Kāpiti College principal Tony Kane set to retire early next year

Kāpiti College principal Tony Kane. Photo / David Haxton

Kāpiti College principal Tony Kane can look back with great satisfaction on his 20 years at the secondary school.

He’s overseen various changes and helped the college become a place where students are proud to attend.

The 69-year-old has announced his retirement and will finish at the college on January 27.

His decision to retire gained momentum during a visit to the United Kingdom with his wife Leta to see their children but was solidified after a prostate cancer diagnosis.

“I thought I better make a call [to retire] instead of putting it off.”

He’s had surgery for the cancer, which was aggressive but hadn’t spread, and doctors think he’s in the clear.

“I’m number five of six brothers who have had that issue.”

Kane started as deputy principal at the college in 2003 before becoming principal in 2007.

Early on he remembers an assembly where a fellow assistant principal told students they were at the best school in the country which led to laughter.

“I thought ‘Wow they wouldn’t have laughed at the last school I was at’.”

Improvements were made, over time, and nowadays “the children’s results are out-of-sight better than they were before”.

“I think, by and large, the children are proud of their school.

“That’s a big change over a long time.”

He felt the college did “a pretty good job of developing kids who think for themselves and who lead”.

Student leaders are given “a lot of freedom” to give things a go.

For example, the senior leadership team, with board support, decided a large area of artificial turf was needed for a netball court area.

“They’re dealing with companies who have no idea they’re talking to Year 13s until they come here and meet the students who try to nail them down on price.”

Some ex-students spring to mind such as Sophie Handford and Nīkau Wi Neera who are on the Kāpiti Coast District Council and Wellington City Council respectively.

Kane knows a successful college is about having a strong empowered team.

“I’m sure you’d find plenty of people who feel I micro-manage stuff but I try not to — it’s sort of the opposite.

“You have really capable people in the school, and things have gotten more complex, but you have to trust that people know their job and if there’s an issue they’ll come to you and sort it out.”

Another important aspect was being “accessible to parents and the children”.

If he’s sending out information to homes he adds his phone number in case people want to discuss things.

He’s enjoyed teaching philosophy to Year 9s which has another benefit.

Kāpiti College principal Tony Kane. Photo / David Haxton

“It means that as they go up through the school they’re not afraid to knock on my door and have a chat.”

Kane recalls buying an item from a hardware store, in Hawke’s Bay when the person serving asked if he remembered him.

The young man recalled Kane teaching a philosophy topic in Year 9 “as clear as day”.

“Those sorts of moments are pretty good.

“It’s also a really good reminder that you can have a very powerful effect on people and therefore you have to be careful what you say and do.”

Having had various roles, before the principal role, was also important in terms of an all-round awareness.

Fostering a positive school was about putting in the effort too.

“I think the most important thing is an ethic of service.

“You’re one of the team, but they see you doing everything that needs to be done, and they’ll do everything that needs to be done.”

There were various challenges in running the college but the biggest one was navigating the Covid-19 time.

“It was the daily uncertainty. What was going to happen next? Will we be closing or not? How are the children going? Are they falling behind? The learning-from-home bit was okay but they only made about 30% of the progress they would normally have made. It unsettled stuff in schools and bounced on for about three years.”

Qualification changes to numeracy and literacy, at the same time, added to the challenges too.

One of the things he’s most proud of is the Te Raukura ki Kāpiti performing arts centre.

“It took seven years to complete.

“We had lots of consultation and ideas, and you’re never going to get 100% of people happy, but the response we’ve had from audiences, and also from artists, is that it works and is a really good place to perform.”

Something else, quite major, is a regret though.

“I dearly wanted to put a football field-size artificial turf on the backfield with lights and the whole works. It would have transformed that area and sport.”

But as his time at the college draws to a close, he’s delighted the drab main hall is getting a significant makeover, and the old gymnasium too.

Kane praised his wife and family, staff, students, and the community for their support and dedication over the years and the various boards who had “vision and been prepared to take a risk”.

He has no firm plans for retirement but envisions making time for bicycle rides, tackling a building project or doing some painting.