Anita Asumadu, the principal of St Peter’s Catholic School in Cambridge, is surely going to be missed.
Asumadu (pictured surrounded by pupils) made a positive difference to St Peter’s during her 10-year leadership term, the Cambridge News says.
A quick scan of her achievements show she has done the school community proud.
When she was appointed in January 2021, the St Peter’s Board asked her to lead the school through three required changes.
Roll growth
The roll must grow, the Board said.
She has achieved this. The school roll has increased by 25 percent. It stood at 167 when she arrived in early 2020. It is now 210. There has been a 55 percent increase in Year 7/8 students.
Improve achievement
Student achievement must rise, the Board told Asumadu.
It has. Mid-year data covering the period 2022 to 2024 shows a dramatic rise in the number of children achieving above expectation.
Reading has gone from 12.7 to 46.4 per cent; writing from 7.9 to 42 per cent; maths from 11.5 to 41.4 per cent.
Asumadu attributes these achievements to high quality teaching and investing in strong professional development for staff.
The building project
The Board’s third expectation was for her to finish a partially completed building project. She’s nailed that too.
Time to refresh
St Peter’s is one of the smaller schools Asumadu has headed during her 30-year career. She says she has enjoyed her work there and is happy to leave it in good shape for whoever is employed to follow her.
Christine McLiesh is starting this term as St Peter’s acting principal.
Source
Additional readingNews category: New Zealand.