Joe Ferdinands, who is at present the head of English at Maniototo Area School, was announced as the school's new principal last week and will take over the role next term.
He said he led his life according to values of respect and integrity and that was important when leading a school community.
''If I'm expecting kids to be respectful, then I need to be able to show that respect. If I want kids to have integrity, then I must have it myself.''
Mr Ferdinands said coming to the Maniototo had been a ''dream come true'' and he was thrilled to now take on the new challenge of being the principal in the Maniototo, which was an area he loved dearly and to which he and his family were committed.
''I call it the Maniototo spirit. It's a community that's so friendly and so generous and so supportive. I came here and realised I didn't want to go anywhere else.''
Mr Ferdinands and his family have lived in Ranfurly for 12 years. His wife, Celine, is a new entrant teacher at the school and his daughters, Candice (17) and Abigail (9), are year 13 and 6 pupils respectively.
Mr Ferdinands grew up and studied in India and then taught in India, Oman and Dubai.
He had been principal of two schools in Dubai, but he and his family decided to emigrate to find more ''new experiences'', settling on New Zealand because of its friendliness and small size.
''I wanted to find a place in a small school in a small town and become a subject teacher again. I wanted to be back in the classroom.''
He and his family quickly learnt to love the Maniototo, moving there several months after coming to New Zealand.
His younger daughter was born in New Zealand but Mr Ferdinands and his wife and elder daughter are now New Zealand citizens, too, choosing to formally embrace their new home, and no longer be Indian citizens.
The study of English has always been Mr Ferdinand's specialty, and he believed it was a subject that allowed pupils to reflect more broadly on values.
''It is associated with more lateral ways of thinking, and allows you to look at society and issues. And by doing this, pupils become more aware of the world being so much more than themselves and their personal devices. I think English just lends itself to that [deeper analysis].''
Mr Ferdinands said he ''loved'' the values and character of ''country kids''. They were friendly, resilient and well mannered and had opportunities to do things outdoors that city children did not.
He said his hopes for the future of the school were linked to its proposed $8million rebuild.
''You can't move from the old building to the new one and do things the same way. It will mean a whole shift in pedagogy.''
He hoped to see a shift to more flexible and e-learning, and expected this to further motivate pupils.
The number of senior pupils at the school was continuing to rise and he hoped more would consider remaining at the school rather than going to boarding school. The school roll was a ''healthy'' 190 at present, he said.
