Myles Ferris says learning te reo Maori is more than just learning a language.
For Maori children it can boost confidence and improve results in other areas of school, for non-Maori it can give a better understanding of the culture.
The comments from Ferris, who is principal of decile 1 school Te Kura o Otangarei and president of Te Akatea Maori Principals Association, come after recently published results of a 2016 study found children from low-decile schools scored higher in te reo Maori than those from high-decile schools.
"I think often lower-decile schools attract Maori teachers and teachers of te reo Maori - both in English medium and Maori medium schools. It didn't surprise me much at all."
The study, The National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement, is a collaboration between the University of Otago, the New Zealand Council for Educational Research and the Ministry of Education, which assesses the achievement of primary school students across the curriculum.