‘The things Josh gets at James Cook, you can’t buy’

When Manurewa’s Emma Diack enrolled at James Cook High School in 1992, people told her “don’t go there — you’ll get stabbed”, she says.

But she loved it, and when son Josh reached high school she hoped he would choose JC too. Benefits include less travel time, and friends living just down the road. “But I also think there’s something wonderful about appreciating our local community and being part of it,” Diack says.

The decile 1 school’s reputation has suffered for a long time in Manurewa. Most people living near the Diacks in the well-off enclave of Wattle Downs send their kids further away, to Rosehill or Howick College or private school.

But Diack teaches at local primaries so she knew the kids going to JC were “incredibly wonderful, beautiful kids”. The school had also got a new, experienced principal five years ago, and with strong Ministry of Education support it’s now out of statutory management.

That didn’t mean it was an easy decision. “I wanted to send him to James Cook but I didn’t want to sacrifice my child on the altar of my own ideology.” But Josh is glad he chose JC. Diack says most of his teachers have been “amazing”.

“They’re always willing to talk about Joshua’s learning — you can tell they really care about him.”

There have been challenges. “There are times that we have needed to contact the school and raise issues, but we have been listened to and well supported.”

The Diacks love JC’s diversity, and despite having different interests to many of his peers — like Dungeons and Dragons, LARPing and longboarding — Josh is accepted for who he is. “[The kids are] kind . . . I think because some of our kids have been through a lot, they’ve had to look after each other and be grateful for the things they get, which helps to build their character.”

Education should be “about the whole person”, Diack says.

“Who is my son, who will he become? Will he be someone who has empathy, will he be kind? Will he have initiative? . . . The things that Joshua gets because he goes to JC, you can’t buy.”

She’s not judging parents who send their kids out of the area — they want to do the best by their children. But she invited people not to rule out their local school.

“People don’t even consider James Cook High School. They go straight to the school on the other side of Auckland without even considering what might be awesome on their back doorstep.”