Tauranga Boys' College is one of 100 nationally to benefit from a multimillion-dollar cash injection to improve Maori education.
Waikato University's Faculty of Education and Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi in Whakatane have signed a $7 million contract to deliver a new professional leadership programme called He Kakano, to New Zealandschools over three years.
Tauranga Boys' College is the only Western Bay of Plenty school included in the pool. Of Tauranga Boys' 1733 students, 377 are Maori.
Principal Robert Mangan said he was optimistic He Kakano would provide knowledge to both teachers and students, and work to increase overall success.
The programme follows on from another University of Waikato initiative introduced into secondary schools to lift Maori academic success - Te Kotahitanga. That programme began in 2001.
Funded by the Ministry of Education and launched in Tauranga yesterday at the Bay of Polytechnic, He Kakano will support leaders in secondary and area schools to become culturally responsive in their leadership - leadership that actively takes account of the identity, language and culture of Maori learners to build relationships that result in educational success.
In addition to a range of professional leadership competencies, it works to help schools understand the profile of their Maori students' learning, set targets for improvement in performance and build relationships and networks.
Professor Alister Jones, dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Waikato, said academic gains were anticipated schoolwide - that's all students, not just Maori.
Depending on the success of the programme, more schools would be added at the end of the three-year period, he said.
