A day to celebrate: Kura Hourua selected

Dr Toby Curtis, Head of Te Maru o Nga Kura-a-Iwi o Aotearoa, and Pem Bird, Chairman of Nga Ringa Raupa,the professional arm of Te Maru, have extended their congratulations and best wishes to those groups who have been selected to pioneer the new educational Partnership / Kura Hourua initiative.

“We have been staunch supporters from day one and now Partnership Schools are on the verge of becoming a reality. It is all ahead of them now with a whole raft of work to be done, not the least of which is staffing. We wish them every success with this.”

“The successful groups will have gone through a tough, rigorous selection process, and rightly so, given the high stakes. Well done for having the courage of their convictions and the tenacity for sticking to their guns. There will be sustained interest in their performance for all sorts of reasons, and we believe that they may have something to teach our own schools in the not too distant future.”

“Partnership/Hourua Schools have been purpose built to impact positively and substantively on the perplexing issue that is deeply entrenched Maori under -achievement. Kura Hourua are pupil achievement results focussed in the core essential areas of literacy and numeracy, but with proper accountability for those results built into their contractual obligations to the state. And this is their big point of difference.”

“The longevity of these schools is in their hands. Perform and they clearly will have a future. If they don't deliver, they will have to man up and face the consequences. This is the ultimate in accountability. There is no more compelling incentive than your future at stake to get it right.”

“The freedom to innovate at will and to be totally responsive to the best needs and interests of Maori learners and their whanau are other worthy features we applaud.”

“We can surely no longer tolerate and condone failure that has become the accepted norm for too many of our mokopuna and for far too long now. That failure is intergenerational for Maori and a sad indictment of our system.”

“The advent of Kura Hourua marks a significant milestone in our history and we should prepare to celebrate those whanau who are now opting of their own free will into a model they believe can make a difference.”

“Critically, the exercise of choice is a fundamental right of citizens in a democratic society, so good luck to those whanau who will be choosing to exercise those rights in the months ahead.”

ENDS

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