Re : Striving for Success project
A community survey by the Waiheke High School board of trustees has highlighted the need for strong leadership, improved communication and a clear understanding of what the school stands for.
Independent analysis of over 600 responses showed that people see the school as a safe, inclusive, caring environment where everyone is valued and made to feel welcome. Teachers who go the extra mile are valued. Parents like the use of technology in the classroom and the schools focus on career paths as well as academic results. The school was seen as strong in the core subjects, with art, drama, physical education, sea-sports, hospitality and viticulture also mentioned.
But board chair Robyn Woodall says that there were some strong messages about areas for improvement too: “People are telling us it’s not clear what kind of school we want to be, what we stand for, what our story is. That’s something we’ve got to work out, as a community. There were questions over school pride, managing student behaviour and uniform standards. We need to understand issues like these and decide where we stand.”
Board member Grant Duffy says another priority is to improve communication. “People are busy. They want to be able to get the information they need, quickly and easily, in a way that suits them. We need to be smart, use technology and be flexible enough to tailor the way we talk to people to get the message through. It’s something we’ve got to invest in.”
Robyn adds, “We need to change the way we get our story out in to the community. People want to see our leaders, – our principal, senior teachers and board members’ – out and about, face to face, talking passionately about our direction and our goals and listening to feedback. That’s the Waiheke way, we work on word of mouth.”
Grant says the school is well placed to take this feedback, consider its direction and get the community on side. “It’s going to be the number one priority for the new board – What type of school do we want to be and how can we get the community behind us?”
The Board of Trustees sincerely thanks you for your input and with Board elections on now, we look forward to getting on with making Waiheke High School the school of choice for our community.
Report is here:
2019 Final Waiheke High Striving for Success Report May 2019