Celebrating a decade of service and wayfinding toward education equity! Hinekura Smith (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Te Ati Awa) was a pou in the development and delivery of the fledgling Teach First NZ Programme, and at our recent community celebration reminded us to keep hold of our ‘radical-tanga’ alongside our manaakitanga. Change, after all, requires brave thinking! Check out more of the insights from Tekau:
The first decade of Ako Mātātupu: Teach First NZ has been a story of a global concept becoming a locally-rooted movement for education leadership and service in Aotearoa. Ako Mātātupu has navigated many changes over the years: from partnering with existing tertiary establishments to becoming our own Indigenous-led school in 2020; from basing ourselves on a global model to researching and advocating for best practises for our young people and communities; from first serving a handful of schools in lower socioeconomic communities in Auckland and Northland, to serving 95 schools and kura – and counting – all over Aotearoa New Zealand; from an initial cohort of 16 participant teachers to a network of over 300 Kairapu (alumni) in positions of influence in our nation’s education ecosystem.
The first decade of Ako Mātātupu: Teach First NZ has been a story of a global concept becoming a locally-rooted movement for education leadership and service in Aotearoa. Ako Mātātupu has navigated many changes over the years: from partnering with existing tertiary establishments to becoming our own Indigenous-led school in 2020; from basing ourselves on a global model to researching and advocating for best practises for our young people and communities; from first serving a handful of schools in lower socioeconomic communities in Auckland and Northland, to serving 95 schools and kura – and counting – all over Aotearoa New Zealand; from an initial cohort of 16 participant teachers to a network of over 300 Kairapu (alumni) in positions of influence in our nation’s education ecosystem.
Cohort 2018 Kairapu Moana-Aroha Henry (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngātiwai) shared a brilliant promise and challenge at Tekau: 10 Years of Ako Mātātupu: “I am the first school principal to come out of the Teach First NZ Programme, and I will definitely not be the last.” In the words of Moana-Aroha’s Ngāti Hine elder Sir James Henare, “kua tawhiti kē to haerenga mai, kia kore e haere tonu. He nui rawa o mahi, kia kore e mahi tonu. We have come too far not to go further, we have done too much not to do more.”
As well as sharing stories and words of impact, Tekau was a chance to reunite and reconnect after, in some cases, many years apart. These pandemic years have been hard on the spirits young people and educators alike, but being back together makes everything feel possible. We loved seeing the alchemy of such formative groups as the founders of Ako Mātātupu, and the village of Kairapu that spur each other on:
