By BRONWYN SELL
education reporter
A woman who rescued two violent and failing schools in Harlem and the Bronx has been advising New Zealand principals on leadership.
Harlem-raised principal Dr Lorraine Monroe believes New Zealand schools can learn from her experiences in some of the toughest parts of New York.
She has been in the country for two weeks, advising principals nationwide and working with schools in South and East Auckland.
She said schools in Harlem and the Bronx were not always as violent and drug-ridden as they were portrayed, but "some are."
"A lot of good things happen, but not enough to rescue all the schools that need rescuing."
Dr Monroe said it was important to improve opportunities for disadvantaged children, whether they were from Harlem or South Auckland.
"I come from a background very similar to children at the bottom of the achievement ladder, here and everywhere in this world.
"A good school in Tanzania looks like a good school in South Auckland. A bad school is a bad school anywhere. You can smell it, you can taste it, you can tell as soon as you walk in the door."
She said schools in the United States and New Zealand faced similar challenges.
Raising literacy was crucial, teaching needed to be made more attractive, principals needed more professional development and New Zealand businesses should give schools more support.
"Important groups in the New Zealand education system are consistently underachieving, and changes need to be made if the country is to turn these areas around," she said.
"The clock is ticking on children's lives, and every minute counts."
Schools could change children's lives for the better, and it was up to principals to create an environment of disciplined creativity.
Dr Monroe had advised the principals to tackle disorder first, give students a clear idea of what they would learn in every lesson, and monitor their learning.
She said her strategies had worked at two schools she had led in New York and would work in New Zealand.
One of the schools, in Harlem, had closed because of underachievement and violence, but Dr Monroe turned it into one of the most successful schools in New York.
Bronx lessons for our schools
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