Collective Matters #4
Kia ora,
Welcome back to Collective Matters. Our work and community continues to grow. This last week our substack has grown to over 1000 subscribers. What we are hearing over and over again is that educators feel like they have found a group advocating for values in education that are currently not being seen in the current education discourse.
We would like to thank and acknowledge those that have become paid subscribers on our Substack. We have two immediate funding priorities. The first is around administration support to allow us to continue to grow (we are currently all run by volunteers and can't keep up with all the communication). The second is around the development of publications that grow the connection between researchers, and teachers and principals. These publications would provide evidence-based approaches grounded in te Tiriti o Waitangi and equity.
There is an overwhelming sense that a lot of the policy ideas feel like we are going back in time, with a focus on a knowledge based curriculum, standardised testing, and weakening of teachers' and principals' autonomy. We continually return to the critical question-, Where is the evidence base for this? What other countries are improving outcomes for learners with this policy agenda? Whose voices are missing from these so-called policy solutions?
What makes this backwards looking agenda worse is that other countries are grappling with real issues like the impact of AI, building capacity of the education workforce, and a curriculum that develops the competencies learners need to enter the workforce and be active and engaged citizens. Are we happy to look to the past when we so clearly need to be preparing our rangitahi for an increasingly complex future?
Dealing with the real issues of underachievement is going to take policy that also deals with poverty and inequity alongside delivering a budget targeted at those aims, yet this seems to be an area that the Government wants to ignore.
Charter Schools
Thanks to those that have provided feedback that informed our submission on the Charter School policy. Like other areas of policy we are left asking the critical question- Where in the world have Charter Schools been used to lift the outcomes for all learners?
You can read our full submission here. It is not too late to do a last minute submission closing on 25 July.
In our submission on the proposed Charter Schools policy, we advocated for the following safeguards:
The final legislation includes a Te Tiriti o Waitangi provision that incorporates all schooling sector subsections of Section 9 Te Tiriti o Waitangi from the Education and Training Act 2020 and applies these requirements equally to the Authorisation Board, Charter School Agency, sponsors and individual charter schools.
The legislation consistently adopts the general principle that public interest and full, independent scrutiny take precedence over commercial sensitivity throughout the application, approval, contracting, monitoring and evaluation phases of the charter school scheme.
Existing State schools are not considered for or converted to a charter school unless conversion is fully supported by the majority of staff and of whānau.
Governing bodies of each new and converted charter school include parent, staff, student and mana whenua members, by election or nomination of the stakeholder group
Any charter school may convert or return to State school status on completion of a sponsor’s 10-year fixed-term contract if supported by the majority of staff and of whānau.
Already successful State schools that: (i) meet or exceed government achievement targets; and (ii) do not serve predominantly “low socio-economic areas and disadvantaged communities” are not allowed to convert.
Private, for-profit businesses, private equity firms, or individuals using charter school sponsorship as their main income, are not eligible to be charter school sponsors.
To ensure equitable access by families in low socio-economic and disadvantaged areas, the Minister specifies the maximum property maintenance fee that may be requested by an applicant sponsor, approved by the Authorisation Board, and contracted by the Charter School Agency.
Public information is made available on each application for charter school status.
Public information about each application provides a clear picture of the curriculum, student wellbeing support, expectations of parents, and likely financial contribution expected from parents, likely use of teachers with limited authority, and anticipated international student enrolment.
The Authorisation Board’s decisions and reasons for them are made public in a timely fashion, for both successful and unsuccessful applications.
All decisions to approve or not approve a new or converter charter school are open to scrutiny, challenge and independent review on substantive or process grounds within a reasonable timeframe prior to final approval of an application by the Minister.
Charter school sponsors’ contracts with the Charter School Agency are made public.
International student enrolment is capped at not more than 15% of a charter school’s enrolment.
While tuition may be delivered via any medium including digital technology, no majority or fully online charter school is approved.
Charter schools provide informative annual reports to parents that are also publicly available.
Government commissions ongoing independent evaluation by educational researchers, including analysis of educational provision, student achievement and wellbeing, and costs.
The Office of Auditor General investigates and reports each year on how well the charter school scheme has met each of its stated aims, any costs to the rest of the education system, and the appropriate and effective use of public funds.
How you can help
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We want to work alongside people to create content for the Substack. You do not need to agree with everything the Collective has said. But we do want to create a place for wide-reaching professional discussion. You can see more info here.
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Substack Summary
18 July - Whose Mokopuna Matter? - full release here
15 July - AEC Submission on Charter Schools Policy - full release here
11 July - The Future of Vocational Education in New Zealand: A Critical Analysis - full release here
4 July - Charter Schools – what’s the real cost? - full release here
4 July - Structuring Reading Teaching - full release here
27 June - Which ‘evidence’ and whose ‘knowledge’? - full release here
12 June - ECE as a public partnership - full release here
25 June - Panel Discussion - Beyond the Basics - full release here
12 June - ECE as a public partnership - full release here