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Regional | Education

Changing of the guard at Hoani Waititi

Te Kura Kaupapa o Hoani Waititi in West Auckland has a new principal.   Hare Rua was Head of Te Reo Māori at the whare kura from 1993 to 1999, now he’s back as the new tumuaki.

Hare has replaced the former principal Rawiri Wright, who took over the role in 2012 from a manager appointed by the Ministry of Education to sort out problems at the school.  These included concerns around teacher performance and staff not being able to manage behavioural problems among students.

During his term as tumuaki, the school celebrated its 30th anniversary as the very first Māori language immersion school.  It was also the first kura to set itself up based on Te Aho Matua principles.

One of the educational milestones that was implemented during his time at Hoani Waititi was the new curriculum for Māori language immersion schools based on Te Aho Matua.

“The new curriculum brought together what kura kaupapa had been doing well for three decades across a number of subjects and now those kaupapa have become the marautanga at the national level for kura kaupapa.”

He said those schools that had trialled the new curriculum were excited for it to become the official document that all kura kaupapa would now use.

Rawiri Wright has moved on to complete tertiary studies at Raukawa University.