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McAuley High School is one of seven schools that draw their students from relatively poor areas that have been visited by the Education Review Office (ERO), in an effort to find out what they are doing well.
McAuley High School, an integrated Catholic decile one school for girls in Otahuhu, has seen huge change over the past 10 years.
Principal Anne Miles and the board focused on making the school a safe place to be.
Key to this was community engagement – school leaders and student ambassadors visit the local Catholic churches and 26 feeder schools.
Invitations to school meetings are followed up with phone calls to families, resulting in 90 per cent attendance at parents’ meetings.
There, senior students talk about what their parents do to support their learning.
Last year’s participation-based NCEA results showed achievement rates of more than 90 per cent at Level 1, 2 and 3, and 74 per cent university entrance.
Miles told the Herald that her staff deserved mention. “Our teachers work incredibly hard over here to support the students, to track their achievement, to guide them and inspire them.”
“They keep on their backs – ‘get on with your work, do your work, have you finished this’ – there’s constant pressure and expectation to not only achieve, but achieve with merit and excellence.”
“And it’s that expectation that is shared by the students, the staff and the parents that makes a difference.”
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