Christchurch Community Educator Honoured

Christchurch Adult and Community Education Practitioner honoured

Maryke Fordyce (CLASS President 2008-2009) and current Director of the Risingholme Community Centre, was awarded the prestigious Charlie Herbert Award at a ceremony in Auckland. This annual award exemplifies the key characteristics of an outstanding practitioner in the field of Adult and Community Education.

Nominees were judged against criteria such as a valuable contribution to school based community education, a proven leadership role locally and nationally, a strong and significant demonstration of the philosophy of community education through schools and a demonstrated commitment to networking with other providers.

When Maryke initially became involved in Adult and Community Education at Riccarton High School in Christchurch, she also did some relieving in the day school. Later, while still the programme co-ordinator at Riccarton High School, she taught part-time at another Christchurch secondary school. As well as being a mother of two young children and having two part-time positions at two schools, she made herself available to serve on the Executive of the Community Learning Association through Schools (CLASS).

By this time she was the Director at Risingholme Community Centre and a leader within the local Adult and Community Education Sector in Christchurch – both school-based and in the wider ACE community. Maryke embraces lifelong learning and is committed to community based adult education and has modelled partnerships between schools and other ACE providers to make facilities available to provide programmes that are accessible and meet the needs of individual adult learners in the community.

As the 2010 recipient of the award, she admirably led CLASS into battle in 2009. Since the budget cuts announced in 2009, she has given generously and unstintingly of her time to lead a team to try to have the decision to cut ACE funding to schools overturned.

She has provided outstanding leadership. Maryke never failed to put her hand up to do what is necessary. She has had a huge workload, but always takes on more, never failing to deliver what she has committed herself to do for ACE in schools and to support individual coordinators and learners as they coped with the loss of their programmes.

During a turbulent year, which raised the debate about the importance of Adult and Community Education, she has become the public face of ACE in schools in the national media and spoken at local and national meetings.

The trophy is named after Charlie Herbert in recognition of his long & outstanding service to Adult and Community Education. In his role as special advisor on Community Education for the Department of Education he was responsible for the school based Community Education throughout the country.

ENDS

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