Secondary teachers call for halt to restructuring

The Correspondence School

PPTA BRANCH

Media Release

26 October 2007

Secondary teachers call for halt to restructuring

The Correspondence School PPTA branch says the school’s latest restructuring plans will wreak havoc with the secondary subject structure and it’s calling for the proposed changes to be put on hold until an independent audit is carried out.

The branch is calling on the government, after full public consultation, to clearly define the national role of TCS, reinstitute an elected board of trustees with parent, student and staff representation, retain threatened HOD positions and develop an adequate funding formula based on the school’s needs.

The TCS’s fourth restructuring in only 10 years would see 22 positions disestablished including all secondary heads of department, and split subject teachers across four groups serving the Upper North Island, Central North Island, Lower North Island and the South Island.

TCS PPTA branch spokesperson Derek Bunting said the branch believed the restructuring proposals would severely undermine the structure of the Secondary sector.

“The branch has unanimously resolved that the current subject specialist teams and resources must stay together. These are our two greatest strengths.

“Teachers of similar subjects have a strong sense of collegiality focused on their students and reinforced through the expert leadership provided by heads of department.”

He said the proposals smacked of experimentation for experimentation’s sake. “They lack rigour and transparency. Fundamentally, they are flawed.”

“TCS management claim the restructure will address alleged student underachievement for the 15% of ‘at risk’ students on the TCS roll. But no systematic evidence backs up these assertions. The restructuring proposals don’t clearly define ‘underachievement’ nor how achievement will be improved either for ‘at risk’ students or all other groups.

“The proposal may put at risk the remaining 85% of students. The possibility of failure of an untested new structure is too high”

He said TCS was operating like an A&E department of the Ministry of Education. “The government does not have a clear documented role or rationale for TCS. In the current restructure TCS will bleed institutional knowledge and expertise at the very time these are most needed.”

ENDS

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