Principal’s new goals
Former league professional finds parallels between sport and education
Iva Ropati — the new principal at Pa¯pa¯moa College — says he often gets asked why he got into teaching. “A lot of teachers will say ‘I was inspired to be a teacher because of another teacher’.
“I don’t have that — my basis for going into teaching is excellent coaches and managers and how they treated me and how they supported me. They grew my passion into something that I really, really loved.
“I liked what they did for me and I wanted to do that for other young people.”
Iva is a former professional rugby league player who played for Paramatta Eels and Auckland Warriors and for Featherston Rovers, Sheffield Eagles and Oldham in the UK.
He played four tests for the Kiwis and played in Auckland for Otahuhu Leopards, Te Atatu Roosters, Mangere East Hawks.
“If you think about teaching and sports they are very, very similar in terms of the role of a classroom teacher and the role of a coach or a manager — they do exactly the same thing.”
He also enjoys learning.
“My subject area is English — I love reading and writing and being creative in those sorts of ways.
‘‘So my natural passion for learning and my desire to work with young people and make a difference got me into [teaching].”
It was while
playing
for
Featherstone — a small former mining town in West Yorkshire — that he began teaching.
Iva was well known and became a big fish in a small pond of a local school.
“Just about every single kid and their family were aware of me, even before I got in there and I’m pretty sure to this day that most of my lessons with those kids were all about rugby league.
“But if you ever wanted to see and make a difference and make young people hang onto every word you said and did everything you expected of them, it was that situation where you have that persona and use it as a way of supporting people.”
Returning to New Zealand his first posts were at Lynfield and Saint Kentigern colleges.
“Then I had my first leadership role at Onehunga High School where I was an assistant principal and deputy principal and then from Onehunga to my first principalship at Penrose High School.”
With the school in need of transformation, he says it was the most amazing journey.
“The reason I say that is because we transformed that school from a really, really struggling [school] close to shutting down through to, when I left, a hugely regarded, really successful, well-organised school where kids were really proud.
“That was the highlight of my career — no other school has got anywhere close to that in terms of the experience because it took me from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs in seven years.
“I’ve got a ton of scars around that experience and I could have fallen over at any time — but somehow I made it through those really tough times and ended up leaving with the most amazing experience of how transformation and change can occur in education.”
His next position was at Howick College, where he spent 12 years.
“I was looking for something very, very different. I wanted to test myself and show that I wasn’t just a principal who could work in a school that had predominantly Ma¯ori and Pasifika students, I didn’t want to be typecast, didn’t want to be stereotyped — I wanted to go to a predominantly European school which Howick was, and a high decile school.
“This is why I move every seven to 12 years — because I want to challenge myself.”
Iva began his role at Pa¯pa¯moa College at the start of term 4.
“The challenge here is that it’s a new school. At 12 years old it’s relatively new in terms of still trying to find its own identity.
‘‘From what I’ve seen it has enormous strengths in places, but I sense it hasn’t got a clear identity as a school just yet, so the challenge for me is to work out just what that is and how we can align everything to make it one of the schools of choice in the region.”
It is also the first time he has worked at a school with Year 7 and 8 students.
“That really excites me, because at a Year 9 to 13 school you’ve only got them for five years. There’s the opportunity here to actually work with youngsters for seven years.’’
‘‘We get to know them better and we’ve got time.”
That means four years to prepare them for NCEA Level 1.
“Every one of those kids should get through Level 1 without exception, is my personal goal.”
Leaving Auckland was also a factor in looking for a new challenge.
“I knew Auckland wasn’t a place I wanted to remain any longer and I was looking for a place in a quieter region in New Zealand where there weren’t so many road cones and traffic congestion — now I live five minutes away and I’m living the dream in terms of coming to work.
‘‘We also wanted to be living within the community as well so my wife and two daughters, we are [living] within the Pa¯pa¯moa community which feels really really good.
“But the school is the most crucial thing for me and what appeals to me more than the location is the state of the school that I am joining.
‘‘It aligned really well with my own values and growth as a leader at a new school and an innovative one too. So everything matched up and I couldn’t have asked for a better option... I think I can contribute something here and just build on the many strengths the school has already got, but at the same time plug some gaps and lift expectations.
“Every single student should be achieving success — not just some.”