Westland High School has appointed a new acting principal and an independent investigator as work continues to address issues at the school, which has been under Ministry of Education intervention for most of this year.
Former Southland principal Ross Willcocks will be the caretaker principal for the next six weeks until the end of the school year, replacing John Doonan after 10 weeks in the acting role.
Both principals come to the school under their roles with the Ministry of Education and NZ Schools Trustees Association (STA) scheme, which provides emergency staffing.
Mr Willcocks has similar experience supporting Waiau, Catlins and Karamea area schools in the past 12 months.
He has worked for the Education Review Office, run courses for STA, and served on several Ministry of Education committees.
Mr Willcocks started in the Hokitika role on Monday and said he looked forward to supporting the school, and staff endeavours to provide high quality learning opportunities.
He would work closely with the board of trustees and limited statutory manager Liz Clark, who was the second statutory manager at the school this year.
The Ministry of Education put the school's financial and personnel functions under a limited statutory man in March in the face of staffing problems, including a vote of no confidence in principal Trevor Jones.
Mr Jones went on leave in July and was replaced the following month by Mr Doonan, who had also helped to turn around Hokitika Primary School when it was at its lowest ebb in 2010, when the entire board was sacked and the school put under a commissioner.
Mr Doonan, who is leaving to undergo knee surgery, said yesterday it was "unfortunate timing".
"I'd still like to be there. I just loved it, the kids and the staff were really responsive. It was pretty emotional walking away."
He believed progress was being made.
Since the start of the school year, Westland High has been plagued with staffing woes, including low morale and concerns around student achievement, as highlighted in the recent Education Review Office report.
In a joint statement yesterday, the statutory manager Ms Clark and board chairman Latham Martin said some positive staffing announcements had been made recently.
That included the appointment of Mr Willcocks, three new teachers including a new head of the arts department, and an independent investigator to review the school culture.
"The intention is to get an understanding of what it is like to be a student or astaff member here. To undertake this we have employed the services of Peter Yeoman, an independent investigator," the statement says.
"He will report to the board areas of strengths or concerns found within the school. The board is keen to have a clear understanding of what is working well in the school and any issues. It will seek to remedy any concerns that may arise."
A separate 'strategic plan' was also progressing.
"This is a very important document because it articulates the strategic goals for the school around student achievement and engagement."
To address student achievement concerns, highlighted by senior students and backed by the ERO report which found "significant shortcomings" in the leadership, management and governance of the school, former Hagley High School principal Brent Ingham was engaged at the start of the term.
He had reviewed student achievement school-wide, including identifying barriers to learning and will continue to provide support during the last few weeks of term.
- by Janna Sherman of the Hokitika Guardian
