s College 2018–2024, where she played a leading role in the Knowledge Rich School research project. Justine, along with three other Auckland Principals, also established a robust, alternative, In-School Initial Teacher Education model, in conjunction with the University of Waikato and was previously on the Executive of the New Zealand Association of Language Teachers (NZALT) and on the Board of Trustees of Bayfield School.