Aparima College principal resigns
Aparima College principal Kaye Day has resigned less than four months after an Education Review Office report slammed her leadership at the Riverton school.
The report says significant improvement was urgently needed in regards to the quality of her leadership.
‘‘The principal is not providing consistent, coherent, effective and sustained professional leadership.’’
Day, who took up her role in 2004, declined to comment when contacted yesterday.
Aparima College commissioner Nicola Hornsey announced Day’s resignation in correspondence to the school staff and parents late last week and yesterday/
‘‘Mrs Day wants only the best for Aparima College and has graciously decided to step down ... to allow the community to refocus on the core business of the school, which is our students,’’ Hornsey says.
A report would still be prepared so areas identified for improvement at the school could be included in an ‘‘outcomes plan’’, to be prepared with the Ministry of Education.
Troubles at the school came to the public’s attention in 2014, when the board of trustees parent representatives resigned en masse, citing a breakdown between the board and school management.
Hornsey, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, took over as the school’s commissioner that year and has been in the role ever since.
Kere Menzies, the chairman of the school board that resigned in 2014, said the school was now ready to move on.
‘‘Having been to many governance meetings since the board stepped down, it was clear the school community was ready to move on from the existing school management,’’ Menzies said.
He said the school had excellent teachers; and it also had excellent people in the community who were ready to step up when the next board of trustees was appointed.
This will happen when the commissioner steps aside.
‘‘The school has the ability to have a good governance team, so this is a great step for Aparima College,’’ Menzies said.
The school roll is about 180 but it would be considerably higher if parents had not taken their students out and sent them to Invercargill schools, he said. He said he was one of them. Marina Seager, one of the board members who resigned in 2014, said she saw Day’s resignation as a positive step for the school.
‘‘The children are the most important business of the school; it will give the chance for the children to become the focus again.’’
Seager said she respected Day’s decision to resign and wished her well for the future.
Leah Fraser, of Aparima College, will be the acting principal while the recruitment process for a new principal takes place.