Good principals needed, says new head

Kristin Macfarlane | 15th March 2010

Secondary schools need to retain high quality principals because they are the driving forces behind youth education - and the Government should be supporting that, says Patrick Walsh.

The John Paul College principal is set to have a busy year after being elected as the new president of the Secondary Principals' Association of New Zealand, which represents state, integrated and independent secondary school principals. There are 300 members and Mr Walsh will officially take up the role from March 20.

As part of the role, he will be the voice for secondary school principals, raising issues affecting them at government level.

One of his first jobs will be negotiating a collective agreement for principals.

He said there was a principal supply problem and the Government needed to appropriately remunerate principals to keep them in New Zealand and to help recruit to the job people who were inspirational, highly skilled and knowledgeable.

He said if the principal role wasn't attractive to those people, high schools would suffer because they were seen as "the driving forces behind teaching and learning".

Funding was the biggest issue facing principals, he said.

Other issues he expected to be dealing with this year include:

* Staffing levels and funding for staff

* Funding schools adequately to be able to cope with students with learning and behavioural problems or special needs

* Technology

* The under-achievement of Maori and Pacific students

* Proving options in trade training for students who are not planning on heading to university

Mr Walsh said he wanted issues facing principals to be researched before lobbying Government and said there were many issues for schools to be dealt with.

Schools were employing teachers and teacher aides from their own funding or fundraising to pay for them but the Government should be providing enough money to staff schools properly.

He said the Government was trying to get broadband internet into all schools but many schools fundraised just to get basic ICT equipment.

He said technology was always changing and ICT was an important part of schools because it was used in the workforce.

He would also like to see more Maori and Pacific Islands teachers in schools, saying they were important role models and there needed to be more cultural recognition and promotion of students being bilingual.

Schools should also be able to provide students who were not academics with a different pathway towards trades to keep them engaged in learning.

"I think it's going to be a very busy year," Mr Walsh said of his new role.